Jem Mace Establishes World Title Again

On May 10, 1870, 39-year-old prizefighter Jem Mace met 30-year-old prizefighter Tom Allen in Kennerville, Louisiana for the World Heavyweight Prizefighting Championship.  Claims to the championship were very murky at the time.  Thuggery and dirty tricks often obscured who was actually American Champion.  Jem Mace, who was considered World Champion twice while fighting in England, was signed to meet Tom Allen to reestablish the championship.

Mace was born in Norfolk, England on April 8, 1831.  Nicknamed “The Gypsy”,  several contemporary journalists and fight critics referred to his Romani ethnicity although Jem Mace denied any Gypsy ancestry in his autobiography.  He fought in England, Ireland, America and Australia in a career that lasted until Mace was in his mid-sixties.

Tom Allen was also born in England.  He was born in Birmingham on April 1, 1840.  Like Mace, Allen moved to America after prizefighting was outlawed in England during the 1860s.  Allen lived in St. Louis until his death on April 5, 1903.  Allen won the World Championship during 1873.

This match between Mace and Allen was a brutal affair.  Mace was a master boxer who moon lighted as a boxing instructor.  Weighing only 165 pounds, Mace was more of a middleweight.  He used scientific boxing, speed and pace to wear out his opponents.  Allen was a more typical of the prizefighters of the day.  He would plant his feet and bomb away using size and strength as his main weapons.

The men met at the center of the ring for the customary handshake.  They quickly got to work in a match which would last ten rounds.  The fight was conducted under London Prize Ring rules.  A round ended when one man fell, took a knee or was thrown.  Bare knuckle prizefighting allowed some wrestling and throws in addition to punching.

Mace employed his typical scientific style but did not try to evade Allen.  He stayed very close to Tom Allen.  Using body movement to avoid some of Allen’s stronger blows, Mace peppered away on Allen’s face.  By the time Allen fell to end the first round, his right eye was almost closed and his entire face was red and swollen.

Allen continued to land telling blows to Mace’s head and neck causing him to fall to a knee a couple of times.  Mace had the majority of the action though.  Constantly crowding Allen, he kept the bigger man off-balance and unable to punch hard at close quarters.

In the eighth round, Allen’s right eye was completely closed.  Mace began to work on the left eye instead.  Besides the damage done to his face, Mace also unleashed a brutal body attack throughout the fight.  In the tenth round, Mace followed up on a body attack with several power punches to Allen’s eye, nose and jaw.  Both men fell at the same time like the scene at the end of Rocky II (1979).

Mace got back to his feet.  Allen however could only make it to one knee by the time both men were called to the scratch.  His cornerman threw in the sponge to signify Allen’s surrender.  Jem Mace was acclaimed the World Heavyweight Prizefighting Champion for the third time.

Mace would not hold the title long but he was able to reestablish the belt after almost 15 years of dubious claims.  More focused on making money, Mace would fight his last fight in 1896 at 65 years of age long past his championship days.

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