Peter Jackson Fights Frank Slavin

On Monday, May 30, 1892, the great Peter Jackson boxed a gloved bout with former protégé Frank Slavin. Both men lived and fought in Australia, although fan interest led Jackson to tour the world to take advantage of the financial opportunities in the United States and England.

As in Australia, Jackson often found white boxers unwilling to fight him. Few fighters had a real chance at beating Jackson. Without a local opponent, Jackson had to fight his former protégé Slavin, who was also white, to draw a crowd of London boxing fans.

The National Sporting Club in London put up purse of two thousand pounds for the fight with the club agreeing to pay the winner one thousand seven hundred and fifty pounds. The winner’s purse would be almost three hundred thousand pounds or nearly half a million dollars in 2023.

Frank Slavin entered the ring first. As Peter Jackson entered the ring, fans could see both men stood a little over six feet tall. Although equal in height, Peter Jackson weighed ten pounds more at one hundred ninety-five pounds.

The men fought cautiously during the first round. Jackson landed a few light jabs to Slavin’s chest and face. Slavin landed one heavy right that Jackson shook off. In the second round, Slavin winged his punches. Jackson avoided the wide blows, struck Slavin repeatedly with his straight left and right hands and took a slight advantage over the first two rounds into the third round.

Jackson continued to use straight punches to pound Slavin while avoiding Slavin’s more winging blows. Slavin finally scored with a strong right hand to Jackson’s head at the end of the round. It was the first round Slavin might have won.

Slavin’s momentary offense inspired Jackson to greater effort. Jackson scored several right hands to Slavin’s head, which caused Slavin to stagger to his corner at the end of the fourth round. Both boxed cautiously in the fifth round.

In the sixth round, Slavin came back to life. Slavin struck Jackson to the body repeatedly before landing two unanswered right hands to Jackson’s head. Despite Slavin’s success, Jackson weathered Slavin’s offense.

Jackson started to take over the fight in the seventh round pursuing Slavin relentlessly. Jackson pounded Slavin with his straight left and right hands for the whole round. Jackson repeated his dominate performance in the eighth round.

To start the ninth round, Slavin walked to the center of the ring with his left eye completely closed. Jackson sent Slavin to the mat for the first knockdown with a succession of straight left and right hands. Ringsiders thought Jackson could knock Slavin out at will, but Jackson continued to box cautiously depriving Slavin “a puncher’s chance” to pull out the fight.

Jackson needed only thirty seconds in the tenth round to finish off Slavin. Slavin charged Jackson, who caught Slavin on the side of the neck with a right cross. As Slavin staggered back to the ropes, Jackson landed several jab-cross combinations on Slavin. Slavin fell to the mat. The referee counted Slavin out and awarded the fight to Jackson.

During the next seven years, Jackson only fought three more times. He finished his career with a record of fifty-seven wins, five losses and fifteen draws, a remarkable record when officials did not allow decisions if the bout went the distance.

Jackson may or may not have known at the time of this fight that he had contracted tuberculosis. Jackson fought once more in 1892, once in 1898 and once in 1899. Jackson died from the effects of tuberculosis on July 13, 1901, ten days after his fortieth birthday.

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Sources: Manchester Evening News (Manchester, England), May 31, 1892, p. 2

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