A Fighter Abroad
In 1810, a freed slave named Tom Molineaux fought in one of the most important fights in the history of boxing. This is his story.
.. The defenders of boxing thought that, first and foremost, what made the sport worthwhile was that it instilled a sense of fair play. No stabbing an opponent in the back, no attacking a defenseless man. Fight only when both men are up and ready, and in that way, with both combatants given an equal chance under the rules, you can determine which is the better man. Egan, in the dedication to his first collection of boxing writing, illustrates this ideal by telling the story of a British sailor during the capture of Fort Omoa in 1779. The sailor, who had two swords, suddenly came head-to-head with a Spaniard who had none. Rather than kill an unarmed man, the British sailor threw the Spaniard one of his swords to give him a fair chance for his life.