Father of Boxing, Swinger of Swords

The History of Sport: Stories from Outside the Lines

This boxing history episode is the story of James Figg, the 17th-century born "Father of Boxing" and one of the 1992 Boxing Hall of Fame inductees. But his boxing was not the sport you're familiar with today. Figg, who would set up his academy on Tottenham Court Road, was before the Queensbury rules and all of that. Figg entered the ring with a cudgel and a sword.

This is his story, and the story of his fight with Ned Sutton, the pipe-fitter from Gravesend.

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