First edition.xii, 115, [1] pp., [18 photos and prints] quarto, 232:155 mm., nice margins, light age staining. A very good copy bound in the original boards, dustjacket rubbed with tears.

 

Daniel Mendoza (1764 – 1836) (often known as Dan Mendoza) was an English prizefighter, who was boxing champion of England in 1792–1795. He was of Portuguese-Jewish descent. According to the Ring Boxing Record Book, Mendoza was undefeated in 27 straight fights prior to 1788. Bare-knuckle fights ended when an opponent was knocked out or unable to continue (Technical knockout) or by foul or a draw. Dates and exact locations are unknown, except that all fights were in England.

Before Mendoza, boxers generally stood still and merely swapped punches. Mendoza's style consisted of more than simply battering opponents; his "scientific style" included much defensive movement. He developed an entirely new style of boxing, incorporating defensive strategies, such as what he called "side-stepping", moving around, ducking, blocking, and, all in all, avoiding punches. At the time, this was revolutionary, and Mendoza was able to overcome much heavier opponents as a result of this new style. Though he stood only 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) and weighed only 160 pounds (73 kg), Mendoza was England's sixteenth Heavyweight Champion from 1792 to 1795, and is the first middleweight to ever win the Heavyweight Championship of the World. In 1789 he opened his own boxing academy and published the book The Art of Boxing on modern "scientific" style boxing which every subsequent boxer learned from.

Mendoza helped transform the popular English stereotype of a Jew from a weak, defenceless person into someone deserving of respect. He is said to have been the first Jew to talk to the King, George III. Mendoza was second for Tom Molineaux, a freed Virginia slave, in his fights.

 

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