# Cool doc on BKB fighter Bill Richmond



## hugojkd (Nov 30, 2009)

Hey guys,

I'm new here, not sure of this was already posted, but here is a cool doc on BKB that covers the career of legendary black bare knuckle boxer, Bill Richmond; his nemesis, Tom Cribb; and Richmond's protege, Tom Molineaux.  It's interesting to see how socially progressive boxing was.

If you haven't seen it, check it out, they talk about throws & how serious damaged hands could be for an up & coming fighter.  The pre-Queensbury rules remind me of Western San Shao without kicks.


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## jks9199 (Nov 30, 2009)

Thanks for the info!


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## lklawson (Dec 1, 2009)

> I'm new here, not sure of this was already posted


Welcome.  Haven't seen it posted before.



> but here is a cool doc on BKB that covers the career of legendary black bare knuckle boxer, Bill Richmond; his nemesis, Tom Cribb; and Richmond's protege, Tom Molineaux.


Cool.



> It's interesting to see how socially progressive boxing was.


Boxing wasn't any more socially progressive than any other sport. At the time of Richmond, it wasn't particularly notable. There were several black boxers, black wrestlers, etc (Owen Swift's "Hand-book to Boxing" lists several in the records section). Society in general was more "color blind" at that time then we give it credit for. Heck, the first slave owner in the South is reported to have been a black man. The real "social issues" came AFTER the Civil War, when there was a huge social push-back. This is when it became hard to cross the "color barrier."

By the early 20th Century it was just as difficult for blacks in Boxing as most anywhere else, maybe a tiny SMIDGEN less, but not much.

O'Brien, in his 1928 manual, bragged about how he was so accepting of blacks, perfectly willing to box them and how he didn't accept the segregation of boxers despite, by his own admission, being promoted as one of the "Great White Hope" boxers. Nevertheless, he publicly stated after one of his matches that he "wouldn't cross the Collored line" (that is, would refuse to box a black man) specifically referring to Jack Johnson.

Johnson himself had a law specifically massaged to be used against him for having the audacity to marry a White woman and, ims, has *STILL *never been Pardoned officially for the act despite petitions to every President for I don't know how long (including President Obama).



> If you haven't seen it, check it out, they talk about throws



Banned from Boxing! The forgotten grappling techniques of historic Pugilism




> & how serious damaged hands could be for an up & coming fighter. The pre-Queensbury rules remind me of Western San Shao without kicks.



Pre-MoQ boxers used various techniques to toughen their hands including striking implements similar to makiwara, deliberate alignment of knuckles (Article: Won't You Break Your Hand?), and even Jow-like preparations ("Ruby Bob" Robert Fitzsimmons details his favorite recipe in a special section of the Police Gazette's "Boxing").

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk


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## hugojkd (Dec 1, 2009)

lklawson said:


> Boxing wasn't any more socially progressive than any other sport. At the time of Richmond, it wasn't particularly notable. There were several black boxers, black wrestlers, etc (Owen Swift's "Hand-book to Boxing" lists several in the records section). Society in general was more "color blind" at that time then we give it credit for. Heck, the first slave owner in the South is reported to have been a black man. The real "social issues" came AFTER the Civil War, when there was a huge social push-back. This is when it became hard to cross the "color barrier."
> 
> By the early 20th Century it was just as difficult for blacks in Boxing as most anywhere else, maybe a tiny SMIDGEN less, but not much.
> 
> ...



Never knew that blacks were accepted in other sports before the civil war.

Thank you for posting hear & clearing that up, I appreciate your work & everything you do for the BKB community.

Hugo


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