James Burke

The man was battered so severely, his injuries resulted in death. The man responsible for this manslaughter was James Burke. James entered into history books as the first boxer involved in a fight that resulted in death. His life leading up to this horrific event also included many tragedies as well as successes. James' interesting career and ten year winning streak led him to be one of the top bare-knuckle boxers in history.

From an early age James had many obstacles to overcome. He was born with a hearing loss on December 8th, 1809 in Westminster London. At the time he was born, deaf people were considered mutants. James became orphaned at an early age. He was living as a homeless street child with a lot of aggression. He often found himself in street fights. When he was 16 he was discovered by a prize fighter in a tavern. The prize fighter found a lot of promise in James and took him to live at his house. From ages 16-18 he was trained in bare-knuckle boxing. Also, while living with the prized boxer, James worked on the River Thames Boat. The Thames river is the longest river flowing through England. It is best known for going through the heart of London. In the early 1800's, it was suspected that the river was mythical. It was considered an honor that James was able to work on the premier boat. James encountered a lot through his youth. The aggression that he faced helped to mold him into the boxer that made him famous.

Because of his hearing loss, James was ridiculed by his peers. This ridicule made him severely angry. He took this aggression out on fighting. He fought his first match at age 19. He was quickly given the nickname "the deaf ‘un" because of his hearing impairment. James possessed the ideal fundamentals of boxing that made him a great boxer; he had outstanding hitting power and balance which enabled him to become untouchable. During his career, he attained the title of the English heavyweight champion from 1833 to 1839. He also had a 10 year winning streak which occurred after he rescued several people from a burning house. He kept going back into the flames to rescue one person at a time. He then claimed the world championship, but still wasn't regarded as champion because the reigning Jem Ward had retired to avoid a match with James so he could retain the title. James showed tremendous bravery through the demanding fights he fought, and in rescuing the people from the burning house. He believed it was karma that produced his winning spree after the horrific house burning event.

Tragedy struck again in James life in 1833 when he was tried for manslaughter. The manslaughter charge came as a result of a title fight between James and Simon Byrne. The fight lasted 3 hours and 16 minutes, which is still a world record for a champion fight. Simon Byrne had fought James before and lost. Simon was a much bigger and heavier man then James, but when Simon called for a rematch,