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{{Use British English|date=June 2015}}
{{essay|date=April 2014}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2013}}
[[File:James ('Jem') Belcher from NPG.jpg|right|thumb|Portrait of Jem Belcher, circa 1800]]
'''James Belcher''', also known as '''Jem Belcher''' (15 April 1781 – 30 July 1811), was an English [[Bare-knuckle boxing|bare-knuckle prize-fighter]] and Champion of All England 1800–1805.
==
Belcher was born at his father's house in St. James's churchyard, [[Bristol]], on 15 April 1781. His maternal grandfather was Jack Slack (d. 1778), a noted fighter, who had defeated [[Jack Broughton]] in April 1750. Although never formally apprenticed, 'Jem' Belcher became a butcher.
==Boxing career==
He drew with champion [[Jack Bartholomew (boxer)|Jack Bartholomew]] in a 51-round bout in 1799, but in the following year, on 18 May 1800, on [[Finchley Common]], the 19-year-old Belcher, after seventeen rounds, knocked out the 37-year-old Bartholomew with a 'terrific' body blow to win the rematch and become champion.▼
In his youth he became known for his pugilistic—and other—feats at Lansdown fair. Belcher was a natural fighter, described as "elegant" in style, whose skills were less due to instruction than his own ability. He was considered good-humoured, finely proportioned, and well-looking. He came to London in 1798 and sparred with Bill Warr, a veteran boxer, of [[Covent Garden]], who concluded that Belcher was "a match for any man in the kingdom".<ref name="Age 31">''[[The Age]]''. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19310418&id=tjRVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GZUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7158,3564447 "More Prize Ring Personalities: 'The Napoleon of the Ring'"]. 18 April 1931, p. 8. Retrieved on 15 June 2013.</ref> On 12 April 1799, after a fight of thirty-three minutes, he beat Tom Jones of Paddington at [[Wormwood Scrubbs]].
▲He drew with
On 22 December 1800, near Abershaw's gibbet on [[Wimbledon Common]], he fought Andrew Gamble, the Irish champion. Four days before the fight, Belcher said that he was attacked by four thugs in [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], whom he proceeded to beat up without getting harmed himself.<ref>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/3232581954/in/album-72157616043429682/ Jem Belcher from Bristol]</ref> It was suspected that someone sent those men so he would be unable to fight the high stakes match, but since he couldn't provide evidence the fight still went underway. Belcher defeated Gamble shockingly in only five rounds, Gamble being utterly confounded by his opponent's quickness. On 25 November 1801 he met Joe Berks of Wem, and defeated him after sixteen rounds of desperate fighting. He fought him again on 20 August 1802, and Berks retired at the end of the 14th round, by which time he could scarcely stand and was badly cut about the face. In April 1803 he severely punished John Firby, 'the young ruffian,' in a hastily arranged encounter. Next month he had to appear before [[Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough|Lord Ellenborough]] in the court of king's bench for rioting and fighting, and was defended by Erskine and Francis Const.<ref name="DNB">{{cite DNBSupp|wstitle=Belcher, James}}</ref>▼
▲On 22 December 1800, near Abershaw's gibbet on [[Wimbledon Common]], he fought Andrew Gamble, the Irish champion. Four days before the fight, Belcher said that he was attacked by four thugs in [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], whom he proceeded to beat up without getting harmed himself.<ref>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/3232581954/in/album-72157616043429682/ Jem Belcher from Bristol]</ref> It was suspected that someone sent those men so he would be unable to fight the high stakes match, but since he couldn't provide evidence the fight still went underway. Belcher defeated Gamble
In July 1803 Belcher lost an eye owing to an accident when playing at rackets. Taking over the "Jolly Brewers" pub in [[Wardour Street]], his "naturally high-spirited and convivial" nature and increasing consumption of alcohol led to a decline in his constitution and fitness. In 1805, Belcher was roused to return to the ring, having heard it said that a former protégé, [[Hen Pearce]], the 'Bristol game-chicken', was more than his Belcher's match. Belcher had invited Pearce to London, hoping to keep the championship in Bristol's hands, and Pearce had gone on to achieve great success. Belcher challenged Pearce to fight for 500 guineas; Pearce, aware of Belcher's disadvantage having lost an eye, and considering him a friend, was not enthusiastic, but as champion it was his responsibility to face challengers. The two men had a tough fight at a common in [[Blyth, Nottinghamshire|Blyth]], a coaching stop seven miles north of [[Retford]], [[Nottinghamshire]] on the [[Great North Road (Great Britain)|Great North Road]] on 6 December 1805. Belcher chose the venue on a coin toss, deciding to site it 150 miles north of London so that the police did not disrupt the fight.<ref>E. Dipple, The Sportsman's Magazine of Life in London and the Country, Volume 1 (1845)</ref> The crowd were adorned with handkerchiefs of blue birdseye in support of "the Chicken", and the "famous yellow-striped 'Belcher'". Here Belcher displayed all his old vigour and punching speed, but lacked power, and was impaired by his damaged vision in ascertaining range; he was defeated in 18 rounds.<ref name="Age 31"/> ▼
▲In July 1803 Belcher lost an eye
This fight was followed by another two bouts, both against [[Tom Cribb]]. In their first encounter, on 8 April 1807, at [[Moulsey Hurst]], they fought forty-one rounds, where Belcher came a close second due to his vision and a sprained wrist; the sequel, on 1 February 1809, was in answer to a challenge for the belt and two hundred guineas. Belcher again lost after thirty-one rounds,<ref name="MacCabe 78"/> but it was judged that, had Belcher been in his peak condition, Cribb would have been the loser.<ref name="DNB"/> This was Belcher's last fight; virtually ruined by the huge gambling losses he sustained at this fight, he caused a fracas after the bout, for which he spent four weeks in [[prison]].
Belcher was known as "the Napoleon of the Ring"<ref name="Age 31"/> and "the Black Diamond".<ref name="MacCabe 78">MacCabe, Eddie. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19780221&id=7eMyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_-0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=5997,122820 "Nothing has changed"]. ''[[Ottawa Citizen]]'', 21 February 1978, p. 17. Retrieved on 15 June 2013.</ref> Belcher was reckoned "one of the
Belcher died on 30 July 1811 at the Coach and Horses, [[Frith Street]], Soho, which he left to his widow, and was buried at Marylebone. By the consequence of his various battles, stated the ''[[Gentleman's Magazine]]'', aided by great irregularity of living, he had reduced himself to a most pitiable situation for the last eighteen months, and came to suffer the effects of his lifestyle.<ref name="DNB"/>▼
Portraits are given in 'Pugilistica' and ''[[Boxiana]]'', in which [[Pierce Egan]] remarks upon his likeness to [[Napoleon]]. A link between the silver and golden ages of the prize-ring, Belcher was 'as well known to his own generation as [[William Pitt the Younger|Pitt]] or [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Wellington]].' Like the latter he is commemorated by an article of attire, a 'belcher' or blue-and-white spotted [[neckerchief]], though the term is applied loosely to any particoloured handkerchief tied round the neck. In 1805 a very brief but blood-thirsty 'Treatice (sic) on Boxing by Mr. J. Belcher' was appended to [[George Barrington]]'s ''New London Spy'' for that year.<ref name="DNB"/>
==Death==
▲Belcher died on 30 July 1811 at the Coach and Horses, [[Frith Street]], Soho, which he left to his widow, and was buried at Marylebone.
== Tom Belcher ==
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In [[Patrick O'Brian|Patrick O'Brian's]] seafaring novel [[The Thirteen-Gun Salute]], captain Jack Aubrey commands a frigate called ''Diane'', which has a cannon named ''Belcher''. The reference to the prize-fighter is clear, because other cannon are also named after famous prize-fighters (''Tom Cribb'', ''Game Chicken'').<ref>Patrick O'Brian: The Thirteen-Gun Salute, 1989.</ref>
The 2022 [[Amazon Prime Video]] biopic movie, ''[[Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher]],'' stars [[Matt Hookings (actor)|Matt Hookings]] as Belcher, [[Russell Crowe]] as Belcher's grandfather, Jack Slack, and [[Ray Winstone]] as Belcher's trainer, Bill Warr. [[Matt Hookings (actor)|Hookings]] was the movie's producer and wrote the screenplay, and it was directed by Daniel Graham.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4471908 | title=Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher | website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref>
==
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=9YYoAAAAYAAJ Chapter on Jem Belcher in ''Boxiana, or Sketches of Ancient and Modern Pugilism'' volume 1, 1830, Pierce Egan]
*[[List of bare-knuckle boxers]]▼
*[https://archive.org/details/pugilisticahisto01mileuoft/page/132/mode/1up Chapter on Jem Belcher in ''Pugilistica, the History of British Boxing'' volume 1, 1906, Henry Downes Miles]
==References==
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==External links==
*[http://weldgen.tripod.com/fighters-of-the-west-country/id5.html Fighters of the West Country]{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?LinkID=mp00355&desc=&eDate=&grp=&lDate=&name=&occ=56%3BSports+and+Leisure+Pursuits&search=as an oil painting portrait of Jem Belcher by an unknown artist at the British National Portrait Gallery]
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[[Category:English male boxers]]
[[Category:1781 births]]
[[Category:1811 deaths]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Bristol]]
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[[Category:18th-century English people]]
[[Category:19th-century English people]]
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