Barney Aaron
Barney Aaron | |
---|---|
Whitechapel, London, England[1] | |
Nationality | English |
Other names | "The Star of the East" |
Statistics | |
Weight(s) | Around 138 lb (63 kg), lightweight |
Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 11 |
Wins | 7 |
Losses | 4 |
Barney Aaron (21 November 1800 at Aldgate – 11 July 1859 in Whitechapel, London, England) was an English bare-knuckle boxer.
Aaron, the father of Hall of Famer Young Barney Aaron, began boxing in 1819, and became a leading lightweight contender in the 1820s, arguably the top-rated lightweight of the era in England.[2] Known as The Star of the East, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001.[1]
Ascending the lightweight ranks, 1819–1823
Aaron's earliest victory was against the far more experienced William Connelly, whom he beat in sixteen rounds and thirty minutes in 1819. One of his first losses was against the stronger and heavier Manny Lyons, who caused Aaron to quit from exhaustion after 70 grueling rounds, though Aaron soon avenged the loss in a fifty-minute rematch victory.[2]
His wins between 1823 and 1824 against Ned Stockton, Lenney, Frank Redmond, and Peter Warren earned him a reputation as one of the best lightweights in England.[2]
In his 6 May 1823 bout with Ned Stockton, Aaron won convincingly in an important 40-round contest at Blindlow Heath in Sussex.
Although Lenney, his next opponent, appeared game and made a noble effort, he had little chance against Aaron, who dominated and won a decision in eleven rounds at
Major win against Peter Warren, 1824
His victory over the taller Peter Warren on 6 April 1824 in Colbrook, England was decisive and Aaron clearly led the fighting in the last fifteen of the twenty-nine rounds. In the first, Aaron caught Warren's head under his arm and hit him in the mouth, a move then known as "fibbing" and clearly illegal in today's boxing, governed by Marquess of Queensberry Rules. In the second and strongly in the fifth, Aaron threw Warren, a move legal under Broughton's Rules, and in the seventh, Aaron achieved a knock down. In the tenth, Warren caught Aaron around the neck with his left, and hit him repeatedly with his right, though Aaron quickly escaped. Exhausted and struggling, Warren was thrown down heavily in the thirteenth. After leading the second half of the match, in the 29th Aaron sent Warren reeling to the ground from a blow to the head that resulted in a knockout. London's Morning Chronicle wrote that "Barney has shown himself to be one of the best of his weight", though the reporter considered Warren to have the greater science and ring craft in his boxing. His victory over Warren cemented Aaron's claim as the top English lightweight contender.[5]
Boxing decline 1824–1834
Arthur Matthewson, 1824
Aaron lost a fierce 57 round bout to Arthur Matthewson on 21 June 1824 at a ring near Colbrook, England for the impressive sum of £100 a side. Barney was said to weigh slightly over 140 pounds to Matthewson's 135 and had a two-inch advantage in height. Aaron's chief second, Abraham "Abby" Belasco, and his financial backer Mr. Solomon accompanied him to the fight via coach. A major London newspaper, The Observer noted that Aaron's Jewish supporters were a majority of the crowd, comprising around sixty percent, but referred to them using the ethnic slur
Dick Curtis, and Frank Redmond
In a downward spiral on 27 February 1827, Aaron lost to the well known English opponent Dick Curtis in fifty minutes on a stage in Andover, England. Though Arron stood to profit from the £100 purse, Curtis was a threatening opponent, and though slightly shorter, he was an accomplished boxer, two years younger, and had easily defeated the skilled Peter Warren in four previous contests.[8] As expected, Curtis was favored in the opening betting at 6–4. Aaron fared well in the first three rounds, but the momentum slowly turned and by the fifth he got far worse in a vicious exchange where his face was clearly injured. In the ninth round, only fifty minutes into the contest, Curtis floored Aaron with a blow that reflected "his whole force", on Barney's throat knocking him out and ending the match.[9][10][11]
Aaron enjoyed his last decisive win, and took £50 for a 42-round victory against Frank Redmond on 23 October 1827, near St. Albans, England. In the 22nd and 23rd, the exhausted Redmond was down, and in the remaining rounds, despite his opponent's speed and skill, Aaron's strength prevailed, and Redmond's seconds threw in the towel in the 42nd round.[12]
His last fight was a loss to Tom Smith, a Sailor seven years younger, on 1 April 1834 for £50 a side. Aaron lost the twenty round bout at Greenstreet Green, Kent that may have been attended by as many as 1000 people, a very impressive turnout for a boxing match in that era. The Morning Chronicle noted that "Barney fought with great bravery, but his day has gone by and like the worn out post horse, he can no longer answer to the whip".[13]
On 16 March 1840, Aaron performed in an exhibition at the prestigious National Baths on Westminster Road in London. Also appearing were Deaf Smith, Peter Reid, Owen Smith and Tom Cribb.[14] On 1 March 1846, Aaron acted as Master of Ceremonies for a benefit given for future English champion Harry Broome that included sparring by Broome, his brother Johnny, Joe Rowe and Johnny Walker.[15]
Retirement careers
Support for Lionel Rothschild
Showing his support for the London working class and members of his own religion during the election of August 1847, Aaron and fellow Jewish boxer
Ringside attendant
In his retirement, he acted as a ringside attendant for important fights. During this period he acted as a second to John Barleycorn in 1839. Later he acted as an attendant in the English championship fight between Ben Caunt and Bendigo, the boxer William Thompson, in Suffolk in September, 1845, a long brutal bout where Barney was forced to hold back angry spectators in several rounds. He later worked as a fishmonger,[2][18] and may have worked for a period as a Constable in London, once apprehending two men who were suspected of robbing houses in his neighborhood of Houndsditch.[19][20][21]
He was one of a number of Jewish boxers of the era whose popularity is credited with helping improve the social standing of Jews in England at a time when anti-Semitism was common. Despite his boxing success, Aaron never lived far from the poverty of East London and its struggling Jewish population.[22] He died at the age of 58 in East London's Whitechapel.[1]
Selected bouts
Personal
- He was the father of British-born American boxer Young Barney Aaron, also entered in the Boxing Hall of Fame.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c "Barney Aaron". Boxing Hall of Fame. International Boxing Hall of Fame. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Roberts, James, and Skutt, Alexander,Boxing Register, (2006) International Boxing Hall of Fame, McBooks Press, Ithaca, New York, pg. 14
- ^ Had little chance against Aaron in "Third Fight", The Ipswich Journal, Ipswich, Suffolk, England, pg. 2, 9 August 1823
- ^ "Battle Between Two Lightweights", The Bristol Mercury and Daily Post, Bristol, England, pg. 1, 17 November 1823
- ^ "Fight Between Barney Aaron and Peter Warren", The Morning Chronicle, London, Greater London, England, pg. 4, 7 April 1824
- ^ "Boxing, Two Great Fights", The Morning Post, London, Greater London, pg. 3, 22 June 1824
- ^ Jews may have made up the majority of the crowd and late fight details in "Pugilism", The Observer, London, Greater London, England, pg. 2, 28 June 1824
- ^ 100 pounds a side in "Sporting Correspondence", The Era, London, Greater London, 10 December 1848
- ^ "Dick Curtis". Cyber Boxing Zone. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- ^ "Dick Curtis and Barney Aaron", The Morning Chronicle, London, Greater London, England, pg. 4, 28 February 1827
- ^ "Singular Conflagrations", The Observer, London, Greater, England, pg. 1, 5 March 1827
- ^ "Barney Aaron and Frank Redmond", The Morning Chronicle, London, Greater London, England, pg. 3, 24 October 1827
- ^ "Easter Sports", The Morning Chronicle, Greater, London, England, pg. 4, 2 April 1834
- ^ "Manly Sports", The Morning Chronicle, London, Greater London, England, pg. 1, 14 March`1840
- ^ "Broome's Benefit", The Era, London, Greater London, England, pg. 11, 8 March 1846
- ^ Supported Lionel de Rothschild's election with Aby Belasco in "The English Elections-The Character of the Next Parliament", The New York Daily Herald, New York, New York, pg. 1, 24 August 1847
- ^ "Rothschild Archives Politics". Lionel Nathan de Rothschild Politics. The Rothschild Archives. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- ^ "Grand Boxing Match", The Northern Liberator, pg. 3, 23 February 1839
- ^ Constable in London in "Police", The Standard, London, England, pg. 4, 1 December 1846
- ^ Two men robbed his neighborhood in "Police Intelligence", The Morning Chronicle, London, England, pg. 4, 10 April 1835
- ^ Seconded in "The Great Fight Between Caunt and Bendigo", The New York Daily Herald, New York, New York, pg. 1, 4 October 1845
- ^ Levi, Harry (1911). Jewish Characters in Fiction: English Literature. Jewish Chautauqua society. pp. 160–. Retrieved 15 April 2014.