New series of articles for Boxing Monthly begins today

I'm delighted to announce that I'll be writing a new series of articles for the Boxing Monthly website on the theme of 'fight of the century'.

This 12-part series will follow the entire history of the sport from the 18th century to the modern day, examining 12 iconic contests which were labelled, or deserved to be labelled, as 'the fight of the century'. Each article will be based on extensive archival research - which in some cases may challenge the conventional orthodoxies in the boxing history books about the fights concerned. The series begins today with a look at Jack Broughton v Jack Slack from 1750.

Click here to read the article on the Boxing Monthly website

Richmond, Molineaux and Cribb at the NPG

Yesterday I posted about the fantastic news that Robert Dighton's famous prints of pugilists Bill Richmond and Tom Molineaux are now on display from today at the National Portrait Gallery as part of Simon Schama's new Face of Britain exhibition, along with Staffordshire portrait figures of Molineaux and Tom Cribb. These artworks are all on display in Room 27, entitled "The Face of People". 

Today, with heartfelt thanks to the NPG press office for their cooperation, I am able to present these wonderful official images and captions from the exhibit.

NPG D10726
Bill Richmond ('A striking view of Richmond')
by and published by Robert Dighton
hand-coloured etching, published March 1810
Credit line: (c) National Portrait Gallery, London

NPG D13314

Tom Molineaux ('Molineaux')

by and published by Robert Dighton

hand-coloured etching, published January 1812

Credit line: (c) National Portrait Gallery, London

NPG 5812
Tom Cribb
by Unknown artist
Staffordshire portrait figure, circa 1810-1815
Credit line: (c) National Portrait Gallery, London

NPG 5813
Tom Molineaux
by Unknown artist
Staffordshire portrait figure, circa 1810-1815
Credit line: (c) National Portrait Gallery, London

Luke G. Williams has written the first ever biography of Bill Richmond. Entitled Richmond Unchained: the biography of the world's first black sporting superstar the book is available now. Click here for more information.

Face of Britain background:

The following introduction to the Face of Britain exhibition appears on the NPG's website:

"Simon Schama’s Face of Britain explores how portraiture has been used as a statement of power, a declaration of love, for the promotion of fame, to offer insights into the artists themselves and to capture ordinary people. Portraits can provide a fresh perspective on the history of Britain and the identity of its people. The exhibition is divided into five themes, which are displayed over three floors of the Gallery."

The portraits of Richmond and Molineaux, as well as the Staffordshire figures of Molineaux and Cribb, are all on display in Room 27, entitled "The Face of People". The NPG writes of this section of the exhibition: "The majority of portraits ever painted have been of the great and the good. But there has always been a glorious strain in British art that tells it like it is, and for which all humanity is fit for portrayal. History isn’t just made up of influential people, it is also made up of an infinity of wonderful characters without whom history loses all its richness and human variety. With technological advances in printmaking and photography, portraiture has increasingly recorded and celebrated the individuals in the crowd — faces that might otherwise be forgotten."

The Face of Britain exhibition runs from 16 September until 4 January 2016 and admission is free. There is also a BBC TV series to tie in with the exhibition and a book by Schama. I understand that Richmond does not feature in the TV series, but is referenced in the book.

Richmond and Molineaux on display at the NPG

The great news for Bill Richmond and Tom Molineaux admirers is that Robert Dighton's famous prints of these two groundbreaking pugilists are on display from today at the National Portrait Gallery as part of Simon Schama's new Face of Britain exhibition. Furthermore, Staffordshire portrait figures of Molineaux and Tom Cribb are also part of the exhibit.

The following introduction to the exhibition appears on the NPG's website:

"Simon Schama’s Face of Britain explores how portraiture has been used as a statement of power, a declaration of love, for the promotion of fame, to offer insights into the artists themselves and to capture ordinary people. Portraits can provide a fresh perspective on the history of Britain and the identity of its people. The exhibition is divided into five themes, which are displayed over three floors of the Gallery."

The portraits of Richmond and Molineaux, as well as the Staffordshire figures of Molineaux and Cribb, are all on display in Room 27, entitled "The Face of People". The NPG writes of this section of the exhibition: "The majority of portraits ever painted have been of the great and the good. But there has always been a glorious strain in British art that tells it like it is, and for which all humanity is fit for portrayal. History isn’t just made up of influential people, it is also made up of an infinity of wonderful characters without whom history loses all its richness and human variety. With technological advances in printmaking and photography, portraiture has increasingly recorded and celebrated the individuals in the crowd — faces that might otherwise be forgotten."

The exhibition runs from today (16 September) until 4 January 2016 and admission is free. There is also a BBC TV series to tie in with the exhibition and a book by Schama. I understand that Richmond does not feature in the TV series, but is referenced in the book.

Richmond Unchained in The Voice

The Richmond Unchained book launch features in this week's print edition of The Voice newspaper. The Voice, subtitled 'Britain's Favourite Black Newspaper', also features this story in its online edition, which you can read by clicking here.

Staten Island newspaper advances Richmond's hall of fame cause

It has long been a source of irritation to myself - and many other Bill Richmond admirers - that he has been denied the widespread recognition his incredible life and achievements warrant.

Although Richmond has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, this did not happen, according to the IBHOF's own website, until either 1999 or 2005 (dates on the IBHOF's site contradict each other). By contrast, Richmond's contemporaries Tom Cribb and Tom Molineaux were inducted in 1991 and 1997 respectively.

Similarly, there had been no 'official' public recognition of Richmond's life in the UK until last month when, at the launch event for Richmond Unchained, a memorial to him was unveiled at the Tom Cribb pub in central London.

Even more amazingly, despite Richmond's status as the first black sports star ever, the Staten Island-born pioneer has never been inducted into the Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame.

Finally, though, this might be about to change, thanks to the efforts of Staten Islander Nick Dowen, who brought Bill to the attention of the Staten Island Advance newspaper, whose writer Cormac Gordon has written a splendid story about Richmond, which also gives Richmond Unchained some nice mentions. Click here to read Cormac Gordon's full story. And here's hoping that the Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame take notice!

Richmond Unchained article and comp on Carolynjewel.com

The USA Today bestselling author Carolyn Jewel is currently featuring an article I have written about Richmond Unchained on her blog. As well as this article, Carolyn is also offering one 'commenter' the opportunity to win a copy of the book! Click here for the article and for your chance to win! But move quickly as the competition closes soon!

Moncrieff interview on Newstalk

On Wednesday I was interviewed about Richmond Unchained on Moncrieff's popular afternoon radio show on Dublin radio station Newstalk 106-108FM.
You can listen to the interview using the below link (flash player needed, may not work on mobile / iPad devices).