Nat Langham

Born 1820 Hinckley  /  Died 1871 London

Considered by many to be the first middleweight boxer, Nat was born into a poor family in Hinckley. His Mother and Father were both framework knitters, something he was ashamed of as later on in life he would say instead he was the son of a farm labourer.

What did surprise many people was his choice of boxing as a profession, due to his constant malnutrition and weak lung, on top of which he had a speech impediment from a burnt potato he stole when 8 years old. It wasn't surprising that many people thought he would fail - in fact the only person that thought he would succeed was Nat himself; but succeed he did, becoming the only boxer to beat the famous 'unbeaten' bare knuckle fighter Tom Sayers.

Although it is not quite certain when he had his first fight some people said it was against a fighter called William Ellis of Sapcote while others would say it was against Dick Brown the champion of Hinckley for a fee of £5 at the Harrow Inn on Watling Street. But what is almost certain is that Nat went to the sparring rooms of a fighter from Leicester called Dick Cain and quickly caught his attention, with Caine becoming Nat's mentor and developing his young protege.

He returned to Hinckley when on the 12th February 1843 he fought William Ellis of Sapcote. The price of the fight was £5; Ellis was the heavier man but the older and more cunning Langham came out the victor, turning his opponent's face into a "bloodied mess". This came about from a technique he used of boxing his opponents around the eyes forcing them to swell up and bleed, this coupled with the stance he adopted made him a "very dangerous" fighter indeed.

After packing his bags and traveling to London he met up with a man called Ben Caunt who on the 7th May 1844 gave his first prize fight in a London ring against a fighter called Tom Lowe, a fight that lasted 43 rounds with Nat coming out the victor.

Nat's next fight was against a fighter called Dr Cambell for £5, with the fight lasting 27 rounds and Nat once again coming out the victor, and in the process growing his reputation. He came to the attention of his next opponent George Gutteridge of Lincolnshire this time for £25. The fight took place on the 23rd September 1846 at Bourne and turned out to be a bloodied and bruising encounter lasting a massive 85 rounds with Nat coming out the victor.

His next fight was against an Australian by the name of William Sparkes on the 4th May 1847 on Woking Common for the generous sum of £50 - with Nat again the winner.

It would be another 4 years before he fought again, this time against a fighter called Harry Orme from London on the 6th May 1851 which lasted a unbelievable 177 rounds. Nat lost due to physical exhaustion (not surprising!).

Next came his biggest fight, and the one he is remembered for the most, against the great bare knuckle fighter Tom Sayers on the 18th October 1853 in Lakenheath, Suffolk. It turned out to be another bloody encounter for Nat, with an eye witness saying he saw Nat coming out with his eyes shut and his mouth open, leaning helplessly against Jimmy Welsh's shoulder: but eventually the bruised, battered and bloodied Nat came out the winner, so entering history as the only man to beat Sayers. After the fight Nat announced his retirement, although came out briefly in 1857 to fight Ben Gaunt (a one time Mentor of Nat's) this to settle a domestic squabble between their two wives, with the fight ending in a draw. Nat did return to Hinckley on a few occasions but would never recognize his family. Nat passed away on 1st September aged 52 from Consumption, something that hounded him all his life but did not stop him from becoming a great champion. Nat is buried in Brompton Cemetery in West London where his grave can still be seen today.

Inducted to the boxing hall of fame 1999.

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