Tom Molineaux

Early life According to some of the chroniclers of 19th-century boxing, Molineaux was born into slavery in the State of Virginia, USA in 1784. In one account he boxed with other slaves to entertain plantation owners and was granted his freedom and $500 after winning a fight on which the son of the plantation owner had staked $100,000. After obtaining his freedom, Molineaux was reported to have moved to New York, Molineaux's first fight in England occurred at Tothill Fields, Westminster, on July 24, 1810. According to one report, the match was preceded by bull baiting. Molineaux won the fight, beating Jack Burrows of Bristol in front of a small crowd in 65 minutes. and Tom Cribb seconded Burrows. for the English title. According to the journalist and sportswriter Pierce Egan, who was present, Molineaux stood at five foot eight and a quarter inches tall and, for this fight, weighed "fourteen stone two" . The bout took place at Moulsey Hurst and Molineaux won after 21 rounds.

A return fight with Tom Cribb took place on September 28, 1811, at Thistleton Gap in Rutland and was watched by 15,000 people. Egan, who was present, said that both fighters "weighed less by more than a stone", On April 2, 1813, Molineaux fought Jack Carter at Remington, Gloucestershire, the American winning after 25 rounds. After the fight, Molineaux went on tour, where he sparred in exhibition bouts. In 1813, he fought Abraham Denton at Derby, his opponent being described as a "country pugilist" with the stature of a giant. Molineaux won the contest. The tour took him to Scotland, and on May 27, 1814, he took on a boxer named William Fuller at Bishopstorff, Paisley, Ayrshire. After four rounds of fighting the match was interrupted when the "sheriff of Renfrewshire, attended by constables, entered the ring, and put a stop to it".

Post-boxing life Molineaux's prizefighting career ended in 1815. However, he continued to show his talents in sparring exhibitions. After visiting Scotland, he toured Ireland, where in 1817, he was reportedly in the northern part of the island. After a stint in a debtors' prison he became increasingly dependent on alcohol.

He died penniless in the bandroom of the 77th Regiment in Galway, Ireland, on 4 August 1818. He was 34 years old.

In 2018, Galway City Museum held an exhibition on the life of Molineaux to mark the 200th anniversary of his death. Also in 2018 a plaque was erected in Galway at the site of his death.

In 2019, Katie Taylor unveiled a headstone over his previously unmarked grave in St James' graveyard in Galway.

Career record

Win Jack Burrows July 24, 1810 Tothill Fields, Westminster 65 minutes Win Tom Blake August 21, 1810 Epple Bay near Margate 8 rounds Loss Tom Cribb December 18, 1810 Copthorne Gap, Surrey 35 rounds Win William Rimmer May 21, 1811 Moulsey Hurst 21 rounds Loss Tom Cribb September 28, 1811 Thistleton Gap 11 rounds Win Jack Carter April 2, 1813 Remington, Gloucestershire 25 rounds

William Fuller May 27, 1814 Bishopstorff, Paisley 4 rounds Win William Fuller May 31, 1814 Auchineux 2 rounds Loss George Cooper March 11, 1815 Corset Hill, Lanarkshire 14 rounds

Legacy Molineaux is a direct ancestor of American hip-hop artist LL Cool J. The rapper, named James Todd Smith, found out the information when he had his genealogy traced on a television show titled Finding Your Roots. A hand-coloured etching of Molineaux by Robert Dighton is held in the National Portrait Gallery in London. A fictionalized account of Molineaux's boxing career is the basis of Black Ajax by George MacDonald Fraser. In 2003, Molineaux was featured in the television documentary Georgian Underworld: Bare Knuckle Boxer. Thomas Molineaux is featured in the short animation The Prize Fighter, directed by Jason Young. Tom Molyneaux is featured as a ghost in the short story Apparition in the Prize Ring by Robert E. Howard, who was a boxing fan. Molineaux's fight with Cribb was turned into a 2014 play called Prize Fighters (based on the book Bristol Boys by Jack Allen) by director Ed Viney and was performed in the Tobacco Factory in 2015. Molineaux's return fight with Cribb in 1811 at Thistleton Gap is referred to in Regency Buck, a novel by Georgette Heyer. Molineaux was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2010, Molineaux was inducted into the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame. In 2017, a documentary film (Crossing the Black Atlantic), directed by Des Kilbane and Andrew Gallimore, premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh.