Bobby Dobbs vs. Billy Hamilton

Bobby Dobbs drew with Billy Hamilton by PTS

• Date: 1889-05-01
• Location: USA

The bout was originally scheduled to be fought under the Marquess of Queensberry Rules. It went according to Dobbs's plan in the early going; Hamilton was taking a shellacking that was too much for him and the backers who were betting heavily on their man. In response to the beating inflicted on their fighter, one of Hamilton's supporters whacked Dobbs with a loaded cane and Dobbs, fortunately still conscious, staggered to the middle of the ring, only to be tackled by Hamilton and then kicked in the face. The bout normally would have immediately waved off by the referee and awarded to Dobbs as a result of those triple infractions. But with those terrifying and unstable backers of Hamilton, the bout went on under the London Prize Ring Rules, which favored Hamilton's rough-housing wrestling tactics. Unfortunately for Hamilton, Dobbs knew a bit on wrestling himself and held his own, and even surpassed Hamilton for the majority of the battle, until the beaten Hamilton was again illegally saved by his backers, who threatened to shoot Dobbs if the bout wasn't called a draw so that they could retain their wagers.

This bout was described by Dobbs as the toughest of his 190-bout career. He received $500 dollars (which was more than he had ever earned previously) for his gutsy effort.

Source: Black Dynamite Volume III, "The Three Colored Aces" by Nat Fleischer