Editing James Burke (boxer) (section)

==Burke versus Byrne==
In 1833, Burke challenged [[Simon Byrne]], and they fought on 30 May 1833 at [[Nomansland Common]], [[Hertfordshire]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Lynch|p=80|1922}}</ref><ref name="odd186">{{Harvnb|Odd|p=186|1989}}</ref> According to ''[[Bell's Life in London]]'', each man staked £100<ref name="Dowling124">{{Harvnb|Dowling|p=124|1855}}</ref> but an 1833 [[Broadside (printing)|broadside]] published in Edinburgh claimed that each side staked £150.<ref name="broadside">{{cite web|title=Broadside entitled 'Battle Between Simon Byrne and Deaf Burke'|url=http://digital.nls.uk/broadsides/broadside.cfm/id/14618|publisher=National Library of Scotland|accessdate=9 July 2023|author=National Library of Scotland|author-link=National Library of Scotland|location=Edinburgh|date=2004}}</ref> Burke was backed by boxers Tom Gaynor and [[Dick Curtis (boxer)|Dick Curtis]] and trained with [[Thomas Owen (boxer)|Thomas Owen]] at [[Northfleet]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Dowling|pp=124–125|1855}}</ref> Byrne was backed by boxers [[Jem Ward]], [[Tom Spring]], and Ned Neale, training with the latter.<ref name="Dowling125">{{Harvnb|Dowling|p=125|1855}}</ref> Burke was favoured to win by 5–4 odds.<ref name="Dowling125"/>

''Bell's Life in London'' claims that the fight went for ninety-nine rounds, lasting three hours and six minutes,<ref name="Dowling129">{{Harvnb|Dowling|p=129|1855}}</ref> but the Edinburgh broadside claims it lasted twenty-seven rounds, totalling seventy-five minutes.<ref name="broadside"/> Both fighters drew blood during the first round.<ref name="Dowling125"/> Burke was knocked down in the twenty-seventh round and vomited blood in the thirtieth round.<ref>{{Harvnb|Dowling|p=128|1855}}</ref> Burke rallied in the forty-ninth round, and by the ninety-third round Byrne exhibited signs of exhaustion.<ref name="Dowling129"/> Witnesses later recounted that both fighters had been carried to scratch at the start of some rounds, and that by the fight's final rounds, neither man would have been able to get up from his own corner without being carried by his seconds, a practice later banned by the 1838 [[London Prize Ring Rules]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Dowling|p=132|1855}}</ref> In the ninety-ninth round, Byrne fell unconscious and could no longer stand. Burke was declared the victor, and Gaynor proclaimed that Burke was the "Champion of England".<ref name="Dowling129"/>

Byrne was carried to [[St Albans]], where a surgeon attended to his wounds. His conditioned worsened the day after the fight. Leeches were applied to the bruised parts of his head and body. As his condition worsened, he was inspected by surgeon [[Astley Cooper]], who determined that Byrne would not recover.<ref>{{Harvnb|Dowling|p=131|1855}}</ref> Byrne died from injuries three days after the fight.<ref name="Gorn42">{{Harvnb|Gorn|p=42|1986}}</ref><ref name="odd186"/><ref name="broadside"/> Burke was charged with first-degree [[manslaughter]], and Ward, Spring, Curtis, Gaynor, the umpires, and the referees were charged with second-degree manslaughter.<ref name="Dowling133">{{Harvnb|Dowling|p=133|1855}}</ref> Burke and Curtis were tried at the Hertford Assizes on 11 July 1833<ref>{{Harvnb|Lynch|p=84|1922}}</ref> but were acquitted and freed because the surgeon who had attended to Byrne was unable to determine if Byrne died from blows to the head or from the force of his exertions.<ref name="Dowling133"/>