[00:00.34]Lesson 21
[00:02.21]Daniel Mendoza
[00:09.93]How many unsuccessful attempts did Mendoza make before becoming Champion of all England?
[00:18.59]Boxing matches were very popular in England two hundred years ago.
[00:23.52]In those days, boxers fought with bare fists for prize money.
[00:28.93]Because of this, they were known as 'prizefighters'.
[00:33.27]However, boxing was very crude,
[00:36.63]for there were no rules and a prizefighter could be seriously injured or even killed during a match.
[00:44.94]One of the most colourful figures in boxing history was Daniel Mendoza, who was born in 1764.
[00:53.56]The use of gloves was not introduced until 1860, when the Marquis of Queensberry drew up the first set of rules.
[01:02.63]Though he was technically a prizefighter,
[01:05.75]Mendoza did much to change crude prizefighting into a sport, for he brought science to the game.
[01:13.71]In his day, Mendoza enjoyed tremendous popularity.
[01:18.41]He was adored by rich and poor alike.
[01:21.94]Mendoza rose to fame swiftly after a boxing match when he was only fourteen years old.
[01:28.42]This attracted the attention of Richard Humphries who was then the most eminent boxer in England.
[01:35.87]He offered to train Mendoza and his young pupil was quick to learn.
[01:40.98]In fact, Mendoza soon became so successful that Humphries turned against him.
[01:48.01]The two men quarrelled bitterly and it was clear that the argument could only be settled by a fight.
[01:56.50]A match was held at Stilton, where both men fought for an hour.
[02:01.60]The public bet a great deal of money on Mendoza, but he was defeated.
[02:07.22]Mendoza met Humphries in the ring on a later occasion and he lost for a second time.
[02:13.97]It was not until his third match in 1790 that he finally beat Humphries and became Champion of England.
[02:23.50]Meanwhile, he founded a highly successful Academy and even Lord Byron became one of his pupils.
[02:31.59]He earned enormous sums of money and was paid as much as 锟?00 for a single appearance.
[02:39.85]Despite this, he was so extravagant that he was always in debt.
[02:45.91]After he was defeated by a boxer called Gentleman Jackson, he was quickly forgotten.
[02:52.53]He was sent to prison for failing to pay his debts and died in poverty in 1836.
两百年前，拳击比赛在英国非常盛行。当时，拳击手们不戴手套，为争夺奖金而搏斗。因此，他们被称作“职业拳击手”。不过，拳击是十分野蛮的，因为当时没有任何比赛规则，职业拳击手有可能在比赛中受重伤，甚至丧命。
拳击史上最引人注目的人物之一是丹尼尔.门多萨，他生于1764年。1860年昆斯伯里侯爵第一次为拳击比赛制定了规则，拳击比赛这才用上了手套。虽然门多萨严格来讲不过是个职业拳击手，但在把这种粗野的拳击变成一种体育运动方面，他作出了重大贡献。是他把科学引进了这项运动。门多萨在的全盛时期深受大家欢迎，无论是富人还是穷人都对他祟拜备至。
门多萨在14岁时参加一场拳击赛后一举成名。这引起当时英国拳坛名将理查德.汉弗莱斯的注意。他主动提出教授门多萨，而年少的门多萨一学就会。事实上，门多萨不久便名声大振，致使汉弗莱斯与他反目为敌。两个人争吵不休，显而易见，只有较量一番才能解决问题。于是两人在斯蒂尔顿设下赛场，厮打了一个小时。公众把大笔赌注下到了门多萨身上，但他却输了。后来，门多萨与汉弗莱斯再次在拳击场上较量，门多萨又输了一场。直到1790年他们第3次对垒，门多萨才终于击败汉弗莱斯，成了全英拳击冠军。同时，他建立了一所拳击学校，办得很成功，连拜伦勋爵也成了他的学生。门多萨挣来大笔大笔的钱，一次出场费就多可达100英镑。尽管收入不少，但他挥霍无度，经常债台高筑。他在被一个叫杰克逊绅士的拳击手击败后很快被遗忘。他因无力还债而被捕入狱，最后于1836年在贫困中死去。