Harry Broome

Broome's career reached a peak in 1851 when, fighting above his weight, he defeated William Perry, the "Tipton Slasher".[4] The match took place at Mildenhall, England on 29 September 1851 for the impressive purse of £400. In the third round, Perry fell heavily to the ground. In the seventh, Perry hit the ground hard as he was thrown by Broome, and the heavy man was thrown at least once in subsequent rounds, a wrestling tactic allowed under London Prize Ring Rules. Perry was fought down after a scrambling rally in the fourteenth. After some exchanges in the fifteenth round, Broome missed and slipped onto his knees. Perry seized him by his right arm and dragged him as if to get him up, striking him "intemperately", on the side of the head while he was down. Broome was subsequently awarded victory for the foul of striking Broome while he was on his knees.[10][8] The outcome of this fight enabled Broome to claim the title of heavyweight champion of England, and take the championship belt.[1][11][3]

Broome (right) and Orme, 1853

Tom Paddock

Broome defended the heavyweight championship of England only once successfully against Henry Orme on a warm 18 April 1853, winning in a thirty-one round fight in Brandon, Suffolk, that lasted 2 hours, and eighteen minutes. The substantial purse was £500 with £250 per side, and the audience numbered in the thousands. Broome was roughly two inches taller than his adversary, but described as fleshy and not as fit in appearance, with the skin "loose on his arms". He may have lost some conditioning during his work as a pub keeper between fights.[12] He likely fought as a light heavyweight at best, as his competition weight was not known to exceed 175. Regardless of his condition, the bout was described as one of his best, and he fought convincingly.[4][1][13][14][3]

In August 1853, Broome wrote to Bell's Life in London and Sporting Chronicle announcing his retirement from boxing and that he was pulling out of an agreed re-match with William Perry.[15]

Broome had two fights scheduled with Tom Paddock in February and March 1855, but Paddock failed to show for either bout.[1]

On his second defense of the English title, Broome lost a fifty-one round match to Paddock at Bentley in Sussex on 19 May 1856, in Manningtree, England in one hour, three minutes. Broome was losing favor somewhat or the bout was less well attended, but the purse was only £200 a side, a substantial sum, but a drop from the purse of Broome's first two championship wins. Boxing was not sanctioned by most English cities, which is why remote locations were required. To avoid the police, the spot found for the fight was on a piece of meadow ground in a hollow where the contestants and supporters could scarcely be seen. Broome had lost as much as 40 pounds for the contest, but did not appear as muscular as he had in earlier contests. His determination was substantial, but his stamina was described as inadequate against the vigor and strength of his opponent.[16] By the 48th round, the left side of Broome's face was quite swollen, and his left eye nearly swollen shut. Broome fell in the 49th from a blow to his left ear. In the brutal affair, Broome was down again in the 50th. In the 51st and final round, Broome was down from a right to the chest, and though he tried to rise, his second threw in the sponge. Though the betting favorite early on, Broome was described as "completely disabled" and presented a "shocking spectacle" by the end of the fight. He retired immediately after the disabling loss.[1][3][17][18][19]