Gallery of the Gallant

Gallery of the Gallant Rules of admission: 1. A pugilist must be retired. 2. A pugilist must be deemed to have shown extraordinary gallantry in the prize ring by no less than eight tenths of the Royal Explorers Club voting membership. 3. A pugilist may be considered for five consecutive years following his retirement provided that he received support from at least one voting member in the year prior.

Class of 1798 Daniel Mendoza 1780 - 1795 W23(16) / L6(2) / D0 English Heavyweight Champion Selected by 94.12% of balloting members on first ballot. Mendoza held the English title from 1784 to 1792 and was the number one heavyweight in the world when the REC issued their first rankings in 1794. He retired following a loss to Big Ben Bryan in the world title elimination tournament of 1795. Full Record

Class of 1805 Big Ben Bryan 1786 - 1804 W28(18) / L8(3) / D2 / ND2 Two-time World Heavyweight Champion & English Heavyweight Champion Selected by 81.25% of balloting members on first ballot. Big Ben lost his English belt to John Jackson and then was defeated by Jackson again in the first World heavyweight title bout. Bryan claimed the World title for himself in 1797 and held it until 1800 when Tom Johnson worked his miracle. Following Johnson's retirement, Bryan had one last big fight in him as he reclaimed the belt with a surprising win over Joe Lashley in 1803. He surrendered the belt to Lashley in 1804 after making one defense against an over-matched Bishop Blaize. Full Record

Class of 1806 Tom Johnson 1783 - 1802 W20(8) / L11(5) / D2 Two-time World Heavyweight Champion & English Heavyweight Champion Selected by 87.50% of balloting members on fourth ballot. Johnson held the English title briefly in 1783 when he defeated the great Mendoza. In 1795, when he was generally considered past his prime, Johnson pushed eventual World champion John Jackson to a second day of fighting in the REC elimination tournament. With a flagging career, Johnson had a seven fight string beginning in 1798 that led to a World title shot in 1800 at the age of fifty. Johnson shocked the fancy with an upset over Big Ben Bryan. He lost the belt to Thomas Owen in 1801 but miraculously won it back in 1802 and defended once before retiring from the ring. Full Record