Bare-knuckle prize-fighters were the David Beckhams of Georgian England [audio 15min]

Well-known English TV presenter William G Stewart remembers the bare-knuckle prize-fighters of Georgian England, who were enormously popular and crowds measured in thousands would turn up to see them in action. They may have operated on the edge of the law but their reputation and support from the full breadth of Georgian society was a match for any of today's sporting celebrities. Thus our current obsession with sporting prowess is not really such a modern phenomenon. Stewart argues that the Georgians were just as likely to sing the praises of men like Tom Cribb, John Gulley and Jem Belcher as they were Nelson, Wellington or William Pitt.