Daniel Mendoza

Daniel Mendoza

Daniel Mendoza (5 July 1764 – 3 September 1836) (often known as Dan Mendoza) was an English prizefighter, who became the 18th boxing champion of England from 1792–1795. He was of Sephardic or Portuguese Jewish descent.Mendoza was the most accomplished and scientific fighter of his time; he was intelligent, communicative, a master of ring strategy and defense, and several rungs above his contemporaries. His life was a study in contrasts, however. He could be brave, kind, and charismatic, or dangerously violent, and was found guilty of crimes of fraud and assault in 1793 and 1795. His poor money management skills and lack of business acumen landed him in debtors' prison on several occasions. Regardless of his shortcomings, he revolutionized self-defense with his book The Art of Boxing, became an heroic and admired figure, and elevated the status of Jews in London during a period of significant antisemitism.

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