The above lot commemorates the match in 1791 between the champion Tom Johnson and the challenger Benjamin Brian. Johnson had assumed the championship of England in 1783 and dominated the sport for the next eight years, his most noted victory being over Issac Perrins in 1789. On 17th January 1791 the fight took place at Wrotham in Kent. The squat 200 pound challenger settled the bout with a strong blow to the nose in the second round and Johnson retired with a broken hand after 21 minutes. After this famous victory Brian retired due to the lack of serious opposition. He came out of retirement at the age of 41 to fight Will Wood but was taken ill during training and died. The Big Ben victory over Johnson is seen as the end of the first period of heavyweight boxing.