John C. Heenan, the America boxing champion nicknamed "The Benicia Boy," left New York for England to fight the British champion Thomas Sayers. The bout did take place at Farnborough in Hampshire and lasted for thirty-seven rounds fought over almost two and a half hours. The lighter and shorter Sayers was more than holding his own against Heenan when the fight was broken up in a riot and declared a draw. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Ralph Nevill, Sporting Days and Sporting Ways (London: Duckworth and Co., 1910) , 233