history. It was the first time spectators were charged an entry-payment to a sporting event. Mendoza and Humphries were personally involved in planning the entry price for attendees, and used newspapers to drum up interest with the intent of obtaining a more profitable deal. The fights were hyped by a series of combative letters published between Humphries and Mendoza. Their meeting finally took place, after postponement, on a rainy 9 January 1788 in Odiham, Hampshire and was attended by 10,000 spectators. Included in the audience were the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York, who wagered 40,000 pounds on the match. Humphries was a 2–1 favourite to win, though Mendoza had his own followers and was heavily backed by the Jewish community, who placed bets and comprised ten per cent of the audience. The fight was disrupted from a foul called when Humphries' second, the reigning champion, Tom Johnson blocked a blow but, according to Mendoza's account, this did not end the fight. According to his own account, Mendoza slipped on the wet boards of the ring and badly sprained his ankle, preventing him from continuing, and requiring him to forfeit the bout. At least seven English newspapers of the era, including London's Times and Chronicle, published articles on the Mendoza–Humphries bouts, and United States papers ran stories as well. In one newspaper article to advertise their meeting, Mendoza taunted, "Mr. Humphreys is afraid, he dares not meet me as a boxer … though he has the advantages of strength and age, though a teacher of the art, he meanly shrinks from a public trial of that skill". Humphries replied Mendoza should make the same claim in the ring, and vowed to meet him. In his third bout against Humphries on 6 May 1789 in Stilton, Huntingdonshire, Mendoza dominated and won on a foul in the 65th round when Humphries was believed to have dropped to the ground without being hit. Mendoza had trained for the bout at the Essex home of his strongest backer, Sir Thomas A. Price. The specially built arena had tiered seating and could accommodate up to 3,000 people, a more modest crowd than at his second bout. The battle commenced a little after one o'clock in the afternoon. The smaller crowd may have been due to Huntingdonshire being a long journey for many fans, ninety miles from London. It was clear early in the