James "Jem" Wharton (3 March 1813 — 25 April 1856) was an English boxer. Wharton boxed from 1833 to 1840 and had a career record of eight wins and one draw. He was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012.

Early life

Wharton's early life is unclear, during his boxing career he described himself as being born in

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Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

on 3 March 1813 and that his mother was a peasant, while his father was a sailor. However, in the 1851 census Wharton gave London as his place of birth. Wharton said he started working as a

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on the a ship called ''Hopewell'' at the age of twelve. It was on the ''Hopewell'' that he began boxing''.''

Career

Wharton fought multiple challengers in the early 1830s while working on the ''Hopewell''. One of Wharton's earliest wins was against the cook of the ''Hopewell'' who accused him of stealing food. He then went to London to train under retired fighter Jem Burn. Wharton won his first three career fights against Tom McKeevor in 1833, "the Herefordshire Pippin" Evans in 1834, and "the Hammersmith Cowboy" Jack Wilsden in 1835. After the cancellation of an 1835 match against Nick Ward, Wharton toured with Deaf Burke. Later in the year, he won a match against

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. In 1836, Wharton had his only draw in his career against Tom Britton. During the match, fans of Britton threw stuff at Wharton and threatened him. Wharton's match against Britton lasted over four hours with 200 rounds before a draw was called. After the match, Wharton toured with Deaf Burke's trainer Tommy Roundhead. In 1837, Wharton went to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to face Harry Preston. Wharton won the match when he made Preston unconscious from a throw. Throughout 1837, Wharton won matches against Sandy MacNeish in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and William Renwick in

. In 1839, Wharton won a rematch against Renwick. In 1840, Wharton fought against John Lane. While Wharton almost lost to Lane by a chokehold, Wharton defeated Lane and won his final match. Wharton retired undefeated in 1840. He went on to work as a trainer and operated a pub in Liverpool.

Awards and honors

Wharton was inducted posthumously into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012.

Death

On 25 April 1856, Wharton died in Liverpool, England from complications related to

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wharton, James 1813 births 1856 deaths English male boxers International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis English bare-knuckle boxers Tuberculosis deaths in England Black British sportsmen