Hen Pearce

Henry "Hen" Pearce (7 May 1777, in Bristol – 30 April 1809, at St. Martin's Lane, London) was an English bare-knuckle prizefighter who fought under the London Prize Ring rules and was the recognised English Champion from 1804 until his retirement due to ill health in 1807.

[1] Pearce was known as "The Game Chicken", a nickname probably derived from his habit of signing his name "Hen" instead of Henry.

He was reckoned a fast, skillful boxer who hit hard with both fists.

On 6 December 1805, Pearce defeated Jem Belcher in a Championship decider (a fight reported in Pierce Egan's first volume of Boxiana).

This biographical article related to boxing in England is a stub.