Hen Pearce

 ( 1777 Births ) 

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. Boxiana, or Sketches of Ancient and Modern Pugilism volume 1 page 145, Pierce Egan

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 James Belcher in a Championship decider (a fight reported in Pierce Egan first volume of Boxiana).David Snowdon, 'Writing the Prizefight: Pierce Egan's Boxiana World' (2013)

He was inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1987 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993.

• Chapter on Pearce in Boxiana, or Sketches of Ancient and Modern Pugilism volume 1, 1830, Pierce Egan
• Chapter on Pearce in Pugilistica, the History of British Boxing volume 1, 1906, Henry Downes Miles

• List of bare-knuckle boxers