This article will contain spoilers for the final episode of A Thousand Blows.
The new boxing historical drama, A Thousand Blows, has taken the world by storm lately, marking the next big project of Peaky Blinders creator, Steven Knight.
The show is set long before the days of Muhammad Ali, who was stopped for the first time aged 16, or even Joe Louis, who held an 11-year world title reign, and follows Hezekiah Moscow, a Jamaican man who moves to London to become a lion tamer but becomes roped into the world of combat sports during the transitionary period between bare-knuckle and gloved boxing.
His rival, Sugar Goodson, played by Stephen Graham, is reluctant to accept these changes to the sport of boxing, and watches on from a distance as Moscow rises the ranks to face the world champion – Buster ‘The Brooklyn Gent’ Williams.
Buster Williams was based on ‘The Boston Strong Boy’
In the finale, Moscow faces Buster Williams, nicknamed ‘The Brooklyn Gent,’ an undefeated boxer and current world champion. Ahead of their bout, Moscow is asked to take a dive in the third round by William’s manager but refuses, coming back from a knock-down to stop Williams.
It is revealed minutes later that Williams died as a result of Moscow’s onslaught, and the Jamaican is forced to flee the venue, now hated by the masses, and without a world title after the bout was declared a no-contest.
Whilst it has been reported that Hezekiah Moscow and Sugar Goodson were real people, there is no sign of a real Buster Williams. However, the first world champion in gloved boxing was an American named John L. Sullivan, and it is likely he who inspired the character of Williams.
Sullivan was nicknamed ‘The Boston Strong Boy’, not too dissimilar to ‘The Brooklyn Gent’ alias of Williams, and before becoming the first gloved champion, he was widely regarded as the last bare-knuckle champion.
Though he didn’t die in the ring, it is said Sullivan’s time as a boxer took a toll on his health, as well as the fact he overindulged in food and alcohol, which caused his death by heart disease at the age of 59.
It is no surprise that prizefighting took its toll, as this back when it was not uncommon to go north of twenty rounds in a fight, with the longest fight ever lasting 110 rounds and seven hours.
However, there is one clear discrepancy, which is that Sullivan supposedly claims he never fought a black fighter. This is a debated topic amongst boxing historians, with some believing Sullivan did spar with James Young, but due to it being a spar failed to mention it as a true fight.
Hezekiah Moscow and The Goodson brothers were real
According to The Radio Times, Steven Knight didn’t set out to make a show about boxing at first. Instead, he wanted to make a show on the 40 Elephants gang, and it was Stephen Graham and his wife, Hannah Walters, who introduced Knight to the history of Moscow and the Goodsons.
Walters said: “I was just like, ‘Wow, this gentleman is incredible’ and then, what is his story? We had a tiny bit of research about him wanting to come to England to kind of better his future, find a different way of life to Jamaica – that was all we had.”
“We decided to delve a little deeper and when we delved a little deeper, in the research, we found the Forty Elephants kept popping up, the Goodson brothers kept popping up. So we thought, why not bring all of these strands together to create an incredible tapestry and world.”