Thomas Sayers, also known as Tom Sayers (25th May 1826 - 8th November 1865), was an English pugilist.. Sayers was born in a one-bedroom cottage in the deprived slum district of Pimlico, Brighton, the youngest of the five children of James and Maria Sayers. During his career as a bare-knuckle fighter, at the time illegal, he was only once defeated. At 5 feet 8 inches in height with a fighting weight of under 11 stone, he was the first boxer to be declared the World Heavyweight Champion. His fighting career lasted from 1849 until 1860, when a match billed as the contest for the "World Championship" ended in disarray. An unprecedented public collection funded his comfortable retirement, but he died only five years later at age 39 and is buried in Highgate Cemetary, London. Such was his fame that his burial at Highgate Cemetery was attended by ten thousand people. His friends again subscribed for the erection of a large tomb, bearing a statue of his beloved dog.
