ABRAHAM CANN

'Abraham Cann' was born in Colebrooke near Crediton in Devon in 1794. He was champion wrestler of Devon.
On the 23rd of October 1826 Cann fought James Polkinghorne of Cornwall in front of 17,000 people at
Tamar Green, Plymouth. The result was inconclusive though it is believed Cann took the £200 purse after Polkinghorne refuted a decision concerning a throw. Cann was a fighter of the Devon style, a "kicker"; he wore boots with toes that had been soaked in bullocks blood and then baked as "hard as flint", Polkinghorne fought the Cornish style and was a "hugger" and fought without footware. The fight is remembered by a plaque on the Red Lion pub in St Columb Major, Cornwall where Polkinghorne was landlord. Cann would fight any man in England for £500. He died in 1864 and is buried in Colebrooke Churchyard.