High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Tom Spring (February 22, 1795 – August 20, 1851) was an English bare-knuckle fighter. He was heavyweight champion of England in 1821 until his retirement in 1824. After his retirement he became landlord of the Castle Inn at Holborn in London, where he arranged the patronage and contracts of many of the major boxing events of the period while overseeing fair play in the ring.