Harry Lewis (boxer)

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Harry Lewis boxer
Harry Lewis 1911.jpg
Data
Birth Name Henry Besterman
Weight class Welterweight
nationality United StatesUnited States US-american
birthday September 16, 1886
place of birth New York City
Date of death February 22, 1956
Place of death Philadelphia
size 1.70 m
Range 1.70 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles 173
Victories 108
Knockout victories 48
Defeats 39
draw 25th
No value 1
Profile in the BoxRec database

Harry Lewis (* 16th September 1886 in New York City , New York , United States as Harry Besterman ; † 22. February 1956 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , USA ) was an American boxer in the welterweight and world champion from 1908 to 1911. 2002 he was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and in 2008 into the International Boxing Hall of Fame . The boxing journalist Nat Fleischer (1887–1972) once described him as the sixth greatest welterweight of all time.

life and career

Besterman's family moved to Philadelphia from New York when he was a toddler. He began his career as a professional boxer in August 1903 at the age of 17 under the pseudonym Harry Lewis, fearing that his parents would oppose his choice of profession. In contrast to many other Jewish parents of the time, however, his father Jake encouraged him later after he learned of his son's choice of profession. Lewis initially fought for almost two years at featherweight before switching to welterweight in May 1905.

He went on to become a popular boxer on both sides of the Atlantic and fought a number of fights in France and England. Lewis became the controversial world champion in 1908 after defeating both reigning new world champion Mike Twin Sullivan and old world champion Honey Mellody in two non-title fights. After his loss to Lewis, Sullivan had won the title against the then reigning world champion Mellody, but was unable to defend the title afterwards due to weight problems, making Lewis a legitimate world champion by many. Lewis successfully defended his title several times until he had to cede it to Leo Huck in 1911 due to weight problems. In the period from 1910 to 1913 he completed many fights in France and England, often in higher weight classes.

Lewis played his last fight in Philadelphia in October 1913, where he suffered the second knockout defeat of his career. After the fight, he had to be treated in the hospital for a blood clot in the brain and struggled with paralysis for the rest of his life. Lewis later worked as a boxing manager, one of the most famous boxers he coached was Bernie Manhoff.

literature

Web links

Commons : Harry Lewis  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Harry Lewis on the website of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (accessed November 5, 2015)
  2. ↑ http://articles.philly.com/2007-12-12/sports/24997007_1_eddie-perkins-holman-williams-frank-klaus (accessed November 5, 2015)
  3. ↑ a b c d Ken Blady: The Jewish Boxers Hall of Fame . SP Books, 1988, ISBN 978-0-933503-87-8 , pp. 77-80
predecessor Office successor
Mike Twin Sullivan Welterweight boxing champion
April 20, 1908 - January 1911 		Leo Huck
personal data
SURNAME Lewis, Harry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American welterweight boxer
DATE OF BIRTH September 16, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York , United States
DATE OF DEATH February 22, 1956
Place of death Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , United States