Robert Cohen (boxer)

Robert Cohen
Data
Birth Name	Robert Cohen
Weight class	Bantamweight
nationality	Frenchman
birthday	November 15, 1930
place of birth	Bône
style	Left-hand boom
size	1.59 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles	43
Victories	36
Knockout victories	4th
Defeats	4th
draw	3

Robert Cohen (born November 15, 1930 in Bône , Algeria ) is a retired French boxer . He was the world champion of professional bantamweight boxers.

Career

Amateur career

Robert Cohen came from the Jewish community in Algeria. His father ran a hairdresser in Bône and the young Robert Cohen also started boxing in Bône. He had French citizenship and started in 1950 and 1951 at the French championships of amateur boxers in fly and bantamweight. Both times he suffered point defeats in the final, in 1950 from Dumesnil and 1951 from Perez.

Profile career

In the middle of 1951 Robert Cohen joined the professional boxer. His domicile was Paris and his manager Gaston-Charles Raymond. He fought his first fight as a professional boxer on September 12, 1951 in Paris. Won KO in the 2nd round over Leon Gauche. In the months that followed, Robert Cohen was built up very carefully. He usually fought two fights a month and suffered a point defeat on December 2, 1951 in Paris by the much more experienced Robert Meunier . This defeat remained his only until December 11, 1955. During these four years Robert Cohen played 33 fights, of which he won 30 and boxed three in a draw.

On May 15, 1952 Robert Cohen won the meeting of revenge against Robert Meunier, whom he defeated on points in the Salle Wagram in Paris. On January 19, 1953, he won in Paris over compatriot Maurice Sandeyron, who was one of the best European bantamweights, and on February 23, 1953, he fought in Paris against European champion Jean Sneyers from Belgium in a non-title match. French bantamweight champion was Robert Cohen on November 6, 1953 in the Palais des Sports in Paris, when he was able to beat Maurice Sandeyron again on points after 15 rounds. On December 14, 1953, he succeeded in Manchester a point victory over the South African Jake Tuli , one of the world's best bantamweights.

On February 27, 1954 Robert Cohen won in Belfast over the Irish John Kelly in the fight for the European Bantamweight Championship by knockout in the 3rd round and was thus the new European champion . On May 15, 1954, Robert Cohen first met the deaf-mute Italian master Mario D'Agata in Tunis . He won this fight after 10 rounds on points and was after this fight in the world rankings of the bantamweights in first place. On September 19, 1954 in Bangkok in front of 60,000 spectators (!) The fight for the vacant world title in bantamweight between Robert Cohen and instead of the local Chamroen Songkitrat . Both fighters fought a tough and even fight. Two judges, Ted Waldham and the American boxing pope Nat Fleischer decided on Cohen, the Thai judge saw Songkitrat as the points winner. Robert Cohen was the new world champion . Nat Fleischer referred to it as a “bundle of dynamite” after the fight.

In the spring of 1955, Robert Cohen suffered a double broken jaw in a serious car accident and had to take a break for several months. Health restored, he defended his world title against Willie Toweel on September 3, 1955 in Johannesburg with a clear win on points. He then experienced a nasty surprise on December 11, 1955 in a non-title fight in Paris, when he was taken out of the ring in the 7th round for being unable to defend himself against his protest against his French compatriot Cherif Hamia , who was also from North Africa . In the 2nd and 7th round he had been down twice in this fight.

On June 29, 1956 Robert Cohen defended his world title against Mario D'Agata in Rome . D'Agata turned out to be the stronger of the two in this fight and won this fight through tech. KO in the 7th round after getting two knockdowns in the 6th round.

Life after the boxer career

After losing the world title, Robert Cohen resigned from boxing. He went to Elisabethville in what was then the Belgian Congo , where his father-in-law owned a textile factory. He wanted to start a new life in his father-in-law's business. As a result of the political turmoil that soon appeared in the Belgian Congo, he went to South Africa with his family . He denied on July 13, 1959 in Ndola , Zambia , even a professional fight, which he lost against the South African Peter Lock on points. Robert Cohen later moved to Brussels , where he worked as a restaurateur. Robert Cohen was also inducted into the International Jewish Hall of Fame.

swell

• Box Sport trade journal from 1950 to 1960,
• Website "www.boxrec.com"

Web links

• Robert Cohen's record
• Portrait of Robert Cohen in Engl. language