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Tough Guys

Latest Israeli boxer comes from a long line of Jewish champs.

Mike Smith I DJ N Foundation Archivist

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The Popularity of Boxing
Boxing has been a sport since the ancient
days of the Greek Olympics, but it did not
reach its peak of popularity until around
1900. For much of the 18th century,
boxing was considered the realm of the
"fancy," that is, a clandestine sport kept
alive by the rich elites of England and the
Americas.
Boxing matches at this time were bru-
tal, bare-knuckle affairs. Boxing gloves,
largely developed to protect the hands
rather than the face, were adopted in the

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November 27 • 2014

A crowd of boxing fans waiting for a fight at Briggs (later Tiger) Stadium, 1930s.

1890s and became standard fare by 1900.
And, one of the earliest and arguably most
famous boxers of the 18th century was
Daniel "The Light of Israel" Mendoza.
In the early years of the 20th century,
much like today, most boxers came from
the working class or the poorer segments
of society. The bulk of professional box-
ers during this era were newly arrived
immigrants or sons of immigrants. In this
respect, young men from various ethnic
groups often turned to boxing to not only
make a living, but also to have a chance
at glory and fame ... and along the way,
make some really big money!
Plenty of young Jewish men from the
poorer classes followed this dream. Ken
Blady, in his book, The Jewish Boxers Hall
of Fame, claims, "More than in any other
sport, Jews have excelled in boxing:'
Boxing matches were often not only
a test between two individuals, but also
events that matched the best of one ethnic
neighborhood against another. Jewish
patrons turned out to see their champion
take on the pride of the Italian community,
and the Italians turned out to see their
boxer take on the Irish neighborhood's
hopeful, and so on and so forth.

Jewish Boxers
Jewish boxers made their mark on the
sport. There were hundreds, if not thou-
sands, of Jewish boxers during this era, and
many of them claimed championship belts.

According to Alan Bodner, author of
When Boxing was a Jewish Sport, there
were 26 Jewish world champions between
1910 and 1940, an era when there was
only one champion in each weight divi-
sion. This is unlike today, when there
are several sanctioning bodies for box-
ing and, therefore, several champions in
every weight category.
There were many Jewish champions
and plenty of fine contenders during
the heyday of boxing. Some of them
became all-time greats. The record
books cite outstanding world champion
boxers like Lightweight Champ (1917-
1925) Benny "The Ghetto Wizard"
Leonard; Featherweight Champ (1901-
1912) Abe "the Little Hebrew" Attell;
Light Heavyweight Champ (1916-
1920) Battling Levinsky (a.k.a. Beryl
Lebrowitz); and Light Heavyweight
Champ (1930-35) "Slapsie" Maxie
Rosenbloom, to name just four of the 26
Jewish champions and 11 Boxing Hall of
Famers.
One of the best was Beryl Rossofsky
aka Barney "Beryl the Terrible" Ross.
He was also known as "One Punch
Rossofsky." From 1930-1938, Ross held
titles in three different weight classes.
In respect to the boxers cited above,
there appears to be one boxing category
where Jews clearly dominated — color-
ful nicknames! In what other sport could
you find such practitioners as Joe "The

Abe Simon on the canvas," March

27,1942. Simon was a good Jewish
heavyweight and a top-10 contender.

Unfortunately, he lost to one of boxing's
best ever — Detroiter Joe Louis.

Wa lte r P. Reu t he r Libra ry, Wayne State Un ive rs ity

This was Foreman's second retirement
as a boxer, but this is somewhat typical for
pugilists. Many boxers miss the action and
often stage comebacks. Despite the fact
that it's a hard way to earn a living, some
boxers are just desperate for the income.
The unusual part of this story is that
Foreman is a rarity in today's world of box-
ing. He's the first Orthodox Jewish boxer
to hold a world title since Barney Ross in
1930. Moreover, although born in Belarus,
and training and fighting in the United
States, Foreman is also the first-ever Israeli
world champion. Indeed, he always wore
the Star of David on his boxing trunks and
often entered the ring with an Israeli flag.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect to
Foreman's career, however, is that while
boxing as a professional he was also study-
ing to be a rabbi.
"Boxing is sometimes spiritual in its
own way:' Foreman said. "You have the
physical and mental challenges in box-
ing, just like you have lots of challenges in
exploring the different levels of Judaism.
They are different, but the same:'
Foreman is currently studying at a
Brooklyn yeshivah and plans on returning
to Israel to serve as a rabbi there.
He is a throwback to the first few
decades of the 20th century when Jewish
boxers were a dominant force in the sport.
It's hard to imagine in this day and age,
when professional and college football
vie with NASCAR and auto racing as
America's top spectator sports, but from
1900 to the 1940s, boxing was the most
popular sport in America. This was an era
when the most recognized athlete on Earth
was the Heavyweight Champion of the
World. Even our grandmothers and moms
knew the names of Jack Dempsey or Joe
Louis.

•

A

Russian-born Louis "Kid" Kaplan was
Featherweight Champion of the World,
1925-1927.

Sheik of San Joaquin" Benjamin? Or
Harry "The Human Hairpin" Harris and
"Chrysanthemum" Joe Choyskie, "The
California Terror," along with Sid "The
Galloping Ghost of the Ghetto" Terris and
Ted "The Aldgate Sphinx" Lewis.
So, anytime someone says that Jews
aren't tough or haven't excelled in any
sports, think of the tremendous record of
Jewish boxers. Better yet, ask them to tell
it to Yuri "The Lion of Zion" Foreman.

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