TBG Book Review: Ted 'Kid" Lewis: His Life and Times

The Boxing Glove Sunday Book Review by Peter Silkov

“Ted Kid Lewis: His Life And Times”  by Morton Lewis


This week we are reviewing a book that was first published in 1990. “Ted Lewis: His Life And Times” by Morton Lewis.  Ted Kid Lewis has good cause to lay claim to being Britain’s greatest ever boxer. His career, which spanned from 1909 to 1929, is one of the most impressive of his time.  Beginning his career as a bantamweight, Lewis would climb the weight divisions all the way to the light-heavyweight class, even though he would never weigh much more than a middleweight himself.

Born Gershon Mendeloff, on October 28, 1893, in London, as Ted Kid Lewis, he would become one of Britain’s most exciting and respected fighters, taking America by storm, with a style that would gain him the nickname ‘The Crashing Dashing Bashing’ Ted Kid Lewis. 

Morton Lewis has written a fascinating biography about his father, a man who is a genuine ring legend, who won titles at multiple weights, and during the years 1914 to 1920, became Britain’s most popular and successful export to America.

“Ted ‘Kid’ Lewis: His Life And Times” is a captivating account of Lewis’s life and boxing career, from his earliest days growing up, to the ups and downs of his great boxing career, and finally his post boxing life.  It is a tale of rags to riches and then back again. Because of  Lewis’s strength of character and popularity, he and his wife Elsie lived in relative comfort into their later years.

Lewis career is a stark reminder of just how drastically boxing has changed in the last 100 years and how much harder the ‘hardest game’ used to be in Lewis’s time.  In 1912, at the age of just 18 years old, Lewis had no less than 39 contests, of which he lost only 4.  In his prime, Lewis thought nothing of fighting every two weeks, at least.  Indeed, he was of the old school of fighters who kept in fighting shape by fighting regularly, rather than spending months between fights toiling in the gym.

Lewis was a fearless man, always ready to fight anywhere and at any time, with no worry about the reputation or the size of his opponent; the bigger, both in size and reputation, was always the better for ‘The Kid.'

Even in today’s era, where weight jumping is common place and there are more titles than contenders, Lewis’s achievements are still unmatched, certainly by any other British fighter.  He won British and European titles at Featherweight, Welterweight, Middleweight, and also won a British title at light heavyweight.

It is his feats at welterweight, which are most remarkable.  In all, Lewis fought 28 times for the World welterweight title, 15 of them against his archrival, Jack Britton.  The rivalry between Britton and Lewis has gone down as one of the greatest in boxing history, with the pair fighting no less than 20 times between 1915 and 1921, with 15 of these fights being for the World welterweight championship.  The two men dominated the World welterweight title for over half a decade, as they duelled against one another, again and again, for the title.

Lewis first won the world title in his 2nd fight with Britton, then lost it in his 6th fight with Britton, regained it in his 13th fight with Britton, only to finally lose it once more to Britton in their 18th meeting.  Lewis was the first British fighter to regain a world title, a feat that stood unequaled until the 1980s, when Dennis Andries won regained the World light-heavyweight championship.  Although by this time, there were already multiple ‘world champions.’

This book offers a fascinating insight into the boxing world during the 1910s – 1920s. The reader has to marvel at the toughness, determination, and courage of the fighter of this time. These boxers entered the rings week after week, months after month, often carrying injuries of fights, which they had received in previous fights just recently.  In such a world, it took very special breed to come out on top and dominate, and Lewis was indeed a very special fighter.  He is also shown to have been a man of great integrity throughout his life and career.  Taking the ups and downs of his career without bitterness, or self pity, even though he often had to deal with the darker side of the hardest game.

Like many of the greats of the ring, Lewis went through his money as quickly as he made it. He fought on long past his prime, but he never fell into bitterness or regret and instead, lived an active and contented life until his death in 1970, at the age of 76.

Although Morton Lewis is writing about his father, this biography is a well balanced account of one of Britain’s greatest fighters.  This is recommended reading for anyone who wants to read about a time when boxing was bursting at the seams with activity, and when champions were few, but contenders were many.

“Ted Kid Lewis: His Life And Times” has a good collection of photos, many of them rare, and never seen before in print.  There is also a full list of Ted ‘Kid’ Lewis’s boxing career in the back section of the book.

Despite his greatness, Ted ‘Kid’ Lewis is a name not readily recognized by many of today’s boxing fans. By writing this biography about his father, Morton Lewis has produced a wonderful work, which will keep his father's memory and accomplishments alive to boxing followers, both old and young.

Copyright © 2015 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com

Boxing History: Remembering Gil Turner

By Peter Sikov

Gil Turner was one of the most exciting and popular fighters ever to come out of Philadelphia. He had, what would in later years, come to be seen as the stereotypical Philadelphia fighting style; an ultra aggressive, all-action, whirlwind of a fighter. The 1950s era in which he fought was the era where TV fell in love with boxing, and Gil Turner was to become one of the most popular and widely televised fighters of that generation.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 9, 1930, Turner turned professional in 1950, and became a sensation from the start. The fans loved Turner’s high energy fighting. His fists would blaze away, as if he were trying to punch his way through a wall. He appeared to be tireless and impervious to his opponent’s punches. Like most ’sluggers’ of his era, Turner knew how to box and had a useful jab, but he was a fighter who seemed to love going to war and the fans quickly loved him for it. Turner was making a charge up the welterweight rankings, and for such a young professional, he was matched tough. It seemed to make no difference, as he collected victory after victory in exciting fashion. By the middle of 1951, having been professional for barely a year, Turner was already a rated contender at welterweight, with wins over former lightweight world champions Beau Jack, Ike Williams, and top contenders Charley Fusari and Vic Cardell. 

By the beginning of 1952 Turner was 27-0, and hankering after a shot at the World welterweight championship that was held by “The Cuban Hawk” Kid Gavilan. In hindsight, it seems audacious to say the least, that Turner’s management could feel that their boy was ready to take on the formidable and battle-hardened Gavilan, with his record of 82-12-4, after barely two years as professional and just 27 contests. Yet, this is what they did after Turner had posted 4 more wins in early 1952 to bring his record up to 31-0. On July 7, 1952, Turner was given his shot at the Hawk.

The fight itself was eagerly anticipated. The champion was persuaded to defend his crown at Philadelphia’s Municipal Stadium; in other words, in the challenger Turner’s own backyard. A crowd of more than 39,000 created a record gate of 269,667 dollars, making the contest the richest ever for the World welterweight title up to that time.

In regards to action and excitement, the fight did not disappoint, although the majority of the fans there that night, most of whom had come to cheer on their home town fighter Turner, were destined to be deflated by the contest’s conclusion.

In what has become one of the more overlooked classics of the ring, challenger and champion blazed away at each other for 11 rounds until someone finally broke.  Turner went after the champion for most of the fight, showing a good jab, and then firing away with both hands, at the body, the head, anywhere he could land. Gavilan seemed content to counter with fiery combinations of his own. After 10 rounds, both men were about even on the judge’s scorecards, but Gavilan, had been waiting, biding his time, keeping his attacks measured, while his challenger was going for broke every round.  While Turner had been past 10 rounds just once so far in his career (and then only into the 11th round) Gavilan was an expert in going the distance and out- lasting his opponents in grueling fights. Although Gavilan was only 4 years older than Turner was, he had seven years ring experience over him, and at 26 years old, was in his prime. Perhaps most crucially for Turner, who was used top knocking most of his opponents out, Gavilan had one of the best chins in all of boxing, and would end his career having never been stopped or knocked out.

In short, Turner’s constant blazing attacks upon the champion were nothing short of suicidal. He was never going to stop or KO Gavilan, nobody would. Then again, nobody knew that in 1952. 

At times during the fight’s first 10 rounds it did seem as though “The Cuban Hawk” would wilt under the ferocity of his challenger’s vicious attacks. For certain periods it seemed as if Turner would overwhelm Gavilan. Then the moment was gone, as Gavilan fired back another combination of counter punches.

By the 11th round Turner’s white mouthpiece was glaring through his lips as he tried desperately to find more air. He was tired and exhausted, yet, he continued to carry the fight to the champion, and with even more fury than in the earlier rounds. 

Finally, Gavilan was done waiting. Around the 2.00-minute mark of the 11th, as Turner continued to try and tear into him with both fists, Gavilan answered with one of those combinations. This time, however, there was an added weight and purpose in the combination. Turner was suddenly hurt, wobbled, and as he fell against the ropes Gavilan opened up with a seemingly never-ending fusillade of punches that landed with unforgiving accuracy upon the challenger’s head and face. Turner staggered around the ring under the attack, looking like he would go down at any moment, but somehow keeping his feet. The referee watched as he took punch after punch, then Turner was hanging on the ropes, drooping, but still on his feet. Gavilan was still firing mercilessly upon him, only then did the referee finally step in and stop it.

Turner had lost but lost valiantly, in the true tradition of the Philadelphia warrior, going down all guns blazing.  What Turner and nobody else knew at that point was that this would turn out to be his one and only shot at a world title.

Some fighters lose something when they are beaten for the first time, especially when they had been almost invincible until that point in time. 

Gil Turner would remain a huge draw and score some great victories in the coming years, but the losses would also come more often now; the sparkle of invincibility that Turner had felt before the Gavilan contest was gone.

In his first fight after the loss to Gavilan, Turner was out-pointed by Bobby Dykes.
The Dykes fight was another war for Turner and he came out of if needing ten stitches to close up cuts over his left eye, on his right cheek, and in his mouth.

Turner came back to win 10 out of 12 contests over the next 12 months, including a revenge win over Dykes on points. His two losses during this time were on points to Joey Giardello and Rocky Castellani.  By now, Turner had moved up to middleweight, a move that meant that he was often giving away weight. Against Giardello he gave away 7 pounds. With hindsight, Turner’s move up to middleweight was not the greatest of ideas, even when he put on extra poundage to weigh close to the middleweight limit, he was never a true middleweight.  If anything, Turner was probably a natural light middleweight by this point in his career. Unfortunately, in the 1950s, no such division existed. With the move up to middleweight every fight became evermore of a war for Turner.

1954 proved to be a turning point for Turner’s career, as he went 4-3.  Being out- pointed and then stopped by Bobby Jones in two fights and then, being knocked out in 3 rounds by Al Andrews. Despite ending the year with two wins, Turner’s days as a genuine top contender was over.

Turner vs. Basilio

However, television and the fans (and indeed the promoters) continued to love Turner, win or lose, he always gave value for money. You could always count on an action- packed (and often bloody) contest when Turner was in the ring. From the mid-1950s onwards, he started being seen more as an opponent, and a fringe contender.

As always, Turner was never matched easy, one wonders what might have happened had he been given a softer run at some point, or even (heaven forbid!) more than a month or two off between fights sometimes. But, this was the 50s when fighters fought, where only the very best and the very well managed, rose to the top.

Turner vs. Giambra

During the last four years of his career Turner’s opposition reads like a whose-who of the top welterweights, where Turner still flirted occasionally, and middleweights of that time. Fighters such as Joe Miceli, Gene Fullmer, Carmen Basilo, Isaac Logart, Johnny Saxton, Yama Bahama, Joey Giambra, Del Flanagan, Vigil Atkins, Vince Martinez, and Ralph Dupas were some of his competition. 

Victories over Fullmer (who would later beat Turner twice on points), Atkins, and Flannigan, would keep Turner upon the fringes of contendership, and he was never an easy opponent for anyone. 

Turner went 13-12-2 in his last 27 contests from 1955 to 1958, and finally retired after losing on points to Del Flanagan, on November 20, 1958. Turner was only 28 years of age, but in true Philadelphia style. He had blazed bright, and burnt out young.

Gil Turner may not have reached the absolute heights and won a world title, but he came close, and gave it his best shot against one of the greatest fighters of his and any other era.  In today’s multi-titled era, a fighter like Turner could more or less count on winning a number of world titles, at different weights. But, Turner fought in an era when the champions were few and just to reach the status of being a contender was enough to prove that you were something special. 

Gil Turner’s final boxing record was 56(34koes)-19-2.

 Copyright © 2015 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com