By Peter Silkov
Willie Lewis was the kind of boxer
who died out with boxing’s golden age. He belonged to a time when
fighters thought nothing of fighting every other week, and when the
opponents were plentiful to do just that. It was a time when there
were often boxing shows to be found in some club or other venue every
day of the week, and only the toughest and hardest working survived
what was often a hard and cruel occupation.
In an interview with
'The Ring' magazine in 1947, over 30 years after he had retired, Lewis
compared the fighters of 1947 with his those of own era.
“Boxing was a tough
and hard-bitten business in those days, and a fighter had to know his
trade if he expected to get anywhere. He had to learn what boxing
really was, and he also had to know how to adjust his style to any
occasion. One week he’d be fighting a 6 rounder in Philadelphia. A
couple of weeks later he’s be in a marathon brawl in California,
where twenty and twenty-five rounders were the usual thing, and often
championship bouts were over the forty–five round route.”
Lewis continued “It
was a tough schooling, but it paid dividends for those who survived.
Under the same circumstances, the kids today would be as good as they
were in my day. But times are different. This is an era of speed.
Everybody’s in a hurry. So the fighters don’t get much of a
chance to properly learn boxing, how to feint, shift, counter, and
really master the trade. The public demands ‘action’ the
slam-bang and give-and-take stuff. And its only on rare occasions,
in championship bouts, that fighters today are asked to go more than
10 rounds."
Willie
Lewis was born on May 21, 1884, in New York, and began his
professional boxing career in 1901, at the age of 17. Lewis would
develop into a clever and cagey boxer who could also slug it out when
he wanted. Although no more than a middleweight, he often fought
bigger men throughout his career, thinking nothing of giving away 20
or more pounds to light heavyweights, and even heavyweights.
Lewis
certainly didn’t have an easy road in his fighting career, as he
fought quality fighters right from the start. In just his 13th
contest, Lewis shared the ring with a young Sam Langford, and was
knocked out in the 2nd
round.
For
the remainder of his career, Lewis would meet some of the very
fighters of his generation. Men such as, Harry Lewis, Jimmy Gardner,
Joe Gans, Honey Melody, Mike Donovon, Curly Watson, Jewey Smith,
Sailor Burke, Billy Papke, Stanley Ketchel, Dixie Kid, Frank Klaus,
Cyclone Johnny Thompson, Jeff Smith, Mike Gibbons, Paddy Lavin,
Georges Carpentier, Al McCoy, and Young Ahearn.
In an
era where many white fighters drew the ‘colour bar’ when it
suited them Lewis fought anyone, regardless of weight, colour or
reputation.
Lewis
was to become renowned for his use of the one-two, a straight left,
followed very quickly by a straight right, so that the two punches
landed almost simultaneously. Many of Lewis’ knockout victims
where accounted for by this method.
During
his career Lewis fought all over America, but also traveled to
England, Canada and France for fights. He fought in France for the
first time in 1908, and soon because a favourite with the French
fans, due to his personality and style, both in and out of the ring.
Lewis was one of the boxers who helped the boxing boom grow in France
during this time.
Years
after he had retired from the sport, Lewis was asked who was the
best boxer he had ever fought, chose his namesake Harry Lewis.
“No
we weren’t related. Harry was Jewish, and one of the most skilled
mechanics I ve ever seen in the ring. What he didn’t know about
boxing wasn’t worth knowing. Just look over his record some day ,
and you’re get an idea. He specialized in knocking out guys who
never were knocked out before. Harry was an artist in feinting and
countering. His punches only went a few inches, but, boy, what
authority they carried. Frankly I don’t know how I did as well as
I did with him. He usually belted my ears off in the early rounds,
but somehow I seemed to outlast him and finish the stronger. We
fought half a dozen times, but never could seem to settle our
differences. Two of our scraps over the 25-round route in Paris."
The
two fights Willie is recalling here are his two battles with Harry
Lewis for the World welterweight title, which his namesake had
claimed. They took place on February 19, 1910, then two months later
on April 21, both in Paris over 25 rounds. Each fight saw Harry
Lewis have the early lead, but Willie whittled his advantage down,
the longer that the fight went on. In the end, both fights were
judged draws. Willie Lewis would never manage to capture a world
title, but he came awfully close.
Lewis
finally retired from boxing in 1915, after being knocked out in 2
rounds by Young Ahearn in Havana, Cuba. He retired with a final
record of (56-16-8, 39koes.)
In
1920, Lewis survived being shot 3 times while making a phone call at
a cabaret, which he owned. Throughout his career, he trained Joe
Jeanette, and other boxers along the way. In later years Lewis worked
as a bar tender at a tavern on 8th
avenue New York, just a little walk from Madison Square Garden.
Willie Lewis died on May 18, 1949, aged 64.
