Georges Carpentier French boxer Date of Birth: 12.01.1894 Country: France

1. Biography of Georges Carpentier
2. Encountering François Deschamps
3. Rise to Fame
4. World Champion
5. Later Years and Legacy

Biography of Georges Carpentier

Georges Carpentier, a French boxer and multiple-time European champion, was born on January 12, 1894, in Levin, a small town near the French city of Lens. Coming from a very poor family, his father worked as a miner and often took young Georges with him underground. As he grew older, Georges spent most of his time on the streets with his peers.

Encountering François Deschamps

One day, he stumbled upon a sports club and met François Deschamps, a young man who recognized the potential of the little boy as a future successful boxer. After much persuasion, Georges' parents agreed to let him be raised and trained by Deschamps. Carpentier started "living in the gym and sleeping in boxing gloves," as he later confessed, with Deschamps as his mentor and sole manager. Naturally, this arrangement proved beneficial for his boxing career.

Rise to Fame

Georges Carpentier accomplished something almost unbelievable - at the age of fourteen, he became the professional welterweight champion of France. His success only continued to grow both in the sport and intellectually. In 1911, he became the European middleweight champion, and in 1912, the European light heavyweight champion. In June 1913, Carpentier competed against Billy "Bomber" Wells for the title of European heavyweight champion and emerged victorious. That same year, he had to defend his title twice, against Wells and Englishman Pat O'Keefe.

World Champion

In 1914, Carpentier added the title of world champion in the light heavyweight division to his European title by defeating Ed "Gunboat" Smith. That year, he successfully defended his title against Jack Johnson and Frank Moran. During World War I in 1916, Georges joined the French army and became a pilot (his exploits were known not only in France). After the war, Carpentier had to defend his title once again. In 1920, he lost to Battling Levinsky in the light heavyweight division. He then attempted to win the heavyweight title and was defeated by the famous Jack Dempsey in early July 1921. He did not fight for heavyweight titles anymore.

Later Years and Legacy

In 1924, Georges Carpentier lost the European light heavyweight title in a fight against Jean Tan