Ted "Kid" Lewis

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Ted "Kid" Lewis, born Gershon Mendeloff on 28 October 1894 in London's East End, was an English-Jewish boxer who became a two-time World Welterweight Champion. He died on 20 October 1970 in London at age 75.

Lewis began boxing as a teenager after a police officer saw him in a street fight. He turned professional in 1909 and quickly rose through the weights, winning the British featherweight title in 1913 and the European featherweight title in 1914. In 1915 he went to the United States, where he shocked many by defeating the reigning welterweight champion, Jack Britton, in New York to win the world title. He became the first English boxer to win a world title in the United States, at around 21 or 22 years old.

His rivalry with Britton is one of boxing’s great feuds. From 1915 to 1921, Lewis and Britton fought 20 times, totaling many rounds and a mix of wins, losses, and draws. Lewis held the world welterweight title on and off during this period, losing it to Britton in 1916, reclaiming it in 1917, and finally losing it again in 1919.

In 1920 Lewis won the British and European welterweight titles, though he relinquished the British title later that year because the weight was hard to make. He returned to the ring for more title shots, including a famous 1922 bout against Georges Carpentier in London, which he lost by knockout after a strong start.

That same year he moved up to middleweight and won the British and European middleweight titles, though he lost them in a dramatic rematch in 1923. In 1924 he won back the British and European welterweight crowns by defeating Johnny Brown, but lost them later that year to Tommy Milligan. Lewis continued boxing until 1929, retiring after nearly 300 fights.

Beyond the ring, Lewis enjoyed fame in Britain and abroad. He married his wife Elsie and became friends with Charlie Chaplin, who acted as godfather to his son Morton. He tried acting in boxing-themed films and later worked in various roles, including as a trainer, manager, and even a brief political run.

Lewis’s legacy endures in boxing history. He is honored in the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He is remembered as one of the sport’s great welterweights and as a pioneer for English boxers competing for world titles in the United States. An English Heritage blue plaque was placed at Nightingale House in 2003 to mark his longtime home.