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Harry Lewis (Harry Besterman; September 16, 1886 – February 22, 1956), was an American boxer, generally credited with holding the Welterweight Championship of the World between April 1908 and March 1911 when he relinquished it. He defeated "Young Joseph", the reigning Welterweight Champion of England in London on June 27, 1910, but was not credited with the British Welterweight championship as the fight was sanctioned as a World, and not English title. Boxing writer Nat Fleischer rated Lewis the sixth greatest welterweight of all time. He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008.〔''The Jewish Boxer's Hall of Fame'', Blady, Ken, (1988) Shapolsky Publishers, Inc., New York, NY, pgs. (77-80 )〕 ==Early life and boxing as a feather and lightweight== Lewis was born Harry Besterman in New York city on September 6, 1886. While a young child his family moved to Philadelphia. Lewis's future rival Willie Lewis once told ''Ring Magazine'' that Harry "specialized in knocking out guys who were never knocked out before. Harry was an artist in feinting and countering. His punches only went a few inches, but boy what authority they carried." Lewis was also known for a powerful left hook to the midsection that characterized his early and mid-career.〔 In 1903, at the age of seventeen, Lewis turned professional. His father Jake Besterman helped manage many of his early fights and was an ardent supporter. According to author Ken Blady, he lost only three times in his first fifty professional bouts. Proving his status as a contender, Lewis fought accomplished boxer Tommy Lowe on January 2, 1905 in a fifteen round draw in Philadelphia. He had an important 15 round bout with featherweight Kid Herman on April 28, 1905 in Baltimore which ended in a draw. On May 19, 1905, in only his second year of boxing, he met Benny Yanger, an exceptional featherweight, whom he defeated in a first round TKO at the armory in Baltimore. Three doctors at ringside reported Yanger had broken his arm during the bout. Partly accounting for his legendary reputation, three years earlier in 1902 Yanger had been one of the few boxers to ever defeat Abe Attell during his early reign as featherweight champion.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=11032&cat=boxer&pageID=2 )〕 Moving up from featherweight in 1905, Lewis fought leading lightweight contender Young Erne six times, losing only twice, though drawing the remainder of his fights. He fought Unk Russell twice in October and November 1905, winning decisively in two six round bouts in Philadelphia, and further demonstrating his potential as a serious contender. On June 15, 1906, Lewis took on the great reigning black Lightweight World Champion Joe Gans in Philadelphia at the National Athletic Club. Both boxers connected with serious blows in different rounds, though Gans knocked Lewis down in two rounds. Though the fight was a six round no decision, Lewis was viewed as a far more dangerous competitor having compared favorably with one of history's greatest lightweights. Newspapers split on which boxer had the edge in the fight, but the ''Philadelphia Item'', who were on the scene, called the fight a draw. The ''Police Gazette'' considered the bout the best of Lewis's career. On January 25 of that year he fought Willie Lewis three rounds in New York, losing in the newspaper decision of the ''Boston Globe''. Willie Lewis would become a frequent opponent of Harry by 1908.〔 Lewis knocked out Canadian Mike Ward in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 16, 1906. According to the ''Rock Island Argus'', in the eighth round, Ward was knocked down for the first time and took a count of nine, but got up and continued fighting. Lewis immediately connected with a blow that sent Ward to the canvas for at least five minutes before he could regain consciousness, though he immediately slipped back into a comatose state. Ward died the next day. Lewis claimed that Ward striking the canvas when he fell was largely the cause of his death, and a post-mortem supported his conclusion. Lewis was subsequently charged with manslaughter as a result of Ward's death and was fined $1,000 for engaging in a prize fight. His father and manager Jacob Besterman was fined the same amount for aiding in a prize fight and his trainer Frank O'Brien was fined as well.〔〔"Knockout Fatal", ''Rock Island Argus'', p. 3, Rock Island, Illinois, 16 November 1906.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Harry Lewis (boxer)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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