JOHN HENRY LEWIS w pts 15 LEN HARVEY
November 9, 1936
HARVEY is unlikely to register with many attending this weekend’s event but he was a genuine British great from yesteryear.
As is the case with many boxers operating back then, his record on modern-day website, BoxRec, only tells part of the story.
At the time of his death in 1976, the Reuters news agency reported that Harvey, who boxed in every weight class from flyweight to heavyweight during a 23-year career, had lost just 10 of his 414 bouts.
BoxRec, however, list his stats as 122-14-10 (57).
What is not up for dispute, though, is that Harvey, likely in decline and with a loss to British rival Jack Peterson in his recent past, was simply not good enough to take the 12st 7lbs crown from the outstanding champion, Henry Lewis, of Phoenix, Arizona.
In fact, Harvey – also acting as a promoter for the event – did well to hear the final bell inside Wembley’s Empire Pool (now Wembley Arena).
Alongside his father, Henry Lewis arrived in Southampton in October after travelling to the UK on the SS President Roosevelt, an ocean liner that went out of service following WWII.
The champion injured his eye in training and it flared up again during the fight, but it was never really any concern.
Harvey, who took
