Top 5 Jewish Bareknuckle Boxers

Roberto Nigro's Top 5 Jewish Bareknuckle Boxers

Roberto Nigro is one of the foremost experts on Jewish boxers of the bareknuckle era. In addition to his years of research and talks on Jewish boxers in London's East End and the famed duel between Daniel Mendoza and Richard Humphreys, Nigro's MRes thesis was on Pugilism: Nationalism, Heroism and Masculinity in the Long Eighteenth Century. He also contributed to the oral history project Mendoza Mania, which recounts the life and legacy of Daniel Mendoza.

This fantastic list focuses mainly on the Georgian and Victorian periods.

1. Daniel Mendoza

2. Dutch Sam

3. Young Dutch Sam

4. Abraham Belasco

5. Barney Aaron

Other Top 5s
Jewish Boxers since 1960
Jewish South African Boxers
Jewish Londoner Boxers
Jewish Dutch Boxers
Jewish French Boxers
Jewish Female Boxers
Jewish Israeli Boxers
Jewish British Boxers
Jewish Canadian Boxers
Jewish North African Boxers

Mike Silver's Top 5 Jewish Boxers since 1960

Mike Silver's Top 5 Jewish Boxers since 1960

Mike Silver is perhaps the most knowledgeable person on the planet about Jewish boxing history. His book Stars in the Ring: Jewish Champions in the Golden Age of Boxing is one of the seminal works on the subject. He curated the exhibit "Sting Like A Maccabee: The Golden Age of the American Jewish-Boxer" at The National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, and co-curated the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival's centerpiece program, "Jews, Boxing & Hollywood." His other two books The Arc of Boxing: The Rise and Decline of the Sweet Science and The Night the Referee Hit Back: Memorable Moments from the World of Boxing are both extremely well-regarded as well. Silver has also written for The Ring, the New York Times, and Boxing Monthly among many other publications.

This terrific list covers the period of Mike Silver's interest in boxing. For an in depth profile of this great historian, see "The Lasting Legacy of Boxing Historian Mike Silver."

1. Alphonse Halimi

2. Mike Rossman
3. Saoul Mamby
4. Fabrice Benichou
5. Felix Brami

Honorable mentions: Nessim Max Cohen, Gary Jacobs, Yuri Foreman, David Oved, Dmitriy Salita, Sauveur Benamou.



Other Top 5s
Jewish Bareknuckle Boxers
Jewish South African Boxers
Jewish Londoner Boxers
Jewish Dutch Boxers
Jewish French Boxers
Jewish Female Boxers
Jewish Israeli Boxers
Jewish British Boxers
Jewish Canadian Boxers
Jewish North African Boxers

Top 5 Jewish South African Boxers

Andre de Vries's Top 5 Jewish South African Boxers

A legend in the sport, Andre de Vries is perhaps the most knowledgeable person on Earth about South African boxing.  He has done almost everything in boxing, working as a historian, journalist, commentator, record keeper, collector, and for Boxing South Africa in various capacities, to name just a few of his contributions.

Mr. de Vries mentioned that he doesn't keep stats based on race or religion, but he was very gracious to compile this enlightening list for The Jewish Boxing Blog. Note Tiger Burns was also known as Dan Levine.

1. Dave Katzen
2. Alf James
3. Leonard Friedman
4. Oscar Jacobsohn
5. Tiger Burns



Other Top 5s
Jewish Bareknuckle Boxers
Jewish Boxers since 1960
Jewish Londoner Boxers
Jewish Dutch Boxers
Jewish French Boxers
Jewish Female Boxers
Jewish Israeli Boxers
Jewish British Boxers
Jewish Canadian Boxers
Jewish North African Boxers

Top 5 Jewish Boxers from London

Jeff Jones's Top 5 Jewish Boxers from London

Jeff Jones is the author of two books: East End Born and Bled: The Remarkable Story of London Boxing and Stars and Scars: The Story of Jewish Boxing in London. Both are must-reads for boxing fans who want to understand one of the most significant cities in the sport's history. The Jewish Boxing Blog's review of Stars and Scars can be found here. Jones has also written a profile on Ted "Kid" Lewis which is forthcoming and will be linked here when it becomes available.

A note about this talent-packed list: It only includes boxers who were born and grew up in London. Otherwise, Roman Greenberg would have deserved consideration. Jones explains, "His light burned bright but not for long. At his best a great fighter."

1. Ted "Kid" Lewis
2. Johnny Brown
3. Jack "Kid" Berg
4. Harry Mizler
5. Matt Wells



Other Top 5s
Jewish Bareknuckle Boxers
Jewish Boxers since 1960
Jewish South African Boxers
Jewish Dutch Boxers
Jewish French Boxers
Jewish Female Boxers
Jewish Israeli Boxers
Jewish British Boxers
Jewish Canadian Boxers
Jewish North African Boxers

Top 5 Jewish Dutch Boxers

 Erik Brouwer's Top 5 Jewish Dutch Boxers

An award-winning writer and journalist, Erik Brouwer has written for a plethora of Dutch publications. The author of nine books, his latest is called The Fighter of Auschwitz about the great Jewish boxer Leen Sanders, a Holocaust survivor who was forced to fight other inmates at Auschwitz. It's truly an incredible book that beautifully sets the Dutch boxing scene of the era (The JBB's full review can be found here.)

This terrific list includes both amateur and professional achievements. It should also be noted that Sam Kingley was born Samuel Glasoog.

1. Leen Sanders
2. Ben Bril
3. Sam Kingsley
4. Barry Groenteman
5. Isaac Brander


Other Top 5s
Jewish Bareknuckle Boxers
Jewish Boxers since 1960
Jewish South African Boxers
Jewish Londoner Boxers
Jewish French Boxers
Jewish Female Boxers
Jewish Israeli Boxers
Jewish British Boxers
Jewish Canadian Boxers
Jewish North African Boxers

Top 5 Jewish French Boxers

David Ben Ephraim's Top 5 Jewish French Boxers

David Ben Ephraim runs the Boxing Club Rosh Haayin in Rosh Ha'Ayin, Israel and has worked as a boxing commentator. A former amateur boxer, Ben Ephraim served as a trainer at the Blagnac Boxing Club in Toulouse, France for nearly twenty years. The renowned club was home to many champions including junior featherweight world champion Mahyar Monshipour and European middleweight champion Pierre Joly, just to name a couple. David has also brought up decorated amateur and current pro prospect Odelia Ben Ephraim.

In addition to providing this terrific list, Ben Ephraim wanted to acknowledge several Jewish French trainers: Patrick Bahamed-Athlan, Franck Attia, Thierry Chiche, and the legendary Roger Bensaïd.

1. Alphonse Halimi

2. Fabrice Benichou

3. Robert Cohen

4. Maurice Holtzer

5. Stephane Haccoun

Other Top 5s
Jewish Bareknuckle Boxers
Jewish Boxers since 1960
Jewish South African Boxers
Jewish Londoner Boxers
Jewish Dutch Boxers
Jewish Female Boxers
Jewish Israeli Boxers
Jewish British Boxers
Jewish Canadian Boxers
Jewish North African Boxers

Top 5 Jewish Female Boxers

Malissa Smith's Top 5 Jewish Female Boxers

Malissa Smith is the author of A History Of Women’s Boxing, the first comprehensive narrative of the sport The Ring magazine dubbed "The Bible of Women's Boxing." Smith speaks and writes frequently about the sport and with her two co-hosts, developed the popular WAAR Room podcast focused on sports justice. Smith maintains positions in boxing as a founding board member of the IWBHF, an elector for the IBHOF, and as a member of the The Ring’s women’s ratings panel. Maintaining her own wellness, she trains at the world-renowned Gleason’s Gym and writes pieces for her blog, Girlboxing.

It should be noted this incredible list is in chronological order. Smith, who is the preeminent chronicler of women's boxing, also wanted to mention the legendary boxing manager, Jackie Kallen.

1. "The Jewess of Wentworth Street"
2. Jill "The Zion Lion" Matthews
3. Sarah Deming
4. Hagar Shmoulefeld Finer
5. Carolina Raquel "La Turca" Duer



Other Top 5s
Jewish Bareknuckle Boxers
Jewish Boxers since 1960
Jewish South African Boxers
Jewish Londoner Boxers
Jewish Dutch Boxers
Jewish French Boxers
Jewish Israeli Boxers
Jewish British Boxers
Jewish Canadian Boxers
Jewish North African Boxers

Top 5 Jewish Israeli Boxers

Evgheni Boico's Top 5 Jewish Israeli Boxers

Evgheni Boico is a boxing coach based in Ashdod, Israel and a promoter, first with B&B Promotions and now heading both Arena Boxing Israel and Arena Boxing Moldova. Boico has been instrumental in bringing professional boxing back to Israel. He's not only at the forefront of boxing's recent revival in Israel, but he's also extremely knowledgeable about the history of prizefighting in the country. Evgheni has been very gracious in sharing his boxing expertise with The Jewish Boxing Blog over the years.

Boico notes that #5 on this great list, Motzi Spakow (a.k.a Moți Spakov), fought in British Palestine in 1937 and then had five or six bouts in Israel after independence, none of which are listed on BoxRec at this time. Boico describes him as "the first pro boxer of Israel."

1. Yuri Foreman
2. Hagar Finer
3. David Oved
4. Ran Nakash
5. Motzi Spakow



Other Top 5s
Jewish North African Boxers
Jewish Canadian Boxers
Jewish British Boxers
Jewish Female Boxers
Jewish French Boxers
Jewish Dutch Boxers
Jewish Londoner Boxers
Jewish South African Boxers
Jewish Boxers since 1960
Jewish Bareknuckle Boxers

Top 5 Jewish British Boxers

Tony Milch's Top 5 Jewish British Boxers

Tony Milch is a former pro boxer from Edgware, England. Fighting professionally from 2013-2018, he amassed a record of 14-2. Tony now runs Gloves and Doves, an admirable initiative that promotes peace in the Middle East through boxing and aims to develop the sport in Israel. The next Gloves and Doves event is scheduled for March 23 in London, England. For more on Gloves and Doves, visit its website and follow on Instagram.

Tony has shared his immense boxing knowledge with The Jewish Boxing Blog on countless occasions over the years. This great list only focuses on boxers who used gloves in the ring, and thus bareknuckle boxers such as Daniel Mendoza aren't included.

1. Ted "Kid" Lewis
2. Jack "Kid " Berg
3. Al Phillips
4. Harry Mizler
5. Gary Jacobs



Other Top 5s
Jewish North African Boxers
Jewish Canadian Boxers
Jewish Israeli Boxers
Jewish Female Boxers
Jewish French Boxers
Jewish Dutch Boxers
Jewish Londoner Boxers
Jewish South African Boxers
Jewish Boxers since 1960
Jewish Bareknuckle Boxers

Top 5 Jewish Canadian Boxers

Jamie Rebner's Top 5 Jewish Canadian Boxers

Jamie Rebner is a fantastic writer whose work has been featured in The Ring, Ringside Seat, Fight City, and Queensberry Rules. A member of the BWAA and IBRO, he recently started a highly recommended Substack called Fight Fundamental. It's extremely interesting- and free- so check it out and sign up. Jamie writes about a variety of topics relating to combat sports, including Canadian boxing history, Jewish boxing history, and, of course, Jewish Canadian boxing history. His profiles of Abe Attell, Maxie Berger, Joe Choynski, Maxie Rosenbloom, and his review of Harry Haft's biography are all riveting portrayals of these great Jewish boxers.

This well-considered list takes into account the boxers' amateur and professional careers.

1. Maxie Berger
2. Al Foreman
3. Sammy Luftspring
4. Harry Hurst
5. Norman "Baby" Yack



Other Top 5s
Jewish North African Boxers
Jewish British Boxers
Jewish Israeli Boxers
Jewish Female Boxers
Jewish French Boxers
Jewish Dutch Boxers
Jewish Londoner Boxers
Jewish South African Boxers
Jewish Boxers since 1960
Jewish Bareknuckle Boxers

Top 5 Jewish North African Boxers

Ron Schneck's Top 5 Jewish North African Boxers

Ron Schneck has made invaluable contributions to the field of Jewish boxing history. An expert on the subject, there is likely no one alive who knows more about Jewish boxers from North Africa. Over the years, he has been very generous in sharing his knowledge with The Jewish Boxing Blog.

Ron acknowledges there are many great boxers who were considered for this list, which he was asked to limit only to Jewish boxers from North Africa. Boxers with North African heritage but who were born and raised in Europe such as Fabrice Benachou and Stephane Haccoun were not eligible. Even so, it's a very strong list.

1. Robert Cohen
2. Alphonse Halimi
3. Victor "Young" Perez
4. Felix Brami
T5. Nessin Max Cohen
T5. Emile Chemama



Other Top 5s
Jewish Canadian Boxers
Jewish British Boxers
Jewish Israeli Boxers
Jewish Female Boxers
Jewish French Boxers
Jewish Dutch Boxers
Jewish Londoner Boxers
Jewish South African Boxers
Jewish Boxers since 1960
Jewish Bareknuckle Boxers