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

Josh Feldman Wins Debut

Junior middleweight Joshua Feldman beat Mbulelo Aluvhani by unanimous decision in his pro debut at Box Camp Booysens in Johannesburg, South Africa today. The 19 year old southpaw from Cape Town showed a lot of skill.

Before the fight, Colin Nathan, Feldman's trainer, told his young charge, "Remember son, you only have one debut. Go out and enjoy yourself."

Wearing black trunks with a gold Star of David, Josh opened the fight with a big left hand. He then boxed effectively, avoiding Aluvhani's big shots, and landing at range. He slipped the shots well and landed a flashy 1-2 at the end of the first round.

To start the second, Feldman landed two crisp straight lefts. When he lunged inside, Aluvhani landed the counter jab. The 28 year old's only shot at success came when Josh was in close range.

The teenaged debutant showed an array of creative offensive tricks. In the third, he jabbed to the body to set up a clever straight left up top. After connecting with quite a few straight lefts, he then looped it late in the round. In the fourth, Feldman snapped a right hook to the body and then went to the head with the same punch. 

Aluvhani was a strong, tough opponent. He capitalized on Feldman's occasional over eagerness. Overall though, Feldman showed a lot of ability and maturity in his first pro fight.

Josh tired by the end, a common occurrence for boxers making their debut. He also hasn't fought competitively in two years, the last time he competed in the amateurs. Nevertheless, The Jewish Boxing Blog scored the bout 40-36 in his favor.

Nathan, who is also Jewish, said after the fight, "This was a personal one for me." Feldman, who is trainer's first Jewish fighter, won with two scores of 40-36 and one of 39-37.

Josh Feldman Makes Weight

Wainstein, Nathan, and Feldman might sound like a prestigious law firm, but they are key figures in tomorrow's boxing card at Box Camp Booysens in Johannesburg, South Africa. Larry Wainstein runs Boxing.5 Promotions, the promoter of the show. Colin Nathan of No Doubt Management and the Hot Box Gym is the manager and trainer of many of the fighters. And Joshua Feldman will be making his pro debut.

Feldman is a 19 year old southpaw from Cape Town. He told Hayden Jones of SA Boxing Talk that he started his training camp back home this time and came up to Johannesburg for the last two weeks before the fight. That seems to be the plan going forward. "I'm going to base myself in Cape Town mainly, but when I have a fight here, I'll come up a couple weeks before and get some work in," he told Jones.

Feldman got good sparring with pro boxers Almighty Creed Moyo and Owen Benganayi among others. Josh described his training with Colin Nathan at the Hot Box Gym as "amazing."

"The sessions are priceless to be honest," Feldman said.

Josh weighed in at 153.1 pounds for his debut. His opponent, Mbulelo Aluvhani, was a smidge overweight, coming in 0.2 pounds above the 154 junior middleweight limit. He was given time to take off the excess weight although he looked to be in excellent condition.

The card is to be streamed on Vision View TV.