Ben Ephraim and Cohen to Speak on Jewish Boxers

Odelia Ben Ephraim and Mike Cohen will be featured speakers at a conference about Jewish boxers at the musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme in Paris, France on June 19. The event will be hosted by Joseph Hirsh.

The discussion will touch on French Jewish boxers, many of whom originated in North Africa. Cohen, a former French kickboxing champion, is the nephew of one such fighter, Bill Jo Cohen. World champions Victor "Young" Perez, Robert Cohen, and Alphonse Halimi have been among the many great Jewish fighters from the region.

Ben Ephraim (5-2) is the French featherweight champion. Her next fight is a title defense on June 7 against Narymane Benloucif. Cohen is now a trainer who guides the career of French amateur champion Benny Nizard, a 1-0 19 year old Jewish fighter.

Ben Ephraim's father David, a longtime boxing coach, created his top 5 Jewish French boxers for The JBB. The top 5 Jewish North African boxers was compiled by Ron Schneck.

Review of The Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame

The Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame
By John DiSanto
Arcadia, 2024

The Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame is not an exclusive club. Started in 1958, the names of fighters with modest and even losing records sit beside those of former world champions. Rather than a reward for an elite career, the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame is a celebration of the breadth of the sport in the state. 

Author John DiSanto's dedication to keeping Pennsylvania boxing history alive as the head of PhillyBoxingHistory, curator of museum exhibits, and chairman of the PBHOF, is inspiring. His third book, The Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame, features fascinating pictures and brief biographies of about half of the many members in the Hall.

DiSanto begins with an illuminating introduction detailing the Hall's journey. From overwhelmingly white and primarily focused on a fighter's popularity, the author has helped guide the PBHOF to a more racially representative and merit-based institution.

The rest of the book is organized into five categories: world champions and International Boxing Hall of Famers, world title challengers, regional and state champs, local heroes, and non-boxers. Within each category, the Hall of Famers are organized alphabetically, which makes the book an accessible reference. The members could have been organized chronologically or by weight class, which would have made for a more cohesive narrative but diminished its value as an easily-useable resource.

Jewish world champions Benny Bass, Battling Levinsky, Harry Lewis, and Mike Rossman, along with IBHOFers Lew Tendler  and promoter Russell Peltz are among the greats that grace the first chapter. World title challenger Danny Kramer makes an appearance. So does local hero Harry Blitman. Harry "Kid" Brown and Benny Kaufman are noted simply in the complete list of members at the end.

The Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame is a terrific representation of the talent that has come out of the Keystone State, particularly the fighting cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The pictures of boxers from long ago- and not so long ago- are captivating. It's well-worth it for fans of Harry Greb, Joe Frazier, and the countless other notable boxers who have plied their trade just north of the Mason-Dixon line.

Kapuler Advances in Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament

In the final qualifier for the 2024 Olympics, Miroslav Kapuler and Yan Zak have made the round of 32 in their respective weight classes.

Junior middleweight Kapuler faces Tiago Muxanga, a 23 year old from Mozambique, on May 28 in the afternoon session (Bangkok, Thailand time). Muxanga has some quality experience in the amateur ranks for a young guy. Kapuler beat Carl Hield 5-0 in the round of 64. Muxanga stopped his opponent in the first round.

Heavyweight Yan Zak next fights on May 30 in the afternoon session. He faces the gigantic Mucahit Ilyas of Turkey who had a bye. Zak beat Malcolm Preston Matthes 4-1. A southpaw, Matthes led with his head costing him two points. Zak suffered a cut by his right eye when Matthes initiated a butt in the second round.