Georges Carpentier

Common card · No. 344997

Georges Carpentier (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ kaʁpɑ̃tje]; 12 January 1894 – 28 October 1975) was a French boxer, actor and World War I pilot. A precocious pugilist, Carpentier fought in numerous categories. He fought mainly as a light heavyweight and heavyweight in a career lasting from 1908 to 1926. A French professional champion on several occasions, he became the European heavyweight champion before the First World War. A sergeant aviator during the Great War, he was wounded before returning to civilian life. He then discovered rugby union, playing as a winger. On his return to the ring in 1919, "le grand Georges" ("the great Georges" in English) he was celebrated as a symbol of a sporting powerhouse France, via performances in Great Britain and the United States of America. His knockout victory over Battling Levinsky on 12 October 1920 in Jersey City in the United States earned him the title of world champion. A defeat by Jack Dempsey the following year nevertheless strengthened his...

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