Georges Carpentier vs Ted "Kid" Lewis (lost radio coverage of boxing match; 1922)

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Georgescarpentiervstedkidlewis19221.jpg

Photo of the match.

Status: Lost

On 11th May 1922, professional boxers Georges Carpentier and Ted "Kid" Lewis competed in a match at the Olympia. It saw Carpentier successfully defend his World Light Heavyweight and EBU Heavyweight Titles by KO in controversial fashion, after taking advantage of a referee decision against Lewis. The bout is historic for being the first boxing match to be broadcast live on British radio.

Background[edit | edit source]

Heading into the bout, Georges Carpentier was the reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion, capturing the belt after beating Battling Levinsky on 12th October 1920.[1][2][3] He was also the inaugural EBU Heavyweight Champion, having won the title on 1st June 1913 by beating Bombardier Billy Wells.[1][2] The Frenchman had a long and illustrious career, having also been part of the first World Heavyweight Championship match to receive live radio coverage, in a losing effort to Jack Dempsey on 2nd July 1921.[4][5][1][2] Meanwhile, Ted "Kid" Lewis was the reigning BBBofC British Light Heavyweight champion after beating Boy McCormick for the belt on 17th November 1921.[6] The Brit had also won the BBBofC British Middleweight and EBU European Middleweight titles.[7][6] At the time of their clash, Carpentier weighed 175 lbs compared to the Kid's 150.[3] Lewis was also one of the first prominent boxers to wear a mouthpiece during fights, doing so since 1913.[8][7][3] This however proved controversial at the time, with Carpentier's camp demanding he remove it for the match.[8]

On the same day as the bout, British radio station 2LO launched.[9][10] Established by the Marconi Company, it was the second regular radio station to be launched in the United Kingdom, after Marconi had established 2MT in Writtle the year before.[9][10] With Marconi having gained a licence to broadcast radio in London, 2LO, under the direction of Arthur Burrows, aimed to air the first live UK radio coverage of a boxing match on its opening day, 11th May.[9][10][4] Previously, the only sports-related broadcast on British radio was on the 1921 Epsom Derby.[11][12] Thus, the Carpentier-Lewis match was chosen as it was set to occur at the Olympia in West London, not far from the transmitter at Marconi House.[13][9][10] Play-by-play commentary was provided by W. Southey, his announcing at ringside relayed via telephone back to Marconi House and transmitted live.[9][10]

The Fight[edit | edit source]

The fight itself, which was hyped up across the UK, proved controversial.[3][7] Despite being 25 lbs lighter, it was actually the Kid who gained the upper hand, landing several blows on Carpentier in the first round.[3] However, Lewis was becoming overly-aggressive to referee Joe Palmer's liking, who held Lewis' shoulders to warn the Brit regarding excessive use of holding.[3] The Kid was momentarily distracted by protesting Palmer's call, allowing Carpentier to land a powerful right hook against his opponent.[3][7] Another right hook to the jaw proved a decisive enough blow for a KO victory, much to the displeasure of the crowd, who made accusations of "foul" during the radio broadcast.[3][7][9] However, Palmer felt the attack was within the rules of boxing, giving the Frenchman the victory after just 2:15 of action.[3][2][6][7][9]

Lewis would later express frustration at how he lost, but remained cordial, stating "I felt cheated, but I didn't bear any grudge".[3] Dempsey, who was present at the Olympia but was busy signing autographs during the fight, noted "It was merely a matter of a game man against a good big man."[7] Carpentier would eventually lose his titles to Battling Siki a bout later on 24th September 1922.[1][2] He continued boxing until retiring in 1926.[1][2] Meanwhile, Lewis captured and held three simultaneous Welterweight titles, including the BBBofC, Commonwealth Boxing Council, and EBU European titles, on two separate occasions.[6][7] He would eventually retire in 1929, and has since been declared one of Britain's best ever boxers.[7][6] Elsewhere, Marconi followed up its sports coverage with a feature on the Boat Race, but it and other radio station operators would become restricted to just providing sports reports for several years, following pressure from the print media.[11][12][4][13][9] It would not be until 1927, when the BBC, which also incorporated 2MT and 2LO later in 1922, started regular live radio broadcasts of sporting events by covering the England-Wales rugby match on 15th January 1927.[12][11][9][4]

Availability[edit | edit source]

Ultimately, the radio broadcast occurred during a time period where recordings were virtually non-existent.[14][15][16][17] Acetate or lacquer discs could be used to record sound, but their general impracticality made recordings of outside sports broadcasts few and far between.[14] Among those claimed to be the earliest surviving recordings includes a President Warren Harding speech on 24th May 1922, with the National Archives deeming Woodrow Wilson's Armistice Day Speech in 1923 as the first surviving regular airing.[16][17][15] However, it is also noted that no radio recordings alleged to have occurred between 1920-1922 have been verified.[15] Thus, the Carpentier-Lewis radio broadcast is most likely permanently lost.[15] Nevertheless, a film of the entire match is widely available.

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Video[edit | edit source]

Film of the bout.


See Also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 International Boxing Hall of Fame page on Carpentier. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 BoxRec detailing Carpentier's fights.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Yahoo! News summarising the fight and its British radio significance. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Talking of Sport: The Story of Radio Commentary summarising early sports commentaries, including noting that print media tried to limit radio's influence early on. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
  5. ↑ The Guardian detailing the Dempsey-Carpentier fight, the first World Heavyweight Championship match to receive live radio coverage. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 BoxRec detailing Lewis' fights. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 British Boxers profile on "Kid" Lewis. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Boxing's Most Wanted noting Lewis' usage of a mouthpiece and the objections from Carpentier's camp. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 Radio Broadcasting detailing the early history of Marconi radio stations like 2MT and 2LO, and how it provided live radio coverage of the match. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Marconi summarising the launch of 2LO and its broadcast of the fight. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 International Radio Journalism noting the prior 1921 Epsom Derby broadcast, the match airing, and print media preventing further live sports coverage for five years. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Encyclopedia of Radio detailing the BBC's first radio sports broadcasts, as well as earlier British airings. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 London summarising the radio broadcast, and noting other early sports events coverage like the Boat Race. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Ngā Taonga noting most early-1920s airings were never recorded. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Old-Time detailing the oldest surviving radio broadcasts and noting no authenticated examples exist between 1920-1922. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Benjamin S. Beck detailing various examples claiming to be the earliest surviving radio broadcast. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 National Archives stating the oldest surviving radio broadcast is Woodrow Wilson's Armistice Day Speech from 1923. Retrieved 20th Dec '22
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