Ted "Kid" Lewis

Ted "Kid" Lewis ( born October 28, 1894 in London, † 20 October 1970 ibid.; native Gershon Mendeloff ) was an English boxer.

The Jew Lewis gave his professional debut in 1909 and boxed until 1914 almost exclusively in London. After winning the British championship at 18 years and the European Championship with 19 each at featherweight, he moved to Australia in 1914 and in the United States.

Here he punched in higher classes, light and welterweight and first met his longtime rival Jack Britton, against whom he should take no less than twenty times in the course of his career. He won in 1915 against him the welterweight world title.

He defeated among others, in 1918 the lightweight Benny Leonard Star won, and lost the world title several times. In 1919 he had to leave the title finally, a failed attempt to win the middleweight world title. He then returned to England, in order to secure the 1920 European Championship middleweight title.

In February 1921, he fought for the last time against Britton at the welterweight world championship, but lost on points. In 1922 he failed in a battle for the light heavyweight world title to Georges Carpentier by KO in the first round. Two years later he lost then his European light-welterweight title and ultimately finished his career in 1929.

Lewis is considered the first known boxer who used a mouth guard in the ring.

He worked in his career for Oswald Mosley without knowing that this was an anti-Semite (see link).