Eugène Criqui
| Eugène Criqui | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Eugène Criqui |
| Rated at | Featherweight |
| Nationality |
 French |
| Born |
August 15, 1893 Paris, France |
| Died |
July 7, 1977 (aged 83) Noisy-le-Grand, France |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 130 |
| Wins | 98 |
| Wins by KO | 53 |
| Losses | 17 |
| Draws | 14 |
| No contests | 0 |
Eugène Criqui (August 15, 1893 – July 7, 1977) was a French boxer who held the world featherweight title in 1923. After his death, he was added to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Boxing career
Early career and military service
Criqui was born in the Belleville neighbourhood of Paris. He was a professional pipe-fitter before he turned professional in 1910. He won the French flyweight title in 1912. His boxing career was interrupted when he served in the French military in World War I. While doing guard duty at Verdun, his jaw was shattered by a sniper's bullet. A surgeon reconstructed the jaw using wire, silver, and a goat leg.[1]
World featherweight champion
After the war he resumed boxing. He won the French featherweight title in 1921 and the next year won the European Boxing Union featherweight championship. On June 2, 1923, he beat Johnny Kilbane by a sixth-round knockout in New York City to win the world featherweight title. Part of the contract for this fight required that he give Johnny Dundee a shot at the title within sixty days. When he fought Dundee fifty-four days later (on July 26, 1923), Dundee knocked him down four times and beat him by a fifteen-round decision. In his next fight, Criqui injured his hand and did not fight many more fights before he retired in 1928.[2]
Death
He died blind in a nursing home in 1977.[2] He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005, making him the second inductee from France after Marcel Cerdan.
Notable Bouts
| Result | Opponent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes[3] |
| Loss |  Panama Al Brown |
PTS | 10 | 1927-04-02 | Velodrome d'Hiver, Paris |
|
| Loss |  Johnny Dundee |
PTS | 15 | 1923-07-26 | Polo Grounds, New York, New York |
Lost World Featherweight Title |
| Win | Johnny Kilbane |
TKO | 6 (15) | 1923-06-02 | Polo Grounds, New York, New York |
Won World Featherweight Title |
| Win | Charles Ledoux |
KO | 1 (15) | 1922-02-04 | Paris |
|
| Loss | Memphis Pal Moore |
TKO | 14 (15) | 1919-12-26 |  Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London |
|
| Loss | Charles Ledoux |
TKO | 12 (20) | 1914-07-10 | Premierland, Paris |
|
| Loss |  Percy Jones |
PTS | 20 | 1914-03-26 | Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside |
|
| Win | Percy Jones |
PTS | 15 | 1914-02-12 | Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside |
|
| Loss | Sid Smith |
UD | 20 | 1913-04-11 | Premierland, Paris |
|
References
- ↑ Stradley, Don (June 2005), "Marcel Thil & Eugène Criqui: Two Forgotten Frenchmen Immortalized at Last", The Ring, 84, no. 5: 74–75
- 1 2 Stradley, Don (June 2005), The Ring: 75 Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Eugène Criqui's Professional Boxing Record. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2014-05-18.
External links
- Professional boxing record for Eugène Criqui from BoxRec
- International Boxing Hall of Fame Biography
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Johnny Kilbane |
World Featherweight Champion June 2, 1923 – July 26, 1923 |
Succeeded by Johnny Dundee |