Lambertus "Bep" van Klaveren (26 September 1907 – 12 February 1992) was a Dutch
boxer, who won the gold medal in the
featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Boxing
Professional boxing
History
A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, th ...
division at the
1928 Summer Olympics
The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated fro ...
in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
. Van Klaveren remains the only Dutch boxer to have won an Olympic gold medal. His younger brother
Piet competed as a boxer at the
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
.
[
]
Biography
Born in Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...
as Lambertus Steenhorst, he adopted the name of his stepfather Pieter van Klaveren when he was eight. After primary school, he worked as a butcher's assistant and fought in his spare time. He seriously took up boxing aged 16, and around that time changed to a vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetariani ...
diet believing it fits better for a boxer. In 1926 he won the national flyweight title and in 1927–29 the featherweight title. After his Olympic success in 1928, he received a hero’s welcome in his hometown Rotterdam and was presented to the Dutch Queen and her prince consort.[
In 1929 van Klaveren began a long career of professional boxer, which ended in 1956. In 1931 he became European champion in the lightweight division and in 1938 he won the same title in the middleweight division. During his professional tenure, van Klaveren fought on four continents and won fights against ]Ceferino Garcia
Ceferino Montano Garcia (August 26, 1906 – January 1, 1981) was a champion boxer born in Naval, Biliran, Philippines. He holds the most victories ever achieved by a Filipino boxer and is also the only boxer from the Philippines to become world ...
and Kid Azteca
Luis Villanueva Páramo (June 21, 1913 – March 16, 2002) was a Mexican boxer best known as ''Kid Azteca''. Villanueva boxed professionally from 1932 to 1961, making him one of a small number of fighters that fought during four decades. Archie M ...
. He also faced Hall of Famers Young Corbett III and Billy Petrolle
William Michael Petrolle (January 10, 1905 – May 14, 1983) was a world lightweight boxing title contender. Boxing ran in the Petrolle family as his brothers Pete and Frank also shared his occupation. .[
In 1935 van Klaveren married Margarite Olivera, daughter of a banker. He lost much money through her excessive lifestyle and through his boxing manager. Van Klaveren was sentenced for one year for assaulting Olivera. He was released on bail after three months and fled to Rotterdam, leaving behind all his possessions.][
During ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
van Klaveren served overseas with the Dutch army. He then moved to Australia with his second wife, an Australian nurse, and worked there as a sports teacher, dock worker, bouncer, and boxing instructor. He then returned to Rotterdam and retired in 1948, but returned to the ring in 1954 and won 11 out of 12 bouts. He retired for good in 1956 after an unsuccessful attempt to win the European welterweight title.[ The same year he married for the third time, and for several years ran a cigar shop with his wife, though with little success. He continued to train through all his life and did not smoke or drink alcohol. He died in 1992 in his native Rotterdam, aged 84. The same year a memorial statue of van Klaveren was installed in Rotterdam. The annual Bep van Klaveren boxing memorial was launched in 1993, and became the largest boxing competition in the Netherlands.][
]
Gallery
File:Bepvanklaveren1992right.jpg, The statue of Bep van Klaveren in Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...
.
File:Bep van Klaveren (1928).jpg, Bep van Klaveren 1928.
File:Bokswedstrijd Amsterdam Bep van Klaveren (46 jaar) tege Kid Pompeij, Bestanddeelnr 906-2992.jpg, Bep van Klaveren vs Kid Pompeij in Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
, 15 February 1954.
File:Bep van Klaveren (1982).jpg, Bep van Klaveren 1982.
Professional boxing record
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klaveren, Bep Van
1907 births
1992 deaths
Dutch male boxers
Olympic boxers of the Netherlands
Boxers at the 1928 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands
Boxers from Rotterdam
Olympic medalists in boxing
Featherweight boxers
Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics