Christian Christensen (boxer)


Christian Kjeld Kristensen known as Christian "Gentleman Chris" Christensen,, was a Danish professional middleweight boxer. His heyday was in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when he won the European middleweight title. Professionally, he had a 20.25% knock-out rate, winning 56 of his 79 professional fights. He was born in Kundby, Holbæk, Zealand, Denmark.

Amateur career

Christensen boxed as a welterweight amateur for AK Falcon, and won the Junior Division of the Danish Amateur Boxing Union championship in 1944. In 1946, he won the silver medal at the DM in the Senior Division, when he lost the final bout to Svend Møller. Then he won the Danish championship in the welterweight in 1947 and 1948.
He participated as a welterweight in the European Cup in 1947, but lost his second match to Charles Humez of France. In 1948, Christensen represented Denmark at the Olympic Games in London. His first and only match was 7 August 1948 at the Empress Hall, Earls Court Exhibition Centre, Kensington. He lost that match to Englishman Max B. Shacklady, and thus his chance at a medal. Other than those, Christensen participated in ten amateur boxing matches, and won nine of them. His last amateur fight was a test match against Ulf Olsen of Norway; Christensen won, but was later stripped of his victory because he had signed his first written professional contract just before the fight.

1948 Olympic results

Below is the record of Christian Christensen, a Danish welterweight boxer who competed at the 1948 London Olympics:

Professional career

Christensen debuted as a professional boxer on 11 February 1949 in Copenhagen, matched against Said Boina. He came away with a victory on points after six rounds. In 1950 he won the Danish professional national championship in the welterweight division on 24 November, in a match against Martin Hansen. In 1952, he won the Danish championship in the middleweight division in a rematch against Martin Hansen. On 24 February 1954, in a match against the Swede Olle Bengtsson in Gothenburg for the Scandinavian middleweight Championship, Christensen was knocked out in the seventh round. In 1954 and 1955 he toured in the United States, where he fought eight matches, winning only three, including defeating former World title challenger Billy Graham, but losing the other five.
But by 1961, Christensen was back in the game, challenging Duilio Loi of Italy for the European Championship in the welterweight division. Duilo Loi won on points over Christensen after 15 rounds. Undeterred, Christensen met Scotsman John "Cowboy" McCormack in K.B. Hallen in Copenhagen on 8 February 1962 for the European middleweight championship. Christensen was knocked down in the fourth round, but began to get up again. Before he could get to his feet and while the referee was still counting, McCormack struck Christensen down again, causing a general uproar, both inside and outside the ring. After the crowd quieted, Christensen was declared the winner on a disqualification. Christensen thus became the third Danish holder of the European championship, Knud Larsen and Jørgen Johansen having come before. Christensen lost the European middleweight championship in his next bout against the Hungarian 3-time Olympic gold medalist László Papp, who won on a technical knockout in the seventh round in Vienna on 16 May 1962.
On 3 February 1963, Christensen was matched against the American Emile Griffith at the Forum in Copenhagen. Griffith was at that time welterweight world champion and according to the Australian Boxing Federation was the world champion in the light-middleweight division as well. Although the match was announced as a world title fight in the light-middleweight division, only Australia recognized it as such, as Griffith was never generally recognized by any major boxing sanctioning organizations as a world Light-Middleweight champion. Griffith was clearly superior, and sent Christensen to the floor in the third round. Christensen took two more rounds before his cornermen throwing in the towel in round five.
During July 1964, at the Forum in Copenhagen, Christensen had a rematch against László Papp for the European Light-Middleweight Championship, but he was knocked out in the fourth round. In his last match as a professional at the age of 38, Christensen tried once again to regain a European Championship, this time as a Light-Middleweight, but he lost to Italy's Bruno Visintin. The fight was stopped after eleven rounds with Visintin gaining the victory on points.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
79LossBruno VisintinKO11 12 Mar 1965K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, DenmarkFor European light-middleweight title
78Win56–18–4Ray PhilippePTS104 Feb 1965K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
77Loss55–18–4Milo SarensTKO3 11 Dec 1964Nidarohallen, Trondheim, Norway
76Win55–17–4Klaus KleinPTS101 Oct 1964K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
75Loss54–17–4László PappKO4 2 Jul 1964Forum, Copenhagen, DenmarkFor European middleweight title
74Win54–16–4Fortunato MancaPTS1027 Feb 1964K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
73Win53–16–4Mauri BäckmanPTS101 Jan 1964K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
72Draw52–16–4Tony SmithPTS1022 Nov 1963K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
71Win52–16–3Stefan RedlPTS104 Oct 1963K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
70Loss51–16–3Emile GriffithTKO9 3 Feb 1963Forum, Copenhagen, DenmarkFor World light-middleweight title;
Recognized by the Austrian Boxing Board of Control
69Win51–15–3Wally SwiftPTS109 Nov 1962K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
68Win50–15–3Leopold PotesilKO5 4 Oct 1962K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
67Loss49–15–3László PappTKO7 16 May 1962Stadthalle, Vienna, AustriaLost European middleweight title
66Win49–14–3John McCormackDQ4 8 Feb 1962K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, DenmarkWon European middleweight title;
McCormack disqualified for hitting Christensen before the referee had ordered "box on"
65Win48–14–3Bob CofieKO7 1 Jan 1962K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
64Win47–14–3George AldridgeDQ9 30 Nov 1961K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
63Win46–14–3Harko KokmeijerKO1 2 Nov 1961K.B. Halleb, Copenhagen, Denmark
62Loss45–14–3Duilio LoiPTS155 Aug 1961Saint-Vincent, Valle d'Aosta, ItalyFor European welterweight title
61Win45–13–3Luigi FurioPTS1028 Feb 1961K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
60Win44–13–3Ahmed SebbaneUD102 Feb 1961K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
59Win43–13–3André DavierPTS1026 Dec 1960K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
58Win42–13–3André MauguinKO8 1 Dec 1960K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
57Win41–13–3Luis FolledoPTS103 Nov 1960K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
56Loss40–13–3Ahmed SebbanePTS106 Oct 1960K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
55Win40–12–3Sauveur ChioccaPTS122 Jun 1960K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
54Win39–12–3Hector ConstanceKO9 7 Feb 1960Forum, Copenhagen, Denmark
53Win38–12–3Helmut MistolPTS1012 Nov 1959K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
52Win37–12–3Emilio MarconiTKO9 1 Oct 1959K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
51Loss36–12–3Fortunato MancaPTS1014 Jul 1959Palazzetto Dello Sport, Cagliari, Italy
50Win36–11–3Gerd MüllerPTS1012 Apr 1959Aalborghallen, Aalborg, Denmark
49Win35–11–3Jack SuberoKO5 5 Mar 1959K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
48Win34–11–3Jacques HerbillonPTS105 Feb 1959K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
47Win33–11–3Theo BaarsPTS104 Jan 1959Aalborghallen, Aalborg, Denmark
46Win32–11–3Gaston MathieuPTS1013 Nov 1958K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
45Loss31–11–3Ted WrightPTS106 Oct 1958Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Italy
44Win31–10–3Ahmed ben HamidaPTS1011 Sep 1958K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
43Win30–10–3Idrissa DionePTS1020 Mar 1958K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
42Win29–10–3Michel FrançoisPTS831 Jan 1958Forum, Copenhagen, Denmark
41Draw28–10–3Toon SchuurmansPTS629 Nov 1957Nordstrandhallen, Oslo, Norway
40Win28–10–2Peter KingPTS87 Nov 1957K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
39Loss27–10–2Tony DiBiaseMD1028 Jan 1957St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
38Loss27–9–2Olle BengtssonTKO7 24 Feb 1956Masshallen, Gothenburg, SwedenFor inaugural Scandinavian middleweight title
37Loss27–8–2Vince MartinezUD1023 Nov 1955Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
36Loss27–7–2Tiger JonesUD1023 Sep 1955Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
35Win27–6–2Gene PoirierTKO6, 3:0029 Aug 1955St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
34Loss26–6–2Danny GiovanelliUD1011 Apr 1955Eastern Park Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
33Loss26–5–2Tony DeMarcoTKO6, 2:1025 Sep 1954Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
32Win26–4–2Johnny LombardoUD1030 Aug 1954Eastern Parkway Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
31Win25–4–2Billy GrahamSD1019 Jul 1954Eastern Parkway Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
30Loss24–4–2Billy LauderdaleMD1022 May 1954Dinner Key Auditorium, Miami, Florida, U.S.
29Win24–3–2Cerra Bachir CherakaPTS1019 Mar 1954K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
28Win23–3–2Jean RuelletPTS108 Jan 1954K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
27Win22–3–2Rafael da SilvaPTS121 Oct 1953K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
26Win21–3–2Emmanuel ClavelKO5 3 Sep 1953K B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
25Loss20–3–2Gustav ScholzTKO10 1 Mar 1953Austellungshalle, Berlin, West Germany
24Win20–2–2Leo StaroschDQ9 16 Jan 9153K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
23Win19–2–2Frits van KempenKO5 13 Nov 1952K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
22Loss18–2–2Jimmy KingPTS1017 Oct 1952K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
21Draw18–1–2Gustav ScholzPTS1018 Sep 1952K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
20Win18–1–1Roger BaourPTS1018 Aug 1952Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark
19Win17–1–1Kid DussartPTS1020 Mar 1950K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
18Win16–1–1Martin HansenPTS108 Feb 1952K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, DenmarkWon inaugural Danish middleweight title
17Win15–1–1Ernie VickersKO5 17 Jan 1952K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
16Win14–1–1Jackie BraddockDQ5 11 Dec 1951Royal Albert Hall, London, EnglandBraddock disqualified for not trying
15Draw13–1–1Carlo MolaPTS105 Oct 1951K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
14Win13–1Bruno MarosteganPTS1016 Mar 1951K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
13Win12–1Milo PasschierKO5 16 Feb 1951K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
12Win11–1Henri HecquardKO5 19 Jan 1951K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
11Win10–1Martin HansenUD824 Nov 1950K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, DenmarkWon vacant Danish welterweight title
10Win9–1Émile ChochonKO5 6 Oct 1950K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
9Win8–1Valère BenedettoPTS831 Mar 1950K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
8Win7–1Remy LeysKO7 17 Feb 1950K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
7Win6–1Maurice OuezmanPTS820 Jan 1950K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
6Loss5–1Yrjö PiitulainenPTS82 Dec 1949K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
5Win5–0Bernard HyvonPTS84 Nov 1949K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
4Win4–0Areski Boina IIPTS87 Oct 1949K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
3Win3–0Aime LombardPTS88 Apr 1949K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
2Win2–0Roger DjabaliKO5 4 Mar 1949K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
1Win1–0Areski Boina IIPTS611 Feb 1949K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Retirement

Christensen published his autobiography, Gentleman Chris, in 1964.
Christensen trained Danish and Norwegian boxers in Oslo and Copenhagen in the 1970s.