The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-01-29
GEORGES CARPENTER RISES FROM
 BANTARA TO HEAVYWEIGHT
French Champion, Possible Willard Opponent, Start ed Ring Career When 14 Years Old-First Contest Went Is Rounds.

In London on July 16, 1914, Georges Carpenter, won a ring vlc- tory over Gunboat Smith, and when the news of the triumph reached . France, Carpenters native land, the French boxing enthusiasts were quick . to acclaim him the best man France . had ever produced in pugilism. Car pentier, called the greatest ever, was Eince he entered the roped arena, the . Idol of the French boxing fans. The . French boxer was contemplating an . invasion of the United States which . would have netted him many thou | sands of dollars, but suddenly. like a sharp clap of thunder from an un- marred sky came Germany's declara- l. ton of hostilities, and swept the most picturesque pugilist of all history into the tangled net of war. His sue cess as a boxer made him rich, and in LOndan when he received the pa pers summoning him to the colors he was to be seen in a frock coat and l top hat groomed 70 the minute. Yet, | from appearance none would suspect that he was about to give up the lux | uries of life to use a shovel and a, rifle in a muddy trench, to bleed and starve that the sacred soil of his native land might be forever free from the in vader's footsteps. The pet of Paris, as he might be called, went and fought as a private through it all, and now, with those who in 1914 would have ruled the world conquered the French boxer is about to renew his profession a bigger hero than ever.
 Carpenter was horn n Lens, that famous mining region in northern France, on January 12, 1894, and when a boy of 12 he had left school to work in a mine. He was athletic ally inclined, and working under ground did not appeal to him. 4 year later he quit and joined q Paris gym nasium, where he could take part in glove contests. While boxing in this gymnasium he was discovered by Prof. Deschamps the most noted trainer of boxers in France. Deschamps saw in the youngster great possibilities, and he took him under his care. Carpen- tier, enthusiastic about the sport, was quick to learn and iu 1908, when he was only IA years old, the age at which most boys throughout the world are to be found amid boys, he took part in his first ring engagement He was then Q bantam wegiht and met Salmon, considered one of England's most clever boxers The contest lasted IS rounds, and Carpenter was re- turned the winner.
 The following year was indeed an eventful one in his career. He con- tinued meeting bantam weights with great success. One night he was called upon to meet q Frenchman named Gloria. After battling several rounds T,, Pay- boxer to acknowledge his opponents superiority is not a disgrace, so Georges record was not blurred by his action. All France was talking about the youthful boxer when unex- pectedly the police decided that he was too young and was being over worked and ordered him to stop box ing So great was the peoples pro test against the order the police soon relented and Carpenter continued.
 In 1910 Carpenter entered the light weight class and boxed several for midable men, and among his bouts was a twenty round battle with Paul I'll. It resulted in a draw. In the following year the Frenchman became a welterweight. His first contest in this class was against boxer named Crochet, who was knocked out by the young sensation in seven rounds. Among others he defeated in that year were Young Joseph, champion of Eng land; Harry Lewis, American welter- weight champion; Jim Sullivan, Eng land middleweight title holder, and George Gunthier. He lost a sixteen round battle with a Frenchman named Eustache.
 He won his first six-rtng engage ments in 1912. His first defeat of the year was at the hands of Frank Klaus, 'the PIttsburg Bearcat" Klaus, a slugger with year. more experience, proved to be too much for Carpenter, who was then IS years old. However, the Frenchman lasted until the nine teenth round when he lost on foul. In the same year Billy Papke defeated him in 8 seventeen round bout in Paris In the following year the Frenchman met Bombardfer Wells, the English heavyweight in two bat ties and on each occasion the idol ot France was returned the winner. knocking out his opponet both times Before he joined the colOrs in 1914 he knocked out George Mitchell and won on fouls from Gunboat Smith and Kid Jackson. Joe Jeannette out pointed him in a fifteen round battle
 Carpenters success in the ring has 'netted him a fortune. Working in the mines when twelve years old he earned about 10 cents a day, but the first year in the ring he earned $1S4, and the amount has steadily climbed skyward. In 1913 his last complete year in the ring, the total amount of his share fol the glove contests he took part in wal ;44.oo0