André Routis (July 16, 1900 – July 16, 1969) was a French professional boxer. He fought 86 times between 1919 and 1929; winning 54 (12 by knockout), losing 25 and drawing 7. After a victory over Tony Canzoneri he held the Undisputed Featherweight title from 1928 to 1929. Earlier in his career Routis competed as a bantamweight, where he won the French title and fought three times for the EBU title. Before turning professional Routis won the French amateur bantamweight championship in 1918.

Professional career Routis made his professional debut in February 1919 aged eighteen, when he beat Yves Gram by a four-round points decision. Like the majority of his early fights, the contest took place in his hometown of Bordeaux. He fought three times in April of the same year; a victory over Georges Gloria was followed by a draw with Bobby Diamond and his first loss, a ten-round decision against Emile Juliard in Paris. Following this defeat Routis returned to fighting in Bordeaux, remaining undefeated (including two draws) over his next seven bouts. In February 1921 he fought outside France for the first time when he faced Ali Ben Said in Casablanca, Morocco, he won the fight by disqualification. Over the next fourteen months Routis fought eleven times in Morocco, losing twice, including an unsuccessful challenge for Charles Ledoux's EBU bantamweight title. The two boxers fought a rematch in May 1923, for the EBU and French title, with the result the same as the first fight, a fifteen-round decision win for Ledoux. Routis won his first title in January 1924 when he faced Ledoux for a third time. The fight, which Routis won with a twenty-round points victory, was for the French bantamweight title. He remained undefeated for the remainder of 1924 before losing to Johnny Brown in London, and failing in a third attempt at the EBU title, losing a twenty-round decision to Henri Scillie in Brussels. In October Routis lost his French title to Kid Francis in Paris. In 1926 he lost twice to the future world champion Jack Kid Berg, both bouts took place in Berg's hometown of London.

From August 1926 to August 1927 Routis fought exclusively in the United States (9 wins, 5 losses and 1 draw). Now competing as a featherweight, Routis made his American debut against Eddie Anderson at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Routis won the fight with a twelve-round points decision, he beat Anderson twice more during his year in the United States. Included in his 5 losses was a defeat to the future world champion Tony Canzoneri, who beat Routis on points, and a pair of losses to Joe Glick. After his return to France Routis fought another future world champion, Panama Al Brown, this time winning over ten rounds. After a draw against Johnny Cuthbert in Paris, he returned to the United States and won five fights in a row, which led to his first attempt at a world title.

Featherweight world champion In September 1928 Routis challenged Canzoneri for the world featherweight title, the NYSAC and NBA titles were also on the line. The fight took place in front of 10,000 spectators at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The contest started badly for Routis as he was knocked down by a right hook in the first two minutes of the opening round. Routis had to survive a barrage of punches from the champion for the remainder of the round but managed to stay on his feet. Canzoneri continued to outbox Routis over the first half of the fight, resulting in a large lead on the scorecards. The second half of the fight, however, belonged to the challenger, who frequently connected with punches to the head and body that hurt Canzoneri. After fifteen rounds the fight was awarded to Routis via a split decision. Following this victory Routis lost two 10 round non-title fights to Dick Finnegan and Canzoneri. The first defence of his title came in May 1929 when he fought Buster Brown in Baltimore. After winning the first two rounds Brown was knocked down three times in the 3rd, causing the corner to throw in the towel, giving Routis a technical knockout victory. Following the bout Police had to surround the ring to prevent a riot after the crowd took exception to the actions of Brown's corner.

From June to August 1929 Routis lost four fights in a row, all non-title bouts. This was followed, in September, by the 2nd defence of his title, against Battling Battalino in East Hartford. Routis, who was considered to be past his best, was unable to prevent Battalino from dominating the fifteen rounds to become the new champion. Routis fought for a final time in November 1929, losing a 10-round newspaper decision to Davey Abad in St. Louis.

Personal life A veteran of the French Colonial Army, Routis spent two years based in Morocco as a mechanic in the air corps. In July 1969, on the day of his 69th birthday, Routis suffered a heart attack which led to his death.

Professional boxing record All information in this section is derived from BoxRec, unless otherwise stated.

Official record

All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column. ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes88Loss56–24–7 Davey AbadNWS10Nov 5, 192987Loss56–24–7Christopher BattalinoPTS15Sep 23, 192986Loss56–23–7Johnny DattoPTS10Aug 28, 192985Loss56–22–7Al SingerTKO2 (10)Jul 24, 192984Loss56–21–7Jake ZerambyPTS10Jul 8, 192983Loss56–20–7Jackie CohenDQ6 (10)Jun 19, 192982Win56–19–7Buster BrownTKO3 (15)May 27, 192981Loss55–19–7Tony CanzoneriUD10May 10, 192980Loss55–18–7Dick FinneganUD10Nov 17, 192879Win55–17–7Tony CanzoneriSD15Sep 28, 192878Win54–17–7Vic BurronePTS10Jul 25, 192877Win53–17–7Carl DuanePTS10Jul 3, 192876Win52–17–7Sammy DorfmanPTS10May 4, 192875Win51–17–7Ignacio FernandezPTS12Apr 26, 192874Win50–17–7Sammy DorfmanDQ5 (10)Mar 23, 192873Draw49–17–7Johnny CuthbertPTS12Jan 14, 192872Win49–17–6Panama Al BrownPTS10Dec 10, 192771Loss48–17–6Joe GlickPTS10Aug 17, 192770Win48–16–6Joe MalonePTS10Aug 2, 192769Draw47–16–6Emory CabanaPTS10Jun 27, 192768Loss47–16–5Joe GlickPTS10Jun 7, 192767Win47–15–5Tommy CrowleyPTS10May 9, 192766Win46–15–5Carl TremainePTS10Apr 25, 192765Loss45–15–5Joseph SalasDQ2 (10)Apr 1, 192764Loss45–14–5Henry LenardPTS10Mar 17, 192763Win45–13–5Petey MackPTS10Jan 24, 192762Win44–13–5Cowboy Eddie AndersonPTS10Dec 27, 192661Win43–13–5Frankie FinkPTS10Dec 18, 192660Loss42–13–5Tony CanzoneriPTS12Nov 22, 192659Win42–12–5Allentown Johnny LeonardPTS10Oct 25, 192658Win41–12–5Cowboy Eddie AndersonDQ4 (10)Sep 27, 192657Win40–12–5Cowboy Eddie AndersonPTS10Aug 20, 192656Loss39–12–5Jack Kid BergDQ3 (15)Jun 21, 192655Win39–11–5Paul GayPTS12May 18, 192654Loss38–11–5Jack Kid BergPTS15Mar 18, 192653Win38–10–5Gaston CassiniPTS12Mar 2, 192652Loss37–10–5Harry CorbettPTS15Nov 19, 192551Loss37–9–5Kid FrancisPTS15Oct 27, 192550Win37–8–5Pierre CalloirKO4 (10)Sep 12, 192549Win36–8–5Battling van DijkTKO14 (15)Jun 25, 192548Loss35–8–5Johnny BrownDQ5 (15)Apr 30, 192547Win35–7–5Antoine AscencioKO6 (10)Apr 19, 192546Draw34–7–5Edouard MascartPTS15Oct 7, 192445Win34–7–4Henri HébrantPTS15Aug 13, 192444Win33–7–4Edouard MascartDQ4 (10)Apr 29, 192443Win32–7–4Harry LakePTS15Feb 29, 192442Win31–7–4Charles LedouxPTS20Jan 22, 192441Win30–7–4Pierre CalloirPTS12Nov 21, 192340Win29–7–4Pierre CalloirDQ15 (15)Sep 25, 192339Loss28–7–4Pierre DenainSD10Sep 2, 192338Draw28–6–4Pierre CalloirPTS15Jun 23, 192337Loss28–6–3Charles LedouxPTS15May 6, 192336Win28–5–3Eugene JulienPTS12Mar 24, 192335Win27–5–3Emile JuliardDQ3 (12)Feb 3, 192334Win26–5–3Andre DepontKO3 (12)Dec 2, 192233Win25–5–3Johnny ChislettKO9 (20)Nov 13, 192232Win24–5–3Charles MietPTS6Nov 4, 192231Loss23–5–3Michel MontreuilKO2 (10)Oct 7, 192230Win23–4–3Edouard PriePTS4Sep 7, 192229Loss22–4–3Charles LedouxPTS15Jun 18, 192228Win22–3–3Julien CouleaudTKO4 (10)May 5, 192227Win21–3–3Robert DastillonDQ5 (10)Apr 21, 192226Win20–3–3Lucien BlaiseDQ8 (10)Apr 2, 192225Loss19–3–3Julien CouleaudDQ8 (10)Feb 7, 192224Win19–2–3Robert DastillonKO3 (10)Jan 2, 192223Win18–2–3Lucien BlaiseDQ3 (10)Dec 2, 192122Win17–2–3Edoardo PiacentiniPTS10Aug 7, 192121Win16–2–3Andre RebyKO3 (10)Jul 2, 192120Win15–2–3Harry LakePTS10Jun 17, 192119Win14–2–3Eugene HussonDQ6 (10)Jun 3, 192118Win13–2–3Yvon GlaizeKO7 (15)May 4, 192117Win12–2–3Maurice PerezKO3 (?)Mar 8, 192116Win11–2–3Ali ben SaidDQ3 (10)Feb 13, 192115Win10–2–3Robert CorbiauxKO10 (10)Dec 18, 192014Win9–2–3Georges BarklettPTS12Nov 27, 192013Win8–2–3Georges GloriaKO3 (4)Jul 4, 192012Win7–2–3Paul MarignanPTS4Apr 10, 192011Win6–2–3Denis LucianiDQ7 (10)Mar 2, 192010Draw5–2–3Albert BouzonniePTS10Feb 2, 19209Draw5–2–2Emile JuliardPTS12Dec 22, 19198Win5–2–1Andre DorletPTS6Aug 13, 19197Win4–2–1LeboisPTS8Aug 10, 19196Loss3–2–1Emile JuliardPTS10Apr 17, 19195Draw3–1–1Robert DiamantPTS8Apr 7, 19194Win3–1Georges GloriaDQ6 (6)Apr 6, 19193Win2–1EspinaultPTS?Feb 22, 19192Win1–1Yves GramPTS4Feb 2, 19191Loss0–1Harry RoosePTS4Sep 29, 1918

Unofficial record

Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions in the win/loss/draw column.