Lambertus "Bep" van Klaveren (26 September 1907 – 12 February 1992) was a Dutch boxer, who won the gold medal in the featherweight division at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. 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.

Biography Born in Rotterdam 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 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 and Kid Azteca. He also faced Hall of Famers Young Corbett III and Billy Petrolle.

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 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

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateAgeLocationNotes110Loss Werner HandtkeTKO5 (10)Mar 19, 1956109Loss80–20–9 Idrissa DionePTS15Nov 28, 1955108Win80–19–9 Horst GarzPTS10Sep 26, 1955107Win79–19–9 Freddi TeichmannPTS10May 16, 1955106Win78–19–9 Emil KochPTS10Mar 21, 1955105Win77–19–9 Rafael da SilvaPTS10Jan 17, 1955104Win76–19–9 Terry RatcliffeTKO8 (10)Nov 1, 1954103Win75–19–9 Jimmy LyggettPTS10Oct 4, 1954102Loss74–19–9 Terry RatcliffeTKO4 (10)Sep 6, 1954101Win74–18–9 Herbert GlaserKO2 (10)Jun 21, 1954100Win73–18–9 Santos MartinsPTS10May 21, 195499Win72–18–9 Alois DewulfPTS10Apr 15, 195498Win71–18–9 Kit PompeyPTS10Feb 15, 195497Win70–18–9 Tino PierluigiPTS8Jan 7, 195496Win69–18–9 Francois BlanchardTD6 (10)Nov 30, 194895Win68–18–9 Jean WanesPTS10Nov 16, 194894Win67–18–9 Albert HeyenTKO1 (10)Nov 2, 194893Win66–18–9 Hans NorbertKO3 (10)Jul 28, 194892Win65–18–9 Harry BosTKO5 (10)Jul 15, 194891Win64–18–9 Harry BosTKO4 (10)Jun 22, 194890Loss63–18–9 Luc van DamPTS15May 15, 194889Win63–17–9 Leon FouquetPTS10Apr 21, 194888Win62–17–9 Des JonesPTS10Apr 6, 194887Loss61–17–9 Luc van DamTD9 (12)Sep 5, 194786Win61–16–9 Luc van DamTD5 (15)Aug 10, 194785Win60–16–9 George PosnoTKO5 (10)May 13, 194784Win59–16–9 Jan SchoenKO4 (10)Apr 15, 194783Draw58–16–9 Paul AltmanPTS6Sep 15, 194282Win58–16–8 Mickey DanielsPTS10Sep 19, 194181Loss57–16–8 Milt AaronUD10Mar 14, 194080Draw57–15–8 Augie ArellanoPTS8Feb 24, 194079Win57–15–7 Jay MacedonPTS8Jan 27, 194078Win56–15–7 Ernie VighPTS8Jan 9, 194077Win55–15–7 Cleto LocatelliPTS10Jul 24, 193976Win54–15–7 Assane DioufPTS10Jun 25, 193975Win53–15–7 Al BakerPTS10May 14, 193974Win52–15–7 Victor JanasPTS10Apr 3, 193973Draw51–15–7 Jupp BesselmannPTS12Mar 9, 1939Sportpalast Schoeneberg, Germany72Win51–15–6 Paddy RochePTS10Feb 13, 193971Loss50–15–6 Anton ChristoforidisPTS15Nov 14, 193870Win50–14–6 Henry RothierPTS10Oct 17, 193869Win49–14–6 Edouard TenetPTS15Jul 17, 193868Win48–14–6 Anton ChristoforidisPTS10May 23, 193867Win47–14–6 Jean SimonPTS10Mar 21, 193866Win46–14–6 Kid TuneroPTS10Feb 7, 193865Win45–14–6 Pierre StepanciPTS10Jan 10, 193864Win44–14–6 Jack UlrichRTD3 (10)Dec 10, 193763Win43–14–6 Nestor CharlierPTS10Nov 8, 193762Win42–14–6 Gilbert JamsinTKO4 (10)Oct 11, 193761Loss41–14–6 Gustav EderKO8 (10)Jul 11, 193760Win41–13–6 Jomme WegnerTKO6 (10)May 10, 193759Win40–13–6 Charles PernotPTS10Feb 8, 193758Loss39–13–6 Glen LeePTS10Nov 6, 193657Loss39–12–6 Jack CarrollPTS15Feb 6, 193656Loss39–11–6 Jack CarrollPTS15Dec 26, 193555Draw39–10–6 Al ManfredoPTS10Jul 12, 193554Win39–10–5 Kid AztecaPTS10May 24, 193553Win38–10–5 Carlos SalomonPTS10Apr 9, 193552Loss37–10–5 Young Corbett IIIPTS10Feb 22, 193551Loss37–9–5 Young Corbett IIIPTS10Jan 28, 193550Win37–8–5 Ceferino GarciaPTS10Dec 7, 193449Loss36–8–5 Ceferino GarciaPTS10Oct 30, 193448Draw36–7–5 Joe RossiPTS10May 9, 193447Win36–7–4 Eddie ShapiroTKO7 (10)Apr 30, 193446Win35–7–4 Frankie PetrollePTS10Mar 16, 193445Win34–7–4 Phil RaffertyPTS10Jan 25, 193444Win33–7–4 Benny LevineKO3 (10)Jan 13, 193443Win32–7–4 Tony FalcoPTS10Jan 5, 193442Win31–7–4 Stanislaus LoayzaPTS10Nov 16, 193341Loss30–7–4 Billy PetrolleRTD4 (10)Jul 12, 193340Win30–6–4 Herman PerlickPTS10Jun 5, 193339Win29–6–4 Jimmy PhillipsPTS8Mar 31, 193338Win28–6–4 Baby Joe GansPTS8Mar 17, 193337Win27–6–4 Phil RaffertyPTS10Jan 9, 193336Win26–6–4 Eddie RanPTS10Nov 28, 193235Win25–6–4 Paolo VillaPTS8Nov 21, 193234Loss24–6–4 Cleto LocatelliPTS15Jul 17, 193233Win24–5–4 Victor DeckmynTKO5 (10)Jun 5, 193232Win23–5–4 Len Tiger SmithPTS10May 2, 193231Draw22–5–4 François SybilleSD15Mar 26, 193230Loss22–5–3 Louis SaerensSD10Jan 5, 193229Win22–4–3 Henri ScillieTKO4 (10)Dec 16, 193128Win21–4–3 Henri ScillieSD15Nov 17, 193127Win20–4–3 Harry CorbettPTS15Oct 21, 193126Win19–4–3 Jim HunterKO2 (15), Oct 5, 193125Win18–4–3 François SybilleKO2 (15), Jul 19, 193124Draw17–4–3 Leen SandersPTS10Apr 20, 193123Draw17–4–2 Franz DübbersPTS8Feb 17, 193122Win17–4–1 Paul CzirsonKO5 (10)Feb 9, 193121Win16–4–1 Jakob DomgoergenPTS10Jan 8, 193120Draw15–4–1 Paul CzirsonPTS10Nov 7, 193019Win15–4 Henri VuillamyPTS10Nov 3, 193018Loss14–4 Len Tiger SmithPTS12Aug 2, 193017Win14–3 George PurchasePTS10Jul 5, 193016Win13–3 Charles van RooyenPTS10Jun 14, 193015Win12–3 Lucien PorthaelsPTS10May 7, 193014Win11–3 Charlie MackPTS10Apr 28, 193013Loss10–3 Harry BrooksPTS15Apr 1, 193012Win10–2 Haydn WilliamsPTS10Mar 17, 193011Win9–2 Leen SandersPTS15Feb 18, 193010Win8–2 Jack HudsonTKO11 (15)Jan 28, 19309Win7–2 Horace BarberPTS15Jan 13, 19308Win6–2 Billy StreetsPTS15Jan 8, 19307Win5–2 Jack DedheeneTKO3 (10)Dec 25, 19296Win4–2 George PeckPTS15Nov 30, 19295Win3–2 Leo NicolaasTKO7 (10)Nov 18, 19294Loss2–2 Young LefevreDQ8 (10)Oct 30, 19293Win2–1 Kid RobertKO4 (10)Oct 14, 19292Loss1–1 Nicolas WilkDQ4 (10)Aug 26, 19291Win1–0 Jules SteyaertPTS8Jul 29, 1929

References