Max Schmeling

He was born Maximilian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling in Uckermark, Germany, on September 28, 1905. He began boxing as a boy and by his early teens was competing in amateur bouts throughout his native region of Germany. In 1924, Schmeling turned professional, facing off against Kurt Czapp in Dusseldorf on August 2. He knocked out Czapp in the sixth round to win his first professional bout. For the remainder of 1924, he fought another nine matches, winning eight, six by knockout, and losing only one. On October 10, 1924, Schmeling was knocked out in the fourth round by Max Dieckmann in a match in Berlin.

In 1926, Schmeling squared off twice against Max Dieckmann in Berlin. In their second match of the year on August 24, Schmeling knocked out Dieckmann in the first round to win the German light heavyweight title. The following year, Schmeling won the European light heavyweight championship by knocking out Fernand Delarge in the 14th round of a match in Dortmund, Germany. Later that year, he successfully defended his European light heavyweight title in a match against Hein Domgorgen in Leipzig, Germany, on November 6. On January 6, 1928, Schmeling again successfully defended his European title by knocking out Italian light heavyweight champion Michele Bonaglia in the first round of a match in Berlin. Three months later, boxing as a heavyweight, Schmeling defeated Franz Diener in a 15-rounder in Berlin to capture the German heavyweight title.