Punchers from the Past: Charles Humez

Name: Charles Louis (Charley) Humez
Born: 18 May 1927
Died: 11 November 1979 at the age of 52
Career: 1948 to 1958
Record: 103 fights, 97 wins (47 by KO/TKO), 7 losses (2 by KO/TKO), 1 draw, 1 No Decision
Division: Welterweight, Middleweight
Stance: Orthodox
Titles: French and European welterweight champion. French and European middleweight champion
Major Contests
Scored wins over: Omar Kouidiri, Pierre Langois (twice)*, Cliff Curvis, Gilbert Lavoine (twice), Eddie Thomas, Tiberio Mitri (twice)*, Jan Stock, Bobby Dawson, Laurent Dauthille*, Tony Janiro, Robert Villeman*,Gene Hairston, Kid Dussart (twice), Claude Milazzo, Alex Buxton, Hans Stretz (twice),Peter Mueller, Ralph Jones, Gustav Scholz*,
Lost to: Randy Turpin**, Ernie Durando, Ralph Jones, Gene Fullmer**, Gustav Scholz*
Drew with: Claude Milazzo
**Past/ future holder of a version of a world title
* Unsuccessful challenger for a version of a world title
Charles Humez Story
Humez was born in the city of Mericourt in the Pas-de-Calais area in North East France. His parents had a butcher’s shop but it was not a success and in 1933 they moved with their three children to Fouquières-lès-Lens where his father found work at a pit. Humez’s father died in April 1941 and Humez, had to leave school to work at the pit in the same year. He was 14. He had no interest in boxing but his elder brother Desire had joined a local boxing club so Humez followed him. Humez toughened himself through his job where he unloaded wagons filled with earth for which he was paid by the ton he unloaded each day. Humez made a much wider shovel than others used so he could unload more each day which also built his strength. He started to enter boxing competitions when he was 15. France was an occupied country at the time and when he was 17 Humez joined the French Forces of the Interior which was the name used for the French Resistance.
His first boxing success came in the Flanders Championships in 1944 and in 1945 he won the French title at welterweight. He also won the title in 1945,1946 1947 and in 1948. He won a silver medal at the European Championships in 1947 and a Golden Gloves title in the USA. It is said he had over 300 amateur fights with a reported record of 324-3-3 record before turning professional in December 1948 but 330 fights in six years seems a stretch.
He had his first professional fight in September 1948 and by July 1949 was 19-0 before losing to the Belgian champion Stan Reypens who had a 20-1-1 record. By the end of 1949 Humez was 25-1 and had fought in France, Belgium and Switzerland. He won the French welterweight title in February 1950 beating on points 93 fight veteran Omar Kouidri.
He had an eventful year in 1950. He won 14 of his 16 fights losing once on a disqualification and having one fight declared No Decision when the ring ropes broke during the fight. He also had his first fights in Britain beating Gwyn Williams and future British and Commonwealth champion Cliff Curvis. He won all 13 of his fights in 1951 picking up the European title by outpointing champion Eddie Thomas, who had lost only 2 of his 37 fights, and decisioning future world title challenger Tiberio Mitri who had lost only 3 of his 59 fights (Mitri had lost on points to Jake LaMotta for the New York State version of the middleweight title in 1950 and would go on the stop former world champion Randolph Turpin in 65 seconds) and French-based American Bobby Dawson.
The simple fact is that Humez was willing to take on the toughest opposition he could find. That was shown in February 1952 when he faced dangerous American “Stormin” Norman Hayes and had to climb off the floor twice to outpoint Hayes. He won nine more fights that year, again having to get up from the canvas to outpoint fellow-Frenchman Laurent Dauthille who had lost to Jake LaMotta in a world title fight. He beat Gene Hairston. Hairston had beaten Kid Gavilan and Paul Pender and drawn with LaMotta .
Humez’s big chance came in June 1953. He had a 65-2 record with the one No Decision and had scored 33 wins in a row. He was facing Randy Turpin for the vacant World middleweight title. Sugar Ray Robinson had vacated the title and Turpin and Humez were fighting for the European and British version ( curiously it was also for the vacant European title). Turpin came out on top on points and was a good winner. Humez stumbled a couple of times in 1953 suffering a kayo loss against highly rated Ernie Durando and drawing with modest Claude Milazzo. Humez got back on track by beating Milazzo in a fight for the vacant French middleweight title and in scoring 17 wins in a row including victories over experience Alex Buxton and stopping Mitri in three rounds. He continued his winning run in 1955 beating top European opposition such as Hans Stretz, Pierre Langlois and Gilbert Lavoine. He had risen to No 2 in the Ring Ratings but if he wanted a shot at Sugar Ray Robinson, who had come out of retirement to kayo Bobo Olson to regain the middleweight title, he needed to win in the USA. He tackled two rated fighters in Madison Square Garden losing in March to Ralph Jones on a split decision and in May to Gene Fullmer-Fullmer would go on to fight Robinson in January 1957 to win the middleweight title. Despite the serious set-backs Humez rebounded later in 1957 with a kayo of German Peter Mueller, who had lost only 13 of his 100 fights, Franco Festucci, who had a 47-1-2 record, in a European title defence and a revenge win on points over Ralph Jones. He faced good class opposition again in 1957 including successful defences of the European title against Pat McAteer and Italo Storchini surviving a knockdown to outpoint the Italian. By December 1957 Humez was only 30 but had been in over 300 fights as an amateur and 99 fights in his 9 years as a professional. His chance of a world title fight had disappeared but he had beaten the top middleweights in Europe-with one exception. German champion Gustavo Scholz had compile an amazing 64-0-4 record. In March 1958 they met in a non-title fight in Paris in March 1958 in front of a crowd of 15,000. Humez floored Scholz in the second and seventh rounds and won on points to snap Schol’s 68 bout unbeaten streak. They faced each other again in Berlin in October 1958 this time in front of 30,000. Humez’s European title was on the line and Scholz gained his revenge. With Humez shedding blood from cuts around his eyes and from his mouth the fight was stopped in the twelfth round. Humez announced his retirement in January 1959 at the age of 31.
After retirement he took part in professional wrestling then ran a transport company, took over a cafe and finally managed three laundromats. Although hugely respected for his achievements he did not reach the star level of such as Georges Carpentier and Marcel Cerdan as he shunned the highlife in Paris. He won his fight then just headed home to his family. He died on 11 November 1979 at the age of 52 as a result of a head injury in a fall. His name has been given in his local area to several sports facilities such as the Charles Humez sports hall, gym and street names .