Name: GUSTAVE ROTH
Born: ANTWERP, BELGIUM 14 SEPTEMBER 1909
Died: 14 SEPTEMBER 1982 IN ANTWERP AGED 73
Career: 1927 TO 1945
Record: 135 FIGHTS, WON 111 (24 BY KO/TKO), LOST 11 (2 BY KO/TKO), DREW 12, NO DECISION 1
Division: Welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight.
Stance: Orthodox
Titles: European and Belgian welterweight, European and Belgian middleweight, European, Belgian and IBU light-heavyweight, Belgian heavyweight.
Major Contests
Scored wins over: Alfred Genon, Camille Desmedt(three times ), Francois Sybille, Aime Raphael, Gustav Eder (twice), Hans Holdt, Vittorio Venturi, Kid Tunero, Karel Sys,(three times), Adolf Witt, Jupp Besselmann, Assane Diouf, Paul Goffcaux (twice),
Lost against: Marcel Thil**, Lou Brouillard**, Gustav Eder, Adolf Heuser, Karel Sys. Pol Goffcaux (twice
Drew with: Leo Darton, Vittorio Venturi, Franta Nekolny, Gunnar Andersson, Rene De Voss, Karel Sys (twice), Paul Goffcaux,
**Past/ future holder of a version of a world title
* Unsuccessful challenger for a version of a world title
Gustave Roth’s Story
Roth was born in Antwerp, Belgium on 14 September 1901. His surname was actually Scillie but as his older brother Henri had already turned professional Gustave boxed under his mother’s maiden name of Roth. Both brothers were outstanding boxers. Gustave is recognised as one of the best fighters ever produced in Belgium winning the national titles in four divisions and the European title in three divisions. His brother Henri had 108 fights with a 77-19-12 record, drew with Panama Al Brown and won the Belgium featherweight and European bantamweight titles. Gustave was also a successful amateur. He won the Belgian lightweight title in 1926 at the age of 17 and in 1927 won both the national welterweight title and a silver medal at the 1927 European Championships.
He had his first professional fight on 14 September 1927 whilst still 18. In 1929 at the age of 20 he won the European welterweight title beating Alfred Genon. In a busy 1930 he defended the European title and won the Belgian title by beating Camille Desmeltd, defended the European title with a draw against Italian Vittorio Venturi in Rome, decisioned Aime Raphael in another European title defence and in December outpointed German Gustav Eder. That fight was a European title defence but also won for Roth the International Boxing Union world title. The IBU was a short-lived “world” body which faded away.
Roth stayed busy in 1931 retaining the European title with a points win in Prague against Czech, Franta Nekolny, outpointing Swede Gunnar Anderson in a non-title fight in Gothenburg, and again defending the European title with victories over Vittorio Venturi in Brussels, Eder in Germany and Dutchman Huib Huizenbaar. Over 1932, 33 and early 34 he continued to hold off challenger for his European welterweight title and won the vacant European middleweight title. In one of his 1933 contests he fought Eddie Maguire in a fifteen round fight in Liverpool. The referee Bob Smythe collapsed in the fifth round and died shortly afterwards. The fight continued with another referee and Roth won.
He had lost only once, on a disqualification, in his last 52 fights when he faced Marcel Thil in Paris on 3 May 1934. It was a curios mixture with Roth’s European middleweight title and Thil’s IBU middleweight and European light heavyweight titles on the line. Thil would claim the world middleweight title in 1935. Roth won 8 of his 9 fights in 1935 losing only on a split decision against former middleweight champion Lou Brouillard in December. He started 1936 by losing to German Gustav Eder for the European middleweight title but moved up to light heavyweight and in September decisioned Heinz Lazek in Austria to win the European and vacant IBU light heavyweight titles. He retained both titles in October by outpointing Adolf Witt in Germany. In title fights 1937 he retained the IBU title with a draw against Antonio Rodrigues in Brazil, the European and IBU belts by outpointing Preciso Merlo and John Anderson and drawing with Karel Sys. He made yet another defence of the EBU and IBU titles by beating Jupp Besselmann in Germany but in March 1938 on a return to Germany he lost both titles being stopped in seven rounds by Adolf Heuser. He won and then defended the Belgian light heavyweight title in 1939.
He won three fights in Belgium in 1940, the last in April, but the German occupation of Belgium from May 1940 to February 1945, whilst still allowing Roth to fight, meant he was only able to fight in Belgium. Between May 1940 and February 1945 Roth had 30 fights going 24-4-1 1 ND. During that time he defended the Belgian light heavyweight title and won the Belgian heavyweight title making him a four-division national champion from welterweight to heavyweight. That would encompass seven divisions today. He had his last fight on 7 February 1945 at the age of 36.
During his career 32 of the shows on which Roth featured involved him fighting for a title or titles as sometimes 2 or 3 titles were at stake in his fights, He had 21-7-4 record in those title fights. He made 12 defences of the European welterweight title and 7 of both the European and IBU light heavyweight titles. He won his first title at the age of 20 and his last at the age of 35 and fought in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.
After his retirement he taught boxing to physical education students at the University of Louvain and a
Gold Medal for Sporting Merit. He died in Antwerp on 14 September 1982 and is rightly acknowledged as one the best boxers ever produced by Belgium.