Benjamin "Benny" Valger nicknamed "The French Flash", was an American professional featherweight

Featherweight

Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...

 boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 who fought from the late 1910s until the 1930s.

He was born in Paris, France to Jewish parents who had immigrated to there from Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. He moved to the United States when he was a child.

Boxing career

Valger was known for his great speed in the ring (hence the nickname "French Flash").

His professional record was 77 wins and only 15 losses.

Three of his matches were draws http://www.jewsinsports.org/profile.asp?sport=boxing&ID=228. One of his major career highlights came in 1916, when he won the US Men's Boxing Championships in the 115 pound division http://www.usaboxing.org/852.htm.

On February 25, 1920, in a bout in Newark, New Jersey

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

, Valger outpointed the reigning featherweight champion, Johnny Kilbane

Johnny Kilbane

John "Johnny" Patrick Kilbane was a featherweight boxer in the early part of the 20th century. He held the featherweight title from 1912 to 1923, the longest period in the division's history...

. However, because Valger did not knock out Kilbane, Kilbane got to keep the title.

One of Benny Valger's descendant's name is Patrice Julien, famous cook and spiritual consultant in Japan (www.patricejulien.com). Patrice Julien's grandfather, Abraham Valger, was Benny's brother.

Benny's mother was buried in New York. Abraham longed to join his mother in America until the end of her life but could not travel from Europe to the US as he was a communist.