Robert Cohen

Robert Cohen was a French boxer born on November 15, 1930, in Bône, French Algeria, France. He died on March 2, 2022, in Brussels, Belgium, at the age of 91. With a height of 5 ft 2.5 in (1.59 m), Cohen was known for his muscularity and won his first French bantamweight title in November 1953, followed by the European championship in January 1954.

Cohen debuted as a professional boxer on September 12, 1951, at the age of 20, against Leon Gauche, defeating him via a second-round TKO. He went on to win five more consecutive fights, including three via stoppage. Between September 1951 and May 1954, Cohen won 34 of 37 fights, losing once to Robert Munier in Paris and drawing twice.

He had his first world title match at the age of 23, after 37 professional fights, against Chamroen Songkitrat for the bantamweight NBA, NYSAC (vacant), and The Ring titles. He defeated Songkitrat via a 15-round split-decision and became the bantamweight champion of the world on September 19, 1954. He won one world title at bantamweight and during his career, Cohen had a total of four losses — one in a title fight and three in non-title bouts.

Suffering from injuries, Cohen retired from boxing in the 1960s and began working in his father-in-law's textile and retail business in Congo-Brazzaville. Unhappy in the textile business, he opened a boxing gym with some success, but his best boxers left for Europe after it was nationalized, and he left the gym. In the 1980s, Cohen managed a textile import and export business in Brussels, Belgium.

Cohen retired from professional boxing with a record of 36-4-3, which included 14 knockout wins and two losses via knockout, and one title win. Despite losing four bouts during his career, Cohen's sole highlight was his world titles win against Chamroen Songkitrat on September 19, 1954.

Some of Cohen's best fights and notable victories include wins over John Kelly, Mario D'Agata, Chamroen Songkitrat, Roy Ankrah, Jake Tuli, Robert Meunier, and Teddy Peckham.

On December 2, 1951, Robert Cohen suffered his first loss against Robert Meunier via 8 round PTS. He was stopped twice and lost twice via decision. After losing the world bantamweight title in a match against Mario D'Agata on June 29, 1956, Cohen retired from professional boxing.

Cohen drew with Willie Toweel in a fifteen-round world bantamweight title bout in Johannesburg, South Africa, on September 3, 1955. He dropped Toweel three times in the second and put him down for a no count in the tenth. Toweel had never been knocked to the mat in a previous bout. Cohen lost the title bout to Mario D'Agata on June 29, 1956, before a crowd of 38,000, in a seventh-round technical knockout in Rome. D'Agata dropped Cohen to the mat for a nine count near the end of the sixth. After the sixth ended, the referee stopped the fight due to a serious gash over the left brow of Cohen. D'Agata appeared superior in the in-fighting, and many of Cohen's blows were wide of his mark.

On December 10, 1955, Cohen lost in a ten-round technical knockout against French featherweight champion Cherif Hamia before a crowd of 14,000. Cohen was down for an eight count in the second from a right cross to the jaw and was down again in the seventh from a right hook. The referee ended the bout 1:27 into the tenth round when Cohen's left brow was injured by a left from Hamia. Some time after the bout, Cohen was severely injured in an automobile accident and suffered a broken jaw, which shortened his career.

Cohen was nicknamed "Gambuch" or "Short Legs," which related to his muscular builds and short height. His Orthodox stance and Bantamweight weight-class contributed to his unique style.

Despite Cohen not being part of the boxing world for decades, his unique style and world titles win against Chamoren Songkitrat will keep him remembered as one of France's finest boxers.

Robert Cohen Fight Record