Otto von Porat
Encyclopedia
Otto Wessel von Porat (29 September 1903 – 14 October 1982) was a Norwegian
heavyweight
boxer
. He won a gold medal
in Boxing at the 1924 Summer Olympics
, defeating Danish boxer Søren Petersen in the final.
, Kronoberg County
, Sweden
, into an independently wealthy family. The von Porats lived on a huge estate in Sweden
. An English tutor gave von Porat and his three brothers their early education, hence von Porat learned to speak English
with a decidedly British
accent. He also learned to speak Danish
, Swedish
, Norwegian
, German
and French
fluently.
While very young, he and his family moved to Copenhagen
, Denmark
, where his father organized a branch of the Berlitz Language School. In early 1914 the family settled in Oslo
, Norway
, where his father made extensive maritime investments. The von Porat fortune disappeared rapidly when World War I
came along, forcing the four von Porat boys to seek work.
in the Summer of 1926, turning professional at that time. He generally fought in the rings of Minneapolis, New York City
, and Chicago
. He was a huge drawing card in the greater Chicago area. He could often be found at the Chicago Norske Klub
, a Norwegian-American cultural center. It is said that his fight with Paulino Uzcudun
"gave rise to the wide-spread impression that von Porat lack[ed] aggressiveness and ... the 'killer instinct.' Although he had a once-promising career and was a top contender for the Heavyweight Title, von Porat apparently lacked self-confidence and thus "lost fighting strength in the rough American school."
, Norway
.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World 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...
. He won a gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
in Boxing at the 1924 Summer Olympics
Boxing at the 1924 Summer Olympics
These are the results of the boxing competition at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Medals were awarded in 8 weight classes. The competitions were held from 15 July 1924 to 20 July 1924.-Medal summary:-Participating nations:...
, defeating Danish boxer Søren Petersen in the final.
Background
Von Porat was born in the little town of ÄlmhultÄlmhult
Älmhult is a locality and the seat of Älmhult Municipality in Kronoberg County, Sweden with 8,518 inhabitants in 2005.It was in Älmhult that the first IKEA store was built, and IKEA still has a large corporate presence here....
, Kronoberg County
Kronoberg County
Kronoberg County is a County or län in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Skåne, Halland, Jönköping, Kalmar and Blekinge. Its capital is the city Växjö.- Province :For History, Geography and Culture see: Småland...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, into an independently wealthy family. The von Porats lived on a huge estate in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. An English tutor gave von Porat and his three brothers their early education, hence von Porat learned to speak English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
with a decidedly British
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
accent. He also learned to speak Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
fluently.
While very young, he and his family moved to Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, where his father organized a branch of the Berlitz Language School. In early 1914 the family settled in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, where his father made extensive maritime investments. The von Porat fortune disappeared rapidly when World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
came along, forcing the four von Porat boys to seek work.
Amateur career
It was while employed as a minor clerk in the office of an Oslo shipping agent that von Porat became interested in boxing. He knocked out two opponents in one evening during his first amateur tournament. Shortly thereafter he knocked out the amateur middleweight champion of Denmark in two rounds. Otto von Porat went on to flatten all the best heavyweight amateurs in Europe, then won the Olympic Heavyweight Gold Medal at the 1924 Paris Olympics. He returned to Norway to serve in the Norwegian Army.Pro career
Von Porat then came to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the Summer of 1926, turning professional at that time. He generally fought in the rings of Minneapolis, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. He was a huge drawing card in the greater Chicago area. He could often be found at the Chicago Norske Klub
Chicago Norske Klub
Chicago Norske Klub was a Chicago, Illinois based Norwegian-American cultural and social organization.-Background:Chicago Norske Klub was founded in 1911 through the merger of two prior organizations which had dated to 1890, the Norwegian Club in Chicago and the Norwegian Quartet Club .Its...
, a Norwegian-American cultural center. It is said that his fight with Paulino Uzcudun
Paulino Uzcudun
Paulino Uzcudun Eizmendi was a Basque heavyweight boxer, who is considered to be the greatest heavyweight from Spain. Uzkudun is another variation on the spelling of his last name. He was the youngest of 9 siblings. In his youth, he became an Aizkolari or traditional competitive Basque wood chopper...
"gave rise to the wide-spread impression that von Porat lack[ed] aggressiveness and ... the 'killer instinct.' Although he had a once-promising career and was a top contender for the Heavyweight Title, von Porat apparently lacked self-confidence and thus "lost fighting strength in the rough American school."
Life after boxing
After his boxing career ended von Porat continued to live in Chicago. In 1982 he died in BærumBærum
is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandvika. Bærum was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. A suburb of Oslo, Bærum is located on the west coast of the city....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
Trivia
- Featured on the cover of the April 1930 The Ring magazineThe Ring (magazine)The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
. - One of only four Norwegian boxers to have gained success in America during the 20th Century, along with Terry Martin, Haakon HansenHaakon Hansen (boxer)Haakon Hansen was a Norwegian boxer who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics.In 1924 he was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the lightweight class after losing his fight to the upcoming gold medalist Hans Jacob Nielsen....
, and Pete SanstolPete SanstolPete Sanstol was a Norwegian professional boxer. He is a World Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee.-Background:Peder Olai Sanstøl was the youngest of five children born to Jonas Jonasen Sanstøl and Elen Dortea Nilsdatter Lindland in Moi, Lunde municipality, in Rogaland county in Norway...
.