Messaoud Hai Victor Perez (, ) (18 October 1911 – 21 January 1945) was a Tunisian Jewish boxer, who became the World

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

Champion in 1931 and 1932, fighting under his ring name Young Perez. He was managed by Leon Bellier. He was a victim of

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

Early life

Perez was born to Sephardic Jewish parents Khomsa "Khmaïssa" Nizard, and Makhlouf "Khaïlou" René Perez, a household goods salesman. He was raised along with his four siblings in Dar-El Berdgana, the

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

quarter of

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

. He started training as a boxer at age 14 along with his older brother Benjamin “Kid” Perez to emulate his idol Battling Siki, a boxing champion from

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. Near the end of 1928, after competing against the best of the local boxing talent in Tunis, at 17 Perez traveled to Paris, to pursue his dream of becoming a world boxing champion. In his youth, after winning the World flyweight title, he had a brief relationship with French-Italian actress

Mireille Balin Mireille Césarine Balin (born Blanche Mireille Césarine Balin; 20 July 1909, in Monte Carlo – 9 November 1968 in Paris)"Balin, Mireille (1911–1968)." ''Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages'', edited by Anne Commire ...

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

Boxing career

French Fly champion, 1931

Perez's first attempt at France's Flyweight championship came on 8 February 1930, but resulted in a 4th round loss to Henry "Kid" Oliva in Limoges, France. In only his 54th professional match, Perez won the French Flyweight title in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on 4 June 1931, defeating Valentin Angelmann in 15 rounds.

World Fly champion, October 1931

On 24 October 1931, he won the International Boxing Union and National Boxing Association (NBA) World Flyweight crown at Paris's famed Palais de Sports in a second round knockout of the exceptional American boxer

Frankie Genaro Frank "Frankie" Genaro (born DiGennaro, August 26, 1901 – December 27, 1966) was an American former Olympic gold medalist and a 1928 National Boxing Association (NBA) World flyweight Champion. He is credited with engaging in 130 bouts, recordi ...

. Perez seemed awed by the American champion who appeared to take the first round after a rally just before the bell. But responding to an attempt at a left hook by Genaro, Perez proved speedier and tagged his opponent with a crushing right hook to the chin that ended the match only ten seconds into round two. Although Genaro struggled to his knees by the count of eight, he was unable to get any further before the referee completed the count. The loss was only Genaro's second by knockout in his long career. Perez subsequently became the youngest French citizen to win a world boxing title. Facing stiff competition, he lost the title the next year, on 31 October 1932, to

Jackie Brown ''Jackie Brown'' is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on the 1992 novel ''Rum Punch'' by Elmore Leonard. It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who smuggles money between the United Sta ...

in a twelve round points decision in Manchester, England. He then moved to the

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

class. In an attempt at the World Bantamweight title on 19 February 1934, he was defeated in a difficult 15 round bout by "Panama" Al Brown, who held a ten inch height advantage. He retired from boxing in December 1938 with a record of 92 wins (28 of them knockouts), 26 losses, and 15 draws.

Auschwitz

On 21 September 1943, after being denounced by an acquaintance, Perez was arrested in Paris by the ''Milice Francaise'', a French collaborationist paramilitary force of the Vichy Regime.Silver, Mike (2016). ''Stars of the Ring'', Published by Rowman and Littlefield, Los Angeles, pp. 210–113. He was detained in the

Drancy Drancy () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in northern France. It is located 10.8 km (6.7 mi) from the center of Paris. History Toponymy The name Drancy comes from Medieval Lati ...

internment camp before being transported to the German extermination camp of

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

where he was assigned to the

Monowitz Monowitz (also known as Monowitz-Buna, Buna and Auschwitz III) was a Nazi concentration camp and labor camp (''Arbeitslager'') run by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland from 1942–1945, during World War II and the Holocaust. For most of its existe ...

subcamp to serve as a slave laborer for

I.G. Farben I. G. Farbenindustrie AG, commonly known as IG Farben, was a German chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate. It was formed on December 2, 1925 from a merger of six chemical companies: Agfa, BASF, Bayer, Griesheim-Elektron, Hoechst, and We ...

at the Buna-Werke. During his transport to Auschwitz on 7 October 1943, he became part of "Transport 60" a group of 1,000 prisoners shipped from

, in France. During his internment, he was forced to participate in boxing matches for the amusement of the German guards and officers. By 1945, Perez was one of just 31 survivors of the original 1,000. To escape from the Russians rapidly advancing on German held territory, the Nazis abandoned Auschwitz in January 1945. On 18 January 1945, Perez became one of the prisoners on the

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...

from Monowitz in Poland, Northwest to the

Gleiwitz Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

concentration camp near the Czech border. Perez was reported to have been murdered three days later on 21 January. According to eye witness testimony he was shot to death by a guard while attempting to distribute bread he had found in Gleiwitz's kitchen to other starving prisoners.Quatre boules de cuir ou l’étrange destin de Young Perez, champion du monde de boxe by André Nahum: Publisher: Bibliophane (24 April 2002)

Legacy

He was inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (IJSHOF) () is the international hall of fame for Jewish athletes and special contributors to the world of sport. The purpose of the IJSHOF is to honor Jewish individuals, worldwide, who have accompli ...

in 1986. In 2013, his life was made into the French and German-language film ''

Victor Young Perez ''Victor "Young" Perez'' , also known as ''Surviving Auschwitz'' in the United Kingdom, is a 2013 French biographical film, biographical sports drama film depicting the life of the Boxer (boxing), boxer and Auschwitz concentration camp prisoner V ...

'' (also known as ''Surviving Auschwitz'' or ''Perez ha'tza'ir''). Perez's role was played by the 2000 French Olympic Gold medalist in light-flyweight boxing,

Brahim Asloum Brahim Asloum (, born 31 January 1979 in Bourgoin-Jallieu, Isère) is a French boxer. He held the WBA light flyweight title from 2007 to 2009. As an amateur boxer, Asloum won Light Flyweight Gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. His Olympic ...

Selected fights

, - , + 5 wins, 4 losses , - ! Result ! Opponent(s) ! Date ! Location ! Duration ! Notes , - , Win , Valentin Angelmann , 4 June 1931 , Paris , 15 rounds , Won French Fly title , - , Win ,

, 26 October 1931 , Paris , 2nd round KO , Won NBA World Fly title , - , Loss , Jackie Brown , 31 October 1932 , Manchester, Eng. , 13 round TKO , Lost NBA World Fly title , - , Win ,

Émile Pladner Émile Pladner (2 September 1906 – 15 March 1980) was a French people, French Boxing, boxer who was flyweight champion of France, Europe, and the world, and bantamweight champion of France and Europe. Career Born in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dô ...

, 24 January 1933 , Tunis , 10 rounds , , - , Loss ,

Baltasar Sangchili Baltasar Berenguer Hervas (October 15, 1911 – September 2, 1992), popularly known in his time as Baltasar Sangchili, was a Spanish boxer who claimed the World Bantamweight Championship. He was the first Spanish fighter in history to win a world ...

, 18 March 1933 , Valencia, Spain , 10 rounds , 1935 World Bantam champ , - , Loss , Jackie Brown , 3 July 1933 , Manchester, Eng. , 12 rounds KO , For NBA World Fly title , - , Loss ,

Panama Al Brown Alfonso Teofilo Brown (July 5, 1902 – April 11, 1951), better known as Panama Al Brown, was a Panamanian professional boxer. He made history by becoming boxing's first Latin American world champion, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...

, 19 February 1934 , Paris , 15 rounds UD , For World Bantam title , - , Win ,

, 11 July 1934 , Paris , 10 rounds , , - , Win ,

Eugène Huat Eugène Huat (8 February 1907 – 15 December 1980) was a French boxer who was champion of France and Europe at flyweight, and fought four times for world titles at bantamweight. Career After making his professional debut in 1926, Huat had some ...

, 14 April 1936 , Tunis , 10 rounds ,

References

External links

Victor Perez at The Wollheim Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Victor 1911 births 1945 deaths 20th-century Tunisian Jews Tunisian male boxers Jewish Tunisian sportspeople Sephardi Jews who died in the Holocaust Jewish boxers Flyweight boxers World boxing champions World flyweight boxing champions French civilians killed in World War II French people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp Drancy internment camp prisoners French male boxers French Jews who died in the Holocaust Deaths by firearm in Poland French people executed by Nazi Germany People executed by Nazi Germany by firearm People who died in Auschwitz concentration camp The Holocaust in Tunisia 20th-century French sportsmen Boxers from Tunis