Lew Jenkins’ Wild Lightweight Rise
On May 10, 1940, Lew Jenkins knocked out Lou Ambers in the third round to become world lightweight champion.
Lew Jenkins did not arrive in New York as a polished contender. Raised in Depression-era Texas, he learned to fight in traveling carnivals before his right hand carried him to Madison Square Garden. On May 10, 1940, Jenkins shocked Lou Ambers with a third-round knockout and took the lightweight championship (Texas State Historical Association) in one of boxing’s great upsets of the period.
A puncher from Sweetwater
Born Verlin Elmer Jenkins near Milburn, Texas, he grew up in a family that moved to Sweetwater, where he worked in the fields. After his father died, Jenkins joined a traveling carnival as a teenager and fought whoever stepped into its ring. The experience was rough, but it helped build the hard-punching style that would make him known as the “Sweetwater Swatter.” By the time he faced Ambers, he had earned a shot against a two-time champion who had never been knocked out.
Jenkins finished the job in the third round, dropping Ambers four times before the referee stopped the fight. Their February 1941 rematch also ended in Jenkins’s favor, by technical knockout. His reign lasted into December, when Sammy Angott beat him over 15 rounds to claim the title. Jenkins’s time at the top was short, but the Ambers upset secured his place in the lightweight division’s history.
Service beyond the ring
Boxing was only one part of Jenkins’s life. He served first in the Army and then in the Coast Guard during World War II, including in the European theater. He later returned to military service during the Korean War and received the Silver Star for gallantry. After the war he boxed again, but never recovered the championship form of 1940. Jenkins retired in 1950 with a documented record of 73 wins, 41 losses and five draws. His story carries the grit of a carnival fighter, a remarkable title night and a military career that extended far beyond the ring. Explore more in our boxing archive.
Sources
Article Tags
Lew Jenkins, Boxing, Boxing History, Championship Fights
