Bep van klaveren al capone biography

Nicknamed “The Dutch Windmill,” Bep van Klaveren was born as the illegitimate son of an innkeeper’s daughter under the name Steenhorst.

Bep van klaveren al capone biography life death alcatraz syphilis

In 1916, his mother married Pieter van Klaveren, whose name he took. After primary school, Bep worked as a butcher’s boy and boxed in his spare time. When he was 16 he started serious training and competing officially. Strangely enough, the butcher’s boy became a vegetarian during this period, feeling it would improve his boxing abilities.

Bep van klaveren al capone biography

In 1926 he gained his first Dutch title as a flyweight and from 1927-29, won three titles as a featherweight. After his Olympic success in 1928, he received a hero’s welcome in his hometown Rotterdam and was presented to the Dutch Queen and her prince consort.

In 1929 Van Klaveren turned professional.

His career saw him fight on four continents and in many countries over an amazing 27-year span. The winner of national and European lightweight titles in the early 30s, he campaigned for many years in the United Sta