Olympic Games/ Summer, 1920/ Antwerp/ Boxing/ Official diplo - Lot 185

Olympic Games/ Summer, 1920/ Antwerp/ Boxing/ Official diploma/ Limoges Fabulous official diploma from the Antwerp Games (50 x 65.5 cm), signed Antoine Théodore Privat Livemont (1861-1936). Well framed (68x81), our copy is in remarkably fresh condition (which is rare for these diplomas, of which only 1,350 exist). It is awarded here to boxer Jean-Baptiste Rampignon, fifth in the flyweight division of the Olympic Tournament. Victory crowning a nude athlete, with a view of Antwerp, is a superb antique-style lithograph in ochre, produced and printed by Ets Jean Malvaux and Imprimerie J-E Goossens, Brussels. In the superb cartouche "VIIè Olympiade, Anvers 1920" shines the name of Rampignon. He's not an Olympic medallist (France had 41, including 3 in boxing with Fritsch-Gachet-Eluere), but one of the 296 athletes in the French delegation, who made it through to the finalists. For the Limousin pugilist, this diploma represents an exceptional consecration, at just 20 years of age. A fine career seemed to be opening up before him, but on Tuesday June 12, 1923 he fought Gleizes at home in Limoges in a 15-round bout for the French flyweight title. Beaten badly by Gleizes from the 6th round onwards, he lost on points. The fight seems to have gone well, but the young Rampignon dies the next day. A moving piece of Olympic, boxing and Limousin sports history. He was one of the first French boxers to die in a fight. This tragedy goes unnoticed, as the spotlight is on Criqui, who has just become world champion, and on Siki's antics.