Henri Piet was a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 Lightweight

Lightweight

Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of 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 is notable for his EBU lightweight challenge against Freddie Welsh

Freddie Welsh

Freddie Welsh was a Welsh lightweight boxing champion. Born in Pontypridd, Wales, and christened Frederick Hall Thomas, he was nicknamed the "Welsh Wizard". Brought up in a tough mining community, Welsh left a middle-class background to make a name for himself in America...

, winning the French welterweight belt in 1912. He died in the boxing ring in 1915.

Boxing career

Piet rose to prominence as a lightweight boxer when he challenged Freddie Welsh for the EBU (European) lightweight title. The fight took place at Mountain Ash on 23 August 1909. Piet lasted until the twelfth round when his knee gave way and he retired from the fight. Afterwards Welsh stated that Piet was "The classiest boy I met since I came over, he will trim up a lot of fancied boxers if he goes to the States."