Twenty-three-year-old Eric Seelig was Germany’s Middleweight and Light-Heavyweight boxing champion in 1933, when Hitler came to power. On a July evening that summer, the night before Seelig was scheduled to defend his Middleweight title in Berlin, Nazi goons threatened him with death if he entered the ring the following day. Seelig fled to France that night.

Stripped of his German titles, Seelig competed in France for several years before immigrating to the United States by way of Cuba in 1935. While in Paris, he fought two Middleweight title bouts against World Champion Marcel Thil, both ending unsuccessfully by decision.

A punishing battler, the 5'8" Seelig enjoyed considerable success in the United States with a career record of 57 bouts, 40 victories (9 KOs), 7 draws, and 10 losses. His highest The Ring magazine ranking was number six in 1938.

To this day, Germany has not restored recognition of his stripped titles.