Have Elmer Ray and John Henry Lewis ever fought each other?

Yes. Elmer Ray and John Henry Lewis met once on May 19, 1938, and John Henry Lewis won by KO in round 12.

Who has the better record, Ray or Lewis?

Elmer Ray is 98-23-11 and John Henry Lewis is 101-11-5. John Henry Lewis has the higher win percentage.

Who has more knockouts, Ray or Lewis?

Elmer Ray has 69 knockout wins and John Henry Lewis has 58. Elmer Ray has more.

Do Ray and Lewis have any common opponents?

Elmer Ray and John Henry Lewis share 2 common opponents: Cyclone Lynch and Willie Reddish. Neither fighter fared better across the shared opponents overall.

How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Ray and Lewis?

This comparison is drawn from 135 bouts tracked for Elmer Ray and 117 bouts tracked for John Henry Lewis. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Elmer Ray vs John Henry Lewis — Records, Stats & Common Opponents

🇺🇸HEAVYWEIGHT

John Henry Lewis

Elmer Ray (98-23-11) and John Henry Lewis (101-11-5) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met once. They share 2 common opponents.

Ray

Wins69 KO · 70%

Losses

Draws135 tracked bouts

Lewis

101

Wins58 KO · 57%

Losses

Draws117 tracked bouts

Head to Head

Lewis leads 1–0

Elmer Ray and John Henry Lewis have met 1 time; Lewis leads 1–0.
Met	1938May 19	Series
Elmer RayFighter A	LLost	0–1W–L
John Henry LewisFighter B	WWon	1–0W–L
Result	KOR12Ray vs Lewis	1Meeting

Ray vs Lewis · May 19, 1938

The Numbers

Ray 3 · Lewis 5 of 8 measurable rows

RayEdge = longer wingLewis

Record: 98-23-11101-11-5 (edge)
Win %0–100%: 78.4%
88.5% (edge)
Wins by knockoutmax 69: 69 (edge)
58
KO rate0–100%: 70.41% (edge)
57.43%
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)^†0–100%: 70% (edge)
56%
Times stopped^†max 9: 9
1 (edge)
Title reignsmax 2: 0
2 (edge)
Bouts per year^‡max 11.7: 8.8
11.7 (edge)
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 135: 135
117

† Counted from bouts Kill The Body has ingested, not a career total. · ‡ Across each fighter's tracked career span. · Bars are scaled per row — percentages on 0–100, counts against the larger of the two. Every figure is also printed as text.

Tale of the Tape

Heightnot held: Elmer Ray: No height on file; John Henry Lewis: 5′11″
Reachnot held: Elmer Ray: No reach on file; John Henry Lewis: 71″
Agenot comparable: Elmer Ray: Died aged 76; John Henry Lewis: Died aged 59
Stance: Elmer Ray: Orthodox; John Henry Lewis: Orthodox

Elmer Ray left, John Henry Lewis right, as everywhere on this page. Age is stated, not scored — neither age nor stance carries an edge.

Heavyweight against Light Heavyweight. The two are listed in different weight classes, so the tape measures them as they stand rather than as a matchup.

How They Win

Tracked bouts only

Elmer Ray98 wins · from 135 tracked bouts

69 by KO/TKO 70%27 on the cards 28%2 by another method or unrecorded 2%

John Henry Lewis101 wins · from 117 tracked bouts

57 by KO/TKO 56%44 on the cards 44%

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Elmer Ray 135, John Henry Lewis 117 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

2 shared

2 shared · Ray better on 1 · Lewis better on 12 shared · Elmer Ray better on 1 · John Henry Lewis better on 1

RayElmer Ray

Opponent

LewisJohn Henry Lewis

Elmer Ray
2–0 against
Win, KO 1
1945Dec 1945
Win, KO 3
1941Aug 1941
LynchCyclone LynchRay betterElmer Ray better — 2–0 to 1–0
John Henry Lewis
Win, KO 3
1936Jan 1936
Elmer Ray
1–1 against
Win, PTS
1941Apr 1941
Loss, TKO 3
1941Feb 1941
ReddishWillie ReddishLewis betterJohn Henry Lewis better — 1–0 to 1–1
John Henry Lewis
Win, UD
1937Jun 1937

Both sides are set at the same size on purpose. Kill The Body does not score a second-round knockout above a split decision — the edge counts losses first and wins as the tiebreak, and the rest is yours to argue. Shared opponents are matched on fighter identity, not on name, so two different fighters with the same name never merge into one row.

Current Form

Oldest left · newest right

Elmer Ray has lost two straight, after two straight wins. Ray last boxed on Mar 8, 1949.LWWLL

Charles May 1948Boddie Jan 1949Peaks Feb 1949Riviera Feb 1949Holman Mar 19498.8 tracked bouts per year

John Henry Lewis had won four in a row before losing by stoppage to Joe Louis. Lewis last boxed on Jan 25, 1939.WWWWL

Ray May 1938Ceccarelli Aug 1938Adamick Sep 1938Gainer Oct 1938Louis Jan 193911.7 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them

Have Elmer Ray and John Henry Lewis ever fought each other?: Yes. Elmer Ray and John Henry Lewis met once on May 19, 1938, and John Henry Lewis won by KO in round 12.
Who has the better record, Ray or Lewis?: Elmer Ray is 98-23-11 and John Henry Lewis is 101-11-5. John Henry Lewis has the higher win percentage.
Who has more knockouts, Ray or Lewis?: Elmer Ray has 69 knockout wins and John Henry Lewis has 58. Elmer Ray has more.
Do Ray and Lewis have any common opponents?: Elmer Ray and John Henry Lewis share 2 common opponents: Cyclone Lynch and Willie Reddish. Neither fighter fared better across the shared opponents overall.
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Ray and Lewis?: This comparison is drawn from 135 bouts tracked for Elmer Ray and 117 bouts tracked for John Henry Lewis. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

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Elmer Ray vs John Henry Lewis — record, stats and common opponents compared

Elmer Ray

John Henry Lewis