Bep van Klaveren – A Dutch boxing icon

Image by L.V.M. van Daalen

At the border of Crooswijk and Kralingen you can find a statue of Bep van Klaveren. He was a very famous boxer, born in Rotterdam in 1907 and died in 1992. He earned the nickname Dutch Windmill, because during boxing he used to move around a lot swinging his arms.

I’m not into boxing and that’s not the reason I noticed this statue. It has to do with a story my grandfather told me. Van Klaveren used to live in the same street as my grandparents and he was always teasing young girls. One day my grandfather punched his frigging little nose. I state right away, that I’m absolutely not sure if this story is true. Not that I doubt my grandfather being capable of such a thing. Nor do I doubt Mr Van Klaveren is able to do such a thing. (He did get prison time for beating up his wife). It’s the fact that he was 15 to 20 years older than my grandparents. I can hardly imagine a grown man teasing little girls and a boy being the solution. Maybe it was his brother who indeed was 20 years younger and boxer too. Or the story is completely made up. My grandfather was somewhat of a storyteller.

But, Bep van Klaveren still is a famous boxing icon and he still has a lot of Dutch fans. On top of that the statue is quite nice with him standing on the Olympic symbol surrounded by a little park.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Bep van Klaveren | Art & culture | Free
Boezemsingel/Goudse Rijweg | Crooswijk
24 hours daily