Henryk Chmielewski is considered the best Polish fighter of the interwar period. In 1938, he decided to leave for the United States to fight in professional rings.

June, 1938: the Boston Garden Hall. Henryk Chmielewski, a Polish-born fighter, known in the United States as Henry Chemel, steps into the ring in a cherry-coloured dressing gown. Moments later, he stands in the middle to greet his rival, Charlie Ross, the first of his professional career. "Sports Review" wrote:

"His opponent Ross makes the best possible impression. He is almost a head taller than Chmiel, and nicely built, long arms. A sympathetic face, blond hair shorn into a hedgehog."

Ross is then counted out several times by the referee. Finally, the referee stops the duel and declares Henry the winner. A knockout in his debut! The fighter could not have made a better start to his professional career.

From the factory to the team
Henryk Chmielewski was born in Łódź, on 8 January 1914, to Aleksander and Cecylia née Kowalewska. He began his adventure with sport in 1927 in the "Sokół" Gymnastic Association in Łódź. At first, he practised gymnastics, but soon joined the boxing section. He began the year 1928 with his debut in the amateur rings. On Sunday, 25 February, barely 14-year-old Henryk took part in the Lodz district championships. In the final of the cockerel category he fought Kraszewski. In the "Hołd Łódzki" you can read:

. "Chmielewski mostly with his left straight collects numerous and certain points, having a visible advantage throughout the fight. By the end of the fight Kraszewski is already staggering and, unbeknownst to him, the referees were scoring points, to his general surprise they declared the fight inconclusive. The ordered fourth start decided the already won match in favour of Chmielewski".

Thus began the career of one of the most talented Polish boxers of the inter-war period. After finishing school, he qualified as a dye master, thanks to which he found employment at the S.A.I.K. Poznański Factory. There was a multi-section sports club at the factory, which Henryk joined in 1930. He trained boxing there until his departure for the United States in 1938.

The opportunity to work and train without interference meant that Chmielewski's talent began to shine ever more strongly. In April 1931, he left for Warsaw to fight for the national title. And he was second to none in the lightweight division!

"Chmielewski, who is on the IKP team, is still a very young boxer and rarely appeared in the ring, so his appearance in the capital caused a sensation. He defeated the favourite and previous champion Angel (Warta) unchallenged. Chmielewski is only 16 years old and has a rich sporting career ahead of him," wrote the editor of the Illustrated Republic, as if prophetically.

Chmielewski won further gold medals in the Polish championships in 1933 and 1936, in the middle category. In time he gained such a reputation on the Vistula that he was called up to the national team. He made a total of 16 appearances in inter-state matches, recording 12 wins, a draw and 3 defeats. In 1936, when the legendary Felix Stamm took over the boxing staff, Henryk improved his results even further.

Had it not been for an injury ...
He performed superbly at the XI Summer Olympics in Berlin. At the opening he confidently defeated the Belgian, Jean De Schryver. Then, in a fantastic quarter-final bout, he beat the only black fighter in the tournament, and the big favourite for gold, Jimmy Clark. Thousands of fans gathered in the Deutschlandhalle witnessed a passionate and murderous bout in which both fists fell to the boards and were barely on their feet after the final gong. But it was the resilient Pole who prevailed, even though he bought his advance to the semi-finals with a horrendous shattered hand. Jimmy Clark was impressed with his opponent. He even told Janusz Kusociński, who was a reporter for Przegląd Sportowy in Berlin:

. "He's a very good boxer - he hits hard. I would like to be his mentor in America! I consider his only disadvantage to be his lack of proper coverage, as a result of which he is easy to get on the right hook. If you watched the fight, you will remember that I hit him often with the right. In any case, the Pole won against me deservedly. He was better!".

In the semi-final clash, Chmielewski faced Norway's Tiller. Only that the outcome of the fight was almost a foregone conclusion even before it started. For Henryk's fists were swollen and every touch caused him pain. But into the ring he went. He clearly lost that fight. He did not return to the bronze medal fight with the Argentinian Raúl Villarreal.

This does not change the fact that at the Berlin Games Chmielewski presented more than just strictly boxing skills. Going into the semi-final fight, despite his injury, he proved that he is a courageous and combative fighter. This is probably why he was received so warmly by his proud colleagues upon his return to work in Łódź. At the Power Plant office, they presented him with flowers, and Director Toltoczko offered him an office clock and... a week's holiday.

European champion
Less than a year later, Polish representatives left for Milan to fight for the titles of the best boxers of the Old Continent. Henryk found himself in the cadre. He again competed at middleweight. In the preliminaries, he won convincingly over Claessens from Belgium and in the quarter-finals against the Swiss Alfred Flury. In the semi-finals, however, the bar went really high. Once again, fate paired him with Norwegian Henry Tiller.

The two excellent boxers, this time coming out on equal terms, present an unheard of pace between the ropes. But it is the Pole who has the advantage. He takes the initiative in the second half of the first round. In the second installment, according to the report of the "Illustrated Republic", "Chmielewski hit with a left straight, corrected with a right and already has Tiller "on the fork". The Norwegian wobbles, catches Chmielewski in half and so survives the crisis. Chmielewski, however, is now complete master of the situation".

Eventually, Henryk takes his revenge. In the final, he defeats Dutchman Tin Dekkers and becomes European champion! This is the greatest success of his career. By February 1938, he had fought a total of 157 amateur fights, of which he won 133, drew 11 and was defeated 13 times.

The American Dream
On the last day of January 1938, Stanislaw "Zbyszko" Cygankiewicz, a Polish wrestler popular in the United States, showed up at the Łódź-Fabryczna railway station.
- "This boy, as we say in our country, has 'colour '. He has something of Dempsey and Schmeling and, as a professional, he will undoubtedly go very far," the visitor from across the Atlantic told the assembled reporters.

Talks about leaving and moving into professional boxing continued for several days. Eventually, Cygankiewicz and Chmielewski agreed that they would start their journey together on 3 March 1938, on the ship MS Batory, departing from Gdynia. Earlier, in his hometown, Henry said goodbye to his family and friends. Two days later, the Ilustrowany Kuryer Codzienny (Illustrated Daily Courier) gave him a beautiful laurel:

"Thus ended the first stage of the career of Chmielewski, the best fighter Poland has ever had".

After arriving in the USA, the Łodzianin changed his name to Henry Chemel. In April 1938, news reached Poland that the boxer, at Cygankiewicz's request, had been put in jail. The manager demanded that he sign the contract or give back the borrowed money. In the end, Henryk let it go and the conflict died down for a while, but until the end of his stay in American rings, the Pole had problems with his promoters. He was abused by them.

He began his professional career on 20 June 1938, with the aforementioned fight with Ross. For less than a year, in fifteen fights, he found no opponent. Only the fight with Lou Brouillard ended in defeat. In May 1940, he came out to a victorious fight against Augie Arellano at New York's famous Madison Square Garden.

The pinnacle of Chemel's overseas career was a fight against the famous Jake LaMotta at the Mechanics Building in Boston on 6 November 1942. The Pole started sensationally in that clash, but from the fourth round it was the favourite who took control. And he won on points. Nevertheless, Henry received a standing ovation and 18,000 dollars from the audience. He was ranked fourth in the world at middleweight in 1945.

He ended his professional career in March 1949 with a winning bout against Harry Haft, the same man who had fought in concentration camps during the war. In total, he fought 82 fights as a professional, 56 of which he decided in his favour. After hanging up his gloves, Henry Chemel worked physically as a ship's mechanic and sailor, as if escaping from a fisting environment. He sailed on the passenger ship "Florida" and the merchant ship "Del Mary". Later, however, he tried coaching work. He settled in Canada and the USA (New York, Detroit, Portland, Boston, Miami). He also visited Poland several times, but never returned permanently. He died on 15 November 1998 in Hollywood. He was laid to rest at Hollywood Memorial Gardens East Cemetery.