The Tragedy of Singapore’s First Boxing Superstar

Tan Teng Kee was the Mike Tyson of Singapore boxing in the 1920s. Known as Battling Key, the larger-than-life boxer attracted crowds wherever he went. Which makes his drastic downfall all the more tragic.

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What Abhishek Talked About

02:04 – How boxing came to Singapore
04:44 – Why boxing has wide appeal among the masses
06:43 – Who attended boxing matches in 1920s Singapore
08:13 – Background and rise of Tan Teng Kee or Battling Key
10:43 – Battling Key's matches with Yeo Choon Song
16:07 – Song's complaint about Key's gloves
17:14 – What happened to Song after beating Key
20:56 – Key's downfall
22:31 – Boxing ecosystem and corruption
28:34 – Why professional boxing was more successful than professional tennis
31:27 – Abhishek's choice between being a boxer and tennis player
31:50 – Abhishek's nickname if he were in combat sport
32:09 – Fatherhood is...
32:06 – Sports is...

About the Guest

Abhishek Mehrotra is a researcher and writer whose interests include media and society in colonial Singapore, urban toponymy and post-independence India. He is working on his first book (HarperCollins, 2025) – a biography of T.N. Seshan, one of India’s most prominent bureaucrats. Abhishek is a former Lee Kong Chian Research Fellow (2021–22).

Resources

Abhishek Mehrotra, "Gloved Gods: Battling Key, Yeo Choon Song and the Roaring '20s of Singapore Boxing," BiblioAsia 20, no. 2 (July–September 2024).

Nick Aplin and Quek Jin Jong, “Celestials in Touch: Sport and the Chinese in Colonial Singapore,” in Sport in Asian Society: Past and Present, ed. J.A. Mangan and Fan Hong (London; Portland, Or.: Cass, 2003). (From National Library, Singapore, call no. R 796.095 SPO) 

H.L. Hopkin, “Boxing Nights in Singapore,” Straits Times, 7 December 1927, 8. (From NewspaperSG).

Lim Kee Chan, oral history interview by Chong Ching Liang, 18 April 1999, transcript and MP3 audio, Reel/Disc 6 of 13, National Archives of Singapore (accession no. 0001770).

Credits

This episode of BiblioAsia+ was hosted by Jimmy Yap and produced by Soh Gek Han. Sound engineering was done by One Dash. The background music "Di Tanjong Katong" was composed by Osman Ahmad and performed by Chords Haven. Special thanks to Abhishek for coming on the show.

BiblioAsia+ is a podcast about Singapore history by the National Library of Singapore.