in january 1926 he won the match for the european light heavyweight title against the swiss louis clement. he lost his title later to fernand delarge in july 1926 in what was told to be an “easy match”. in winning position he went knock out due to inattention in the 15th round. van ‘t hof tried to regain the european title in january 1927 from delarge, but lost after in the 15th round due to medical indication.