His knockout victory over Battling Levinsky on 12 October 1920 in Jersey City in the United States earned him the title of world champion.

Nicknamed the "Orchid Man",[1] he stood 5 feet 11+1⁄2 inches (182 cm) and his fighting weight ranged from 147 to 175 pounds (67 to 79 kg).

A decade after his death, the Parisian Sports Arena in the 13th arrondissement of Paris was renamed Halle Georges-Carpentier after him.

On 1 June 1913, he beat "Bombardier" Billy Wells in Ghent, Belgium to become heavyweight champion of Europe.

Carpentier was also a referee during the early stages of his career, supervising a number of fights including the world title bout between Jack Johnson and Frank Moran in June 1914.

Carpentier defended his title twice again in 1919 before dropping down a weight class to challenge Battling Levinsky for the light heavyweight championship of the world.

Carpentier's attempt at the heavyweight Championship of the world came on 2 July 1921, again in Jersey City, when he faced Jack Dempsey in front of boxing's first million dollar gate (approximately $17,000,000 today).

His last truly noteworthy fight was on 24 July 1924, with Gene Tunney at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan, New York City.

Carpentier died in Paris at age 81 in 1975 of a heart attack, and was buried in the cimetière de Vaires-sur-Marne, Seine-et-Marne, France.