 Houdini was an amateur boxer and told crowds he could withstand any man's punch with barely a flinch. The stunt matched what people loved about his famous escapes, the idea that his body could conquer physics. After a show in 1926, Houdini invited a group of students backstage to meet him. One, a guy named Gordon Whitehead, walked up and started punching Houdini in the stomach without warning.