Joe Louis's resume is very poor

[Asterion]

His opposition could have been rubbish, but he dominated too much and beat too many former champs and future champs (Baer, Braddock, Schmeling, Carnera, Sharkey, Walcott). His comeback campaign was also impressive.

The way he dominated the division is just astonishing. He has 25% more defenses than Larry Holmes and 45% more than Wladimir Klitschko. And were talking about the guys who follow him on that aspect.

[Hands of Iron]

^
That.

Joe Louis' Top 10 Rated Opponents

1934: Lee Rampage - No. 10
1935: Patsy Perroni - No. 6
1935: Natie Brown - No. 10
1935: Primo Carnera - No. 4
1935: King Levinsky - No. 10
1935: Max Baer - No. 1
1936: Charley Retzlaff - No. 4
1936: Max Schmeling - No. 2 - Loss
1936: Jack Sharkey - No. 4
1936: Al Ettore - No. 3
1936: James Braddock - World HW Champion
1936: Tommy Farr - No. 3
1938: Nathan Mann - No. 3
1938: Max Schmeling - No. 1
1939: John Henry Lewis - World LHW Champion
1939: Tony Galento - No. 3
1939: Bob Pastor - No. 2
1940: Johnny Paychek - No. 5
1940: Arturo Godoy (2) - No. 1
1941: Red Burman - No. 4
1941: Buddy Baer - No. 5
1941: Billy Conn - World LHW Champion
1941: Lou Nova - No. 1
1942: Buddy Baer - No. 4
1942: Abe Simon - No. 6
1946: Billy Conn - No. 1
1946: Tami Mauriello - No. 1
1947: Jersey Joe Walcott - No. 1
1948: Jersey Joe Walcott - No. 1
1950: Ezzard Charles - World Champion - Loss
1951: Lee Savold - No. 4
1951: Cesar Brion - No. 8
1911: Rocky Marciano - No. 3 - Loss

Overall record vs. Top 10 Opposition: 30-3

Other Heavyweights:

Muhammad Ali: 32-5
Larry Holmes: 20-5
Lennox Lewis: 15-2-1
Mike Tyson: 13-4
Rocky Marciano: 11-0
Evander Holyfield: 11-7-2
Joe Frazier: 10-4
Sonny Liston: 8-4
George Foreman: 7-3



So where do you guys rate Louis then, considering his shit opposition?

[Absolutely!]

Originally Posted by Nightcrawler

come on, i LOVE that leaping left hook of his. it's like something out of fucking dragonball z

Majin Buu?

[Hookie]

Originally Posted by Woddy

He was beaten by a 190 Lb Euro fighter badly. He got dropped by so many mediocre boxers with terrible records it wasn't even funny. He never fought some of the best black fighters of his era.

Louis should be ranked very low

Well... he beat some good and great fighters in between getting beat by a 190 Lb Euro fighter and getting dropped by mediocre boxers.

Let's take a look-

[Hookie]

Before winning the HW World Title he beat-

Primo Carnera KO6, HW Champ and Hall of Famer

King Levinsky KO1, tough trial horse with a very good chin, he had never been stopped before and was only ever stopped 5 times in 117 fights.

Max Baer KO4, HW Champ and Hall of Famer

Paulino Uzcudon KO4, a good HW with a great chin who beat Tom Heeney, Harry Wills, and Max Baer among others. He gave plenty of good fighters tough nights like Max Schmeling x3, Primo Carnera x2, Tuffy Griffiths, Tommy Loughran, George Godfrey, and others. Louis was the only fighter who ever stopped him.

Charley Retzlaff KO1

Jack Sharkey KO3, HW Champ and Hall of Famer, worst beating Sharkey ever took

Al Ettore KO5

Bob Pastor W10.... and KO11 (in a HW World Title Defense)

so far so good

[HOUDINI]

Schmeling was a top contender and during that time hwt champion over a 10 year time span. He defended his championship against the dangerous and leading contender Young Stribling. During that 10 year time span he went 20-4. Schmeling was rated for a while as a top 10 all time hwt champion.

[Hookie]

Yes, he was dropped by Schmeling in their first fight (he had never been down before) and stopped in the 12th. Max fought a great fight and Louis came in a bit overconfident. Louis stopped Max in the 1st round of their rematch. Schmeling was a HW World Champ and is a Hall of Famer.

He was down vs. Braddock but went on to stop him in the 8th and win the HW World Title vs. the Hall of Famer.

He also beat-

Tommy Farr W15

John Henry Lewis KO1, LHW Champ and Hall of Famer.

Toney Galento KO4, Louis was down but beat the crap out of Galento for most of the fight.

Abe Simon KO13 and KO6

Buddy Baer WDQ7 and KO1, Louis was down vs. the 240 Lb Baer (first fight) but beat the crap out of him for most of the fight

Billy Conn KO13 and KO8, LHW Champ and Hall of Famer.

Lou Nova KO6

Jersey Joe Walcott W15 and KO11, a past prime Louis was down 3 times in 2 fights vs. Walcott but earned the unpopular decision in their first fight and stopped him in their rematch.

Jimmy Bivins W10, Hall of Famer

He lost to Ezzard Charles L15 and Rocky Marciano LKOby8 while past prime... both HW World Champs and Hall of Famers.

Yep, Louis sucked!

[mr. magoo]

The strength of Louis's resume is built on

1. Longevity at the top

2. His record claim to most title defenses

3. Devastating nature of his wins

His opposition is what I would classify as " decent. " Its nice to say that he beat 6 guys who held the heavyweight title at one time or another, and a handful who held the light heavyweight crown as well. But some of those guys were less than impressive champions. Braddock took a step up at the right time and elevated himself from journeyman level, and became a genuine contender at the time he challenged Baer. But it wasn't until two years after he won the belt that he fought Louis, and was inactive in between. Carnera was a big man, but not the most graceful or durable. Baer was dangerous, but lacked defense and skill. Sharkey was finished. I suppose Walcott and Schemling were genuinely good wins and Buddy Baer's size and power would always have to count for something. Overall it was a great resume. His opposition has never been a favorite of mine however