Joe Louis's Best Performances

My personal favourite is the 1 round demolition of Buddy Baer - his power was scary an combinations scintillating in that one - in fact it contains probably my favourite Joe combination ever - its the series of shots he strings together for the 2nd knockdown - but get the clear/quality footage not the crappy hazy one

 

Max Baer.

 

His physical peak by his own account was Max Baer. The triple hook knockdown he used to conclude round three may actually be his finest moment on film athletically. This was actually a hook-right uppercut-hook (missed)-hook(missed)-hook-hook-hook combination delivered after Max got up from his first career knockdown, a tremendous seven punch barrage which took about three seconds to discharge. If I was only allowed a single brief clip from his career to show him off, this would be the one. How often do you see an HOF HW unload a quintuple hook on another HOF HW anyway? Joe was so great on film he sometimes gets taken for granted, but that flooring ranks with the one Ali inflicted on London, just a ridiculous outburst of speed and power for a HW (or any weight, for that matter).

Godoy II wasn't a manner of fighting he preferred, but the way he literally ripped apart Arturo's face has huge ramifications in a H2H peak for peak fantasy situation against 1969-1971 Frazier or Marciano. Louis was capable of fighting with deadly effectiveness in retreat against forward pressure from a low position, and I believe Godoy II to be his most evolved performance.

 

:good

 

Max Baer
Max Schmelling II

 

Though probably passed best, the KO of Walcott in their rematch was a classic example of Louis keeping his cool, using the whole target so Walcott had a big area to defend, and the sort of controlled aggression that both permitted and pressured Walcott to throw a few punches of his own, making counter-punching opportunities.

 

To me is Carnera....oh my, what a display of cleverness and power.....

 

Baer
Schmelling II
Simon II
Buddy Baer II

 

Does anyone think that Joe could have beaten Max Schmelling first time,if he'd done his pre fight homework better ?

 

I think that you would have to show somebody at least half a dozen Louis fights, to show his full repatoir.

Excelent calls so far, but I would suggest including excerpts from certain fights to show certain aspects of his repatoir e.g Louis Baer I and Louis Godoy II.

 

I've always expressed the opinion that Max simply had Joe's number in a peak-for-peak first time match-up. He had the perfect weapon to capitalize on the Bomber's greatest technical flaw. An initial meeting would have always progressed into a chess match, and Louis, frankly, simply wasn't as smart as Schmeling. It was the Louis of the Max Baer fight that the German was prepared to knock out, and this was a past prime Schmeling.

I believe the Schmeling of Risko, Uzcudun I and Stribling would be too much for Joe of the Max Baer fight to decision (although Louis likely would conversely be too tough at his best for Schmeling to stop before the final bell). Max would be too smart, focused and cautious to leave a fatal opening, and Joe simply wouldn't have an answer for Schmeling's counter right this first time out. It's a styles thing to a certain extent, along with Max's brain power.

 

Joe Louis in the second fight with Max always reminded me of this quote by Jack Dempsey:

"All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him"

 

Blackburn tried to warn him that Schmeling would use his overhand right to counter his jab, so he could certainly have done a lot better.

Louis's loss was a combination of two factors.

He got careless on the day that he met the guy who threw him the curveball.

I don't know if he would have won with better preparation, but it is highly plausible.

In that scenario, we would be talking about how the old veteran took the invincible Joe Louis to the edge of disaster, before loosing heroicaly.