How bad was Joe Louis's opposition ?

It was the best opposition available over a period of about 15 years.

You have to look at the common factor in their failure.

 

This factor?

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Thats the one.

 

Well, Max Schmeling, Max Baer, Primo Carnera, and Jim Braddock were all world champions and still fairly competitve when Louis fought them. Baer particularly was a feared champion at the time and often makes a lot of peoples' all time great punchers list. His brother Buddy Baer was no slouch either. He was as big or bigger than Gerry Cooney and easily had more power. John Henry Lewis is rarely mentioned, but I like to think that he's a good win for Louis. He was a good lightheavweight champion who rarely lost in over 100 pro fights. Joe Walcott was a future world champion and a hall of famer, along with likely being at his best when Louis defeated him. These are probably my biggest picks for his best wins

For Ali, its a no contest. Muhammad beat at least 3 or 4 all time great fighters that were probably better than anyone Louis beat. Holmes is a much closer comparison. His comp was at least measurable to Louis's, with both men having a fair share of good and bad wins. Louis probably beat more all time great fighters from a legacy standpoint, where as Holmes may have beaten a few who had better records, and were a bit more athletic. Tyson's wins over Spinks, Tucker, Thomas, Berbick and Ruddock, probably size up reasonably well to Louis's wins over Braddock, Baer, Carnera, Walcott and Schmeling. The longevity of Joe's reign however, makes him higher on my list. A similar Argument can be made for Holyfield.

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I think he definately beat better fighters than Dempsey. Jack did not face nearly as many men with the kind of all time great recognition that Louis beat, and Louis defeated a larger number of fighters who were still active, and at or near prime. The same probably holds true for Marciano. A prime Rocky struggled to beat an aging Walcott which was likely his best win, whereas a declining Louis beat a peaking Walcott and did so in similar fashion. This is to say nothing about the rest of his victoms many of which were current, former , future champions or top contenders. Tyson, as I already mentioned comes close. I know a lot of people don't think much of his oppositon, but lets face it, Knocking out an undefeated Spinks in 91 seconds, beheading Trevor Berbick following his win over Pinklon Thomas, outpointing a large and unbeaten Tucker, suriving the power of Ruddock, beating an undefeated olympian in Biggs plus several other fighters was huge. I'm not saying Tyson's comp list was better, but it certainly rates closely.

 

The resumes of the heavyweight and light heavyweight champions he beat will be familar to everybody so no need to go into huge detail.

Primo Carnera
Max Baer
Jack Sharkey
Jimmy Braddock
Max Schmeling
John Henry Lewis
Billy Conn
Joe Walcott

Of the rest the better names he beat are:

Tommy Farr
Bob Pastor
Lou Nova
Buddy Baer
Tami Maurelio

 

I think that the only thing you can say about Louis record is that he fought few other black boxers. Personally, I think that it is because the race divide was breached primarily after Louis' reign, but probably in a very large part because of it, though.

Considering that nearly all champions in the following decades were black I find it hard to believe that there weren't more black fighters who deserved a shot at Louis' title but didn't get it due to the colour of their skin. Don't know if anyone of those would have troubled Louis, though. But I do see it as a flaw on his otherwise excellent record.

 

Yeah, Foreman was very careful with who he fought, both before and after his comeback. But he did have some good wins, though. I still think his destruction of Frazier is something of the most awe-inspiring I've ever seen. Never before or since has an HW ATG been so out-classed when still near his prime. Tyson's loss to Douglas is probably the closest one.

 

Just a bit of a tip..

Snorlax is not looking for a rational intelligent conversation.

 

I think that Farr is the best British heavyweight between Bob Fitzsimmons and Lennox Lewis. He beat Max Baer and Louis didnt exactly have an easy time with him.

If he had come along in the early 30s who knows?

I consider him a break in the honourable 100 year tradition of horizontal British heavyweights.

 

Not bad at all, honestly.

 

Apart from only defending against two Black fighters ,in Walcott and Lewis,Louis didnt fight one specific type of fighter ,do you know what is was?

 

What black fighters should he have fought?

Who was there who hadnt been dismantled by the people he did fight?

Look at the rankings over that period.