Former HW champions pick the winner in Louis-Schmeling II

At the time I'd have picked Schmelling. People picked Louis for one of 2 reasons, because he was that good and because Schmelling represented the Nazi's (even though he wasn't one)

 

mcG, I understand your point, and agree they were not great examples.

Trying to think of better examples where a contender has gone on to a string of wins after being knocked out and got a rematch and sadly, i am struggling to think of a decent analogy. Maybe favouring Frazier in Frazier Foreman II might be a bit better.

Hypothetically it is quite simple. If Jerry Cooney followed his loss to Larry Holmes with a string of good wins, is there anyone who would pick him to win Cooney-Holmes II?

 

The contemporary fighters (who fought atleast one of each) seemed to have a good idea on what was going to go down.

 

Regarding Tunney, Max Schmeling in his autobiography notes that before the first Louis fight Tunney predicted that Louis would win the heavyweight title and hold it until around 1950.

 

The older boxers tended to pick Schmeling. Louis's comtemparies picke him. Max Baer who fought both Picked Louis.

 

But, If Cooney put together an impressive win streak and the whole country hated blacks for racial reasons, wouldnt it be fair to say that Cooney would have went into the rematch as a favourite, like Louis did. I doubt that Louis was the favourite in Germany.

 

You're forgetting to look at Schmeling. Even with the stoppage over Louis, I hardly think Schmeling would have been seen as an invincible force. The fact that he had struggled with fighters Louis flattened early was still there in plain sight and he wasn't getting any younger either. If he had a string of good defenses against 'name' fighters people could think he was a 'late bloomer', but he only had three in two years before Louis, one of which had gone the distance. Sure, Schmeling could have been seen as a spoiler of an inflated legend, but the shadow of an upset shouldn't have been completely out of the horizon.

 

I can certainly see why some would favour Louis. Just pointing out that it isnt crazy to think Schmelling wins, especially when Schmelling won the first time. I know there were excuses but history is littered with fighters who upset the better credentialled fighter and then went on to prove it was no fluke by repeating the feat.

Schmelling was no no hoper. He was a great fighter, who had many great wins, with one of them happening to be over Joe Louis. Joe Louis may very well have been at his best ever for that fight, but he was not the proven legend that he went on to become.

 

No doubt. Schmeling did see through Louis technical flaw before almost everybody and Louis struggled against Pastor in his run to Braddock and later against Farr. Not unforeseeable at all.

 

O.K I have found where I got it from.

The Myler biography (admitedly a secondary source), makes the following statment:

"James J Jeffries, Jess Willard, Jack Sharkey and Max Baer all went for Louis by a knockout".

It also quotes Tunney making a very unequivocal pick for Louis.

 

Although we consider the primary source to cary greater weight, the two sources are not mutualy exclusive. It is possible that Jeffries and Willard waverd. Neither was particualarly media friendly, and hey might just have said whatever they thought would shut the journalist up.

 

Apparently the odds on Louis were 7-5 until Dempsey said he would perhaps favour Louis slightly, then the odds jumped to 2-1 or longer.

 

Why are you twisting things for the sake of it?


Well done on being a moderator McGrain.