I have heard a rumor that Max had a shattered right hand before the bout( his best punch) and the fight almost got called off. I heard it was patched up, and he destroyed it with an overhand right in the 2nd round, just as he was getting on track and landing. Would this fight have been different if Max was not injured?
Just watched the bout. I saw the overhand at the end of the second ,that was claimed to shatter his patched together hand. Right before that, there was an intense flurry by Baer as Louis was on the ropes. I was astonished to see just how fast MAx was, and his shots were accurate and landing, they were moving Louis... Heavy stuff. Then the overhand,... fight changed after that. Joe may have won this.... But man.... I can see what Max Baer can do, and healthy and focused..... What a fighter. I really wonder if this could have turned out different.
Ecto, Well, I guess what I really want to know, is if anyone thinks Max could have won this fight if he was fully healthy. AND, how much credit should Joe get for fighting a injured man? I ALWAYS though this was one of Joes best performances. Today, after the revelation...I am leaning toward seeing it as an irrelevant win, and loss for both men.
Louis looked spectacular in this fight, it is a shame that Max's hand was injured. You never want to see a fighter compromised.
Baer and Louis were not on another level. Both stopped Carnera and Galento, with Louis having more trouble with Galento. Baer stopped a prime Schmelling, whereas Louis got KOd by a well past his prime Schmelling and avenged it in his homwtown against a shot Schmelling where everything was set up in Louis' favor. Good to know that another Louis victory does not matter. Baer is overrated, but Louis is more overrated. Pan***ual transcrossswitchers have Louis as high as top 1 or 2 at HW.
I have read conflicting reports about the state of Baer’s hand for this fight. Louis Baer II almost happened. Baer was enjoying a bit of an Indian summer while Louis was champion, before Lou Nova put a stop to it.
Balder, may I ask where you heard this rumour please? I've been following boxing for a long, long time & have never heard this. It seems strange that 79 YEARS after a fight took place a rumour such as this emerges. I also find it disappointing that this could be potentially be used (and already apparently is on this thread) as a reason/excuse to discredit a fine victory by Louis, one that Louis himself said was his finest career performance.
It is fairly reliably established that Baer injured his hand in the Braddock fight, so it is plausible that he still had issues with it when he fought Louis.
Janitor, thanks for the reply. Yes, the injury in the Braddock fight is fairly well known as you say and what you say is very plausible, I've just never heard this before in relation to the Louis fight. I just feel disappointed when something that is a rumour somehow potentially detracts from what was a fine performance from Joe. As Sinatra said (paraphrasing here) - "any 2 bit hooker can say anything about anybody".
Watching fights since David ko'd Goliath, I have never read or heard that Max Baer had a "bad" right hand entering the Joe Louis fight in 1935...Baer did have a bad case of jitters before the bout though...Who could blame him as this Joe Louis was the greatest destructive puncher who ever lived that night...I have always loved this description by some boxing writer of that time, Joe Louis reminds me of "a coil spring unwinding". Amen...
In all the post fight interviews over the years with Dempsey, who was in Max's corner, there are no hints of him knowing of an injured mitt. He thought Max was in shape and expected him to win, it seemed to baffle him that he didn't so highly did he regard him. Through the years reading accounts of those there at the time and in both camps, the scribes and viewers, it was never hinted that any knew of Max injuring his right hand before the bout. Max had a lot of undeveloped boxing technique even at his best and against a prime Louis with every punch and move by the book it was going to show and did. Max tried but couldn't block or slip anything thrown at him that night, simple as that.
This is the Link http://www.boxing.com/baer_vs._louis_fate_takes_a_hand.html It can also be verified on Wikipedia, Just look up Max Baer. I could almost see the pain shooting up through Max in the second round from his overhand right. He definitely paused. Seriously, if this is true, Joe Louis is going to be dropping from my top 3 ATG heavies. I really don't think Max was outclassed, he looked fantastic in the second round before the broken hand...... Not saying he would have won.... but looked like it would be a GREAT fight.
Louis hit Baer with every punch he threw, I doubt the hand would of made a significant difference. Louis won both of the first two rounds convincingly.
Louis was hitting Baer very well. He was a amazing that night, I think he would have won, but much less convincingly. Louis really got the range after the 2nd round, he simply had no respect for Baers power and came in. I think Baer would have kept him much farther off if he could have thrown his right hand. It would have taken Louis a lot more to get inside, and he would pay a price, He even had a chance of getting taken out by Baer. So, although I give Louis the edge, I think it has to be taken in context with Baers inability to throw a meaningful punch. If this broken hand thing is true, I just have to look at this fight differently. Perhaps, Louis could drop a few spots ATG wise, I have him at no. 5 now ( previous 3) after the broken right hand revelation.