DOES JOE LOUIS REACH 48 :0 AGAINST HOLMES OPPOSITION?

Can't see why not.

 

Probably even 50-0. But I don't see old Luis lasting vs Tyson longer than Holmes. Tyson fight would be KO loss, every other pre-Tyson opponent could've been defeated by Joe.

 

I wouldn't expect any heavyweight to go 48-0 against that caliber of opposition. It's possible (obviously) but the odds would be against it. Too many things could go wrong, and we've seen Louis wobbled by lesser punchers than some of those men.

 

Anything can happen certainly and hiccups can occur over a long 48 bout career. However Louis was so much more highly polished than Holmes and so much more highly skilled than any of the 48 one would have to conclude yes.

 

I don't know if Norton could stand up for 15 rounds against Joe Louis. Shavers would probably get stopped very early, given his chin. Although he'd be a live dog. Witherspoon was pretty green. That's about it.

I'd also question whether Holmes could go 58-1 against Louis' first 59 opponents. Schmeling (twice), Walcott (twice) and Baer would all pose problems for Larry, too.

Especially Walcott. Holmes tended to avoid guys who moved and had skills like Walcott.

And Baer's right hand was as good as Shavers' ... and better than Snipes' ... who both had Holmes all but out with one shot. Baer was bigger than both of them, too. Certainly more durable than Shavers was.

I like both Joe and Larry, but I'd give Joe a better shot of going 48-0 (against Holmes' opponents) than Larry a shot at 59-1 (against Joe's).

 

Not the Baer that fought Louis. That Baer was a dead man walking. Holmes would have beaten that Baer up and stopped him pretty convincingly.

 

Holmes fought a much better class of punches and larger men who can box.

Louis didn't have the best chin or defense, and he'd be the smaller against most of Holmes better opposition.

If Joe fought all of Larry's first 48 guys when he fought them I think he would lose 2-3 times.

 

And there's a good chance he wouldn't have.

And Baer wasn't a dead man walking when he fought Louis. He fought 30 more times after that, winning 25. He was just intimidated by Louis, like fighters were intimidated by Tyson in his heyday. Holmes didn't strike fear into people like that, ever.

Joe Louis was 21-0 when he fought Max Baer. Holmes was 21-0 when he fought Roy "Tiger" Williams. Joe Louis was a lot better at 21-0 than Holmes was at that point. Baer wouldn't have been intimidated by the Holmes who fought Roy Williams.

And by the time Holmes was losing to Spinks, in his 49th fight, Louis, in his 49th fight, was flooring Buddy Baer three or four times in their first fight.

Think the heavyweight version of Michael Spinks, on his bad knees, was going to beat pre-WWII Joe Louis? No.

Hell, by the time Holmes was in his 58th and 59th fights (against people like Bigfoot Martin and Rocky Pepeli), think Larry is outhustling the likes of the Jersey Joe Walcott who Louis fought in his 58th and 59th fights?

Holmes was a bloated shell of himself by the time he got to his 59th fight. Louis was firing combinations in the 11th to knock Walcott cold in his 59th fight.

Like I said, I'd give Joe Louis a better shot at breaking 48-0 against Holmes' comp than Holmes a shot at bettering Louis' 58-1 when Joe called it quits the first time.

After 48 fights, Louis was still a killer. Holmes was getting gifts against Carl Williams and losing to Michael Spinks.

 

No he wouldn't. Who did Holmes fight who was bigger than Joe Louis? Leroy Jones? Tex Cobb? David Bey?

Joe Louis and Larry Holmes were roughly the same size. During most of Holmes' reign, Holmes weighed 215 or less, about five pounds more than Louis.

Joe wouldn't have been the "smaller man" any more than Larry was.

 

I'll take Spinks over Louis at age 35. We all saw what Charles did to Louis when he was 36. So thats one loss.

Holmes fought the following men bigger than Louis who were either champion or ranked.

Cooney, Witherspoon, Williams, Ali, Smith, and Norton. That is six, plus the names you listed.

Joe Louis best weight was 200-205 and his reach was less than the above men I listed.

 

Can't see Holmes having problems with Schmeling or Baer or any of Louis' prime opponents, and in fact would consider Holmes' opponent in his 21st fight, Roy Williams a better boxer than Baer. Place Roy Williams in the Baer era and he would be a legend today.

At one time I thought Joe Louis was untouchable. I had seen the highlight videos on television of Louis hitting people and then seeing them collapse like a building being demolished. Now, since Youtube, and seeing Louis' opponents I'm not as impressed. Louis might have raised his game if he had fought better competition or maybe not. Beating Baer, Braddock, Schmeling, and Carnera doesn't look impressive. The best Louis fought were probably Charles and Walcott and unfortunately, Louis was past his best when he did.

I'm not impressed with a boxer just because he was a champion, I'm impressed if the fighter looks good in the ring. Baer and most of Louis' opponents don't pass the eye test.

 

It is likely that Louis got a gift vs Walcott in the first fight. Holmes opposition to me in his first 48 fights was better than Louis, and he also fought better men for the totality of his career.