Whats with this idea that Joe Louis was a weak champ or not as great a fighter as once thought?

Because somebody called "legend" this doesn't mean he's untouchable.
Otherwise Tucker couldn't reach his full carrier potential because the prime Tyson and a very good Lewis
crossed his way but he went the distance and showed decent performances.
Joe Louis never beat similar H2H great fighters like Tyson or Lewis.His best opponent was the only
184 lbs Rocky who destroyed him easily.Maybe this Joe wasn't 100% but he showed nothing but at least
the shot Tucker went the distance with Lewis and won rounds and he could chase the tired Lennox.
All in all Joe Louis vastly overrated like the Metallica.

 

If Tony Tucker had Louis' mentality, he would've been the best heavyweight of all time. The only problem is that his was closer to Henry Akinwande's.

 

Tucker was good enough at one point to give a good champion a run for his money. And he did. But that’s all. Nothing wrong with that.

People forget Louis dealt with guys expected to give a good champion a run for his money rather easily. Guys like Lou Nova. That guy would have been a serious threat in any era but nobody remembers much about him because of how good Louis was. Ray Arcel said Nova would have given any champion all he could handle.

 

What good champion did Tucker give a run for his money?

 

Tyson.

 

Joe louis has always been slightly overrated.

People are beginning to figure that out. He had some weaknesses and they could be exploited in the right matchup.

 

I wouldn't call lasting the distance giving him a good run. Tyson won by a big margin on all cards.

 

He did prove to be one of the few live challengers Tyson got. He even beat the guy who knocked Tyson out.

 

Tucker was 36 and 37 years old when he lost those 3 fights. Joe Louis was getting ko'd by Marciano at that age.

 

Well if live is spoiling to an easy decision loss yes. Just because he didn't roll over in the early rounds like so many others doesn't = giving Tyson a "good run" tho. Imo anyways.

 

I think Tucker gave Tyson a decent fight. To be fair.
It wouldn't matter if Tyson won every round on every score card, Tucker was making him work and hitting back. He never allowed Tyson to administer a sustained beating. Tyson had to grind out the win and outbox Tucker for every point.
I'm not saying Tucker gave a great performance or anything but it was decent/good.

 

That tucker looked to me like a very good fighter who wasnt missing any attributes but just happened to be in with an exceptional fighter entering his peak. And i dont see why it would be absurd to think that he could, with his height chin and movement give Louis trouble.

 

Of course Louis was great.

But some have given him mythical status.

It's blasphemous to some to say, for example, someone like Oliver McCall could last the distance with him, when most evidence points to this being the likely outcome.

 

Tyson and Lewis.

 

It was like 117-111.

He was the first guy to visably stop Tyson in his tracks and make Tyson respect his power. After the fight, it was generally acknowledged to be a very good performance by Tucker. By most definitions, he "gave Tyson a run for his money."

And this was basically an absolute prime Tyson who still had exceptional head movement/defense. He slipped the Tucker jab very impressively. This wasn't a Tyson who attacked in a straight ahead and straight up fashion.

It should be noted, that Tyson went on a streak of rather easy KOs after beating Tucker.

He also gave Lewis a much tougher fight than many expected, going the full 12 and winning 3 or 4 rounds, several months after Lewis blew out Razor Ruddock. And, that was a Tucker who was clearly past his prime.

And, he had kod Buster Douglas a few months before facing Tyson.

Tucker could certainly fight.

He was very tall, had excellent reach,had a good jab, had good lateral movement, and had a very solid chin. he didn't have great power, but was hardly feather fisted. That big left uppercut certainly got Mike's attention. His defense, once he stopped moving wasn't great, but his chin made up for it. He had decent stamina, pouncing on Buster Douglas when he slowed down in the later rounds.