Joe Louis was given to much credit for the Baer win ( Baer) had a broken right hand. He lost to Ezzard Charles and most thought Walcott beat him as well. It was in the rematches were Joe Louis shined. He was put down by Braddock, and Galento, he was losing to Conn a (Light Heavy) and case can be made that Godoy beat him as well. He was beaten by Schmeling and crushed by Marciano. He was a fantastic fighter, but in the end almost every legitimate Heavyweight great I would favor over him, at least in the first match. He has a good record ( bum of the month) and longevity. But when he fought other greats, they often outshone him. I give him the Homes and Wlad fights because of his accuracy and power. But I am being generous with Wlad. If I had to put money on it I would not bet on Louis in that one either, unless it was the rematch.
Louis had brain damage before the first Walcott fight, and was coming back from a layoff when he fought Charles (after he already had said brain damage).
So that is the excuse for Joe Louis these days? Joe Louis is just overrated a bit. Many other posters rightly feel the same as I do. They do not like him in H2H matchups with other greats. There is a reason for it , and most do not want to admit that he was not as good as history has portrayed him.
Being brain damaged is just an excuse now? He had assymetric reflexes. If that doesn't cut it as expaining a poor performance I don't think you can rate a single heavyweight in history.
I will add. Joe Louis has excellent accuracy and power, great speed and ring intelligence. He was a superb ring general. He had a tremendous will to win. That said, His weakness was his feet. He had to be set to throw his combos, he also had a chin that could be checked. Big punchers and great boxers could beat him. He and his trainers stated his weakness was crowders. Almost every other All Time great had tremendous power/stamina/infighting ( his stated weakness)( Marciano) or were superb boxers that could move. ( Conn, Charles, Walcott) Joe fared better against mover/boxers over time, as is seen in the actual fights, he gets their measure and starts to land. This is why he always came back against them and would beat them in the rematch. He just comes up short, at least in the first matches. He could study and find a way to beat almost all the others, but I do not favor him.
I disagree with your overall assessment but I appreciate the in depth reply and reasoning you use to come up with your opinion. Thanks for the well thought out comments.
I chose Tyson, Lewis, Wlad and Vitali. Louis was susceptible to the right hand and I think the latter 3 I chose are just too big to get away with that flaw. Tyson was so fast and strong in his prime I think he would be a far superior version to Godoy who gave Louis a very tough fight. I would say a fight with Ali would be even. I favor him for different reasons over Dempsey, Marciano, Holmes, and Big George.
I definitely cannot see a prime Louis losing to Frazier. Louis would absolutely rip his head off with straight rights and uppercuts.
