If anyone can beat Louis post 1935 IMO it's Johnson. A lot depends on the length of the fight tho, if it's 15 then Joe gets a tight decision win, if it's going on in to the 20 rounds plus then I've a feeling that Jack eventually stops him but it's not an easy fight for either man.
I respect the time and effort you put into this post. Putting Johnson growing up in the 20's though should be a different post altogether. One I'd be very interested in too.
not the way they did it. Both threw lots of punches to keep Louis off. Johnson’s punch output in filmed fights is very low. Louis would nail him with the jab and have little worry from his right hand on the outside as Johnson seldom threw it
Johnson could not pull a Schmeling. He didn’t hit as hard and seldom threw his right hand unless he was in a clinch.
I love Louis as an extremely talented boxer puncher but if you watch some of his fights and not just his highlight film KO's there are times when he gets puzzled and appears like a very different fighter .. he was remarkably patient and ended up attaching pretty much everyone but I really don't feel he was the smartest fighter that ever lived .. he dominated rematches on natural skills honed on specific tasks he could not pivot to mid fight the first time out .. I say Johnson, ridiculously under rated by some here, matches up well .. he's a bit smaller but not much. He's at least as physically strong if not more. He's a defensive master who could hit hard enough to sting Joe for sure and I think confuse and possibly chop him up ..
A well respected boxing scribe,I think it was Charley Rose ,said something similar ,although the catcher he named was Willie Mays.
Good eye. . I remember reading that years ago. Couldn't remember who it was but it stayed with me. Couldn't say Willie Mays though cause Willie used the (basket catch) underhanded style.
Baseball is a mystery to me during the presidential elections I sat in the Irish bars around West 44th street NYC and baseball was on every TV in the bars. Being a Brit I never knew WTF was happening. Reading a book at the moment "IronWeed" about a drunk/bum who was a great pitcher back in the day,[Ted Williams Ty Cobb etc,] interesting, but still unfathomable to me.
Willie Mays is a better call as he was one the best defensive outfielders the sport has known. Aaron was quite good too but not quite in the same class (defensively). I think the Johnson - Louis matchup is an intriguing one.
Aaron won multiple Gold Gloves until Roberto Clemente came on the scene. I think Mays had more flair than Hank Aaron but they weren't that far apart.
Don't want to get too far off topic in a boxing forum, but.....you are correct, Aaron was a great fielder (underrated in fact) but I think beyond the flair, what set Mays apart was the great throwing arm. People forget that about Mays. Regardless, Aaron was indeed a great fielder - I stand partially corrected. How about we say Johnson would catch the Louis jab like Brooks Robinson?