If Joe Louis Held The WBC Title..?

Hein Ten Hoff becomes the Leon Spinks of German Heavyweights.

With only seven fights under his belt, the great German amateur Hoff beats Neusel for the WBA belt in 1946.

Walcott beats Ray for the IBF strap in their 1947 return.

Instead of fighting Maxim, Walcott unifies the WBA and IBF belts against Hoff in Germany in 1947.

Then Louis and Walcott fight in Madison Square Garden for the UNIFIED title.

It's a controversial decision for Louis. They rematch in 1948.

Days after Louis stops Walcott and wins all the belts, the WBA strips him for not agreeing to defend against Bruce Woodcock fast enough.

 

I don't think that either Ray or Walcott was close to championship level in the early 40s.

If as you say, they wanted to give black contenders a fairer shake, there would have been far more obvious candidates than those two.

 

It's an IBF title.

Put on your alphabet glasses and put down the Ring magazine ratings.

Charles Martin is the top rated IBF contender ... NOW.

The LAST TIME Charles Martin was rated so highly (and WON IT) ... Czar Glazkov was the top rated IBF contender.

The FIRST three challengers for the IBF heavyweight title were Bonecrusher Smith with a 14-1 record, David Bey with a 14-0 record and Carl Williams with a 16-0 record.

Vaughn Bean was a mandatory TWICE.

Get creative. The IBF does.

 

Hehehe

 

I am sorry, I forgot how truly bad the IBF's rankings can be.

Even so, if you wanted to push a black contender in the early 40s, I would suggest Franklin, Bivins, or Lewis.