Zhang vs Joe Louis

Louis would beat the brakes off Zhang and I am going to break it down for you.
Notice how Zhang won his 2 most impressive victories, Wilder and Joyce, was it? He got his lead foot in a position to make them throw a right hand- which is a pretty predictable response in today's game- and countered them with a right hook. The right hook from a southpaw will always beat an orthodox straight right hand to the mark, especially if the southpaw set it up, and it works both ways.
In the old days, the 'book' on how to fight a southpaw was different. The idea then was to step inside his lead foot, draw his left hand and counter him to pieces with your left hand.
Louis is far more mobile on his feet than Zhang and he has faster hands and better endurance. I would tell him to step in and out, but to move to his right- when you step, step inside Zhang's lead foot. The Louis jab, from that angle would land, then slide back and over. You are looking for the Zhang left while moving away from his right hand; when he throws that long left hand, get under it, right uppercut to the body, left hook, and pivot to your right.
I would always have Louis shading to his right and, when Zhang threw a left hand, circling sharply to his right. Do you see why? Once he makes that turn- and he will do it at will because he moves so much more fluently that Zhang- and gets outside of the southpaw's left shoulder, it is target practice. Louis could cut his hands loose and Zhang would have to move significantly to reposition himself.
Louis would fight him like he fought Baer, moving well and picking his spots to sit down on combinations. If I know that and see that, so would Blackburn. Louis would chop him to pieces.

 

I didn’t say Zhang was great at all I implied he was historically not very significant.
I think you’re ignoring a lot and what I said and meant by what I said, to go on this rant which leaves out a lot.
If you misread the tone of the post it wasn’t meant to come off badly so I apologise if It did. I respect you as a poster and just wanted to add my voice to the discussion.
Matching Foreman and Zhang as an example in the now famous thread lol is just good fictional management, against Louis or Lennox… no they’d kill him but maybe against Lyle or Bowe?

 

Someone should send this to Tanks next opponent. Brilliant post.

 

If it was that easy I'd expect him to be easy pickings for plenty of highly skilled middleweights/light heavyweights and cruiserweights who are roughly the same size as Louis and his contemporaries.

Why couldn't Bivol or Benavidez or Beterbiev do what you are suggesting Louis do? There is no absence of highly skilled guys around Louis size fighting in the lower weight divisions

 

Well respectfully there is no one as skilled as Joe Louis around today.

 

Fair

 

What is the mentality to fight a southpaw now? To constantly step left and throw right hands isn't it?
I am not saying that they couldn't do it, maybe they could. But neither of them is nearly as skilled or as well schooled as Joe Louis. They don't punch like him, they have never associated with anyone with boxing knowledge that even comes close to Jack Blackburn.

 

Thank you.
The thing about it is this...there will be people that will disagree with this, and that is fine. But I can take you to the gym and walk you through this and you would see how it works.

 

He might very well still have had 90% or 95% or even 100% of his power left. But I’d wager that much of his punch resistance was gone. Watch him In 2018 taking ripping left hooks from Luis Ortiz who for all his shortcomings could hit like a truck. Watch the back and forth trading between him and Tyson Fury. I would also assume that much of his timing and possibly stamina was gone too. And the Helenius fight was the only win he recorded within a five year period. Not exactly the hallmark of prime

 

As an individual no. As Chinas first HW contender yes. This will be the Chinese century and Zhang is going to be looked back at fondly. Not THIS fondly. But he will be remembered much more than if he were from a different country.

 

Actually you’re right I didn’t think of his historical significance as a Chinese man just as a career boxer. My bad no disrespect intended.

 

I'm not Chinese or implying disrespect but just reading your post and thinking he probably is going to get his name on a bunch of buildings etc.

 

They had genuine knockout power. Power and skill are 2 different things. The fact the super heavies of Louis' time lost to fighters smaller than them doesn't change the fact they had KO power and Louis could take their punches.

250 lbs is 250 lbs.

6'6 is 6'6.

Doesn't matter what time period. Muscle is muscle, height is height, power is power.

 

Certainly some seem to be better in some aspects like defensively, I don't see Bivol getting dropped by Braddock or Galento for example.

 

Whether his power is fading or not, Wilder is gunshy as hell and simply cannot or will not pull the trigger. That's really all that matters. It's like having a foot long ***** but you explode before you can even get it inside.

Wilder is a shot fighter. He is going to get badly hurt if he fights another elite opponent with decent power.