Then you should have said amateur champion, Woddy. You didn't. You said Olympic champion, and Louis never competed in the Olympics. Therefore, this does not constitute a schooling. It only serves to illustrate the fact that you're simply trying to get a reaction from the remainder of posters on this site. And it seems as though the rather placid reaction you've received thus far indicates that other methods may have to be used.
Although I disagree with most of Woddy's post, he does make me think abit regarding Louis' title reign. I find it it odd that in Louis' 25 defenses in nearly 12 years he only fought 2 black fighters, Jersey Joe Walcott and John Henry Lewis, the latter being a light heavyweight looking for one last big payday. There were certainly good black heavyweights out there so what happened? There has to be a reason. If champions like Jeffries, Johnson and Dempsey are criticisized for not fighting black fighters during their respective title reigns why does Louis seem to avoid the same criticism? Believe me I'm not trying to lessen Louis' standing in the ATG category but I've always been puzzled by this.
I don't have much time to get into this right now, but there definately some qualified black fighters at the time who certainly could have gotten title shots over some of the caucasion men who Louis fought. Elmer Ray was on something like a 72-2 winning streak which even included wins over Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles and Lee Savold. All three of them fought Louis, but Ray never did. Lem Franklin won something like 16 strait bouts and even beat Abe Simon twice. Simon received two shots at Louis while Franklin never shared the same ring with the champ.. The list goes on, but I have to run. SuzieQ has some background on some of these fighters as well, and might even be able to tell you more than I could.
No, he had no part in the Olympics. No, he was thrown in with contenders, ex-champs, and HOFers only a year into his career. Like who? Yes, everyone has. He was rated #1 across the board in 1939. He beat Bivins the same year he beat Savold. Bivins, Ray, Thompson, Franklin, and Murray were all rated well below Simon when Louis beat him. No. No. They were already refuted by Old Fogey.
Totally agree Joe Louis did so much for our country during a time in which he was resented by America. He put his career on hold for the War when was the last time a boxer gave up his career for his country--not counting Bowe's days as a Marine. List some names of people he ducked as I dont know much about his division prior to 1970.
hes a guy named revolver who used to post garbage about Dempsey, Marciano and Louis a few years ago. He especially hated Louis. He was banned for being a troll but keeps coming back with different usernames, its just best to ignore his posts
Funny to think, had Louis never went into WW2, he could of had more than 25 title defenses. Absoloutely amazing. He was, imo, the greatest finisher in boxing history. Nobody finished off opponents like Louis could. In his prime, I can only think of one or two HW's who could have beaten him: Ali and Dempsey.
For those of you who are new to the forum, my screen name is Woddy. It's nice to meet all of you, and for the record, I am the forum's chief poster. Some here are not comfortable with my prescence, as I often tend to tell the truth, but more on that later. Not long ago, I posted a thread called " Joe Louis's bum of the month club. " Here is the link, and you may wish to view it. I consider this to be one of my masterpieces. http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/...+month+club' The thread that I am about to start is basically part two of Joe Louis's bum of the month club series. Rest assured there will be a part three, and perhaps even a part four. He never really fought a true world beater, so material should be easy to provide. Some have ranked Joe Louis as America's champion. Others claim that he is the greatest heavyweight of all time. I think all the above is nonsense, and what I think is better and more valid than most, so at least you're in good hands for this tour.. Joe Louis was an olympic champion who was very well managed and unbeaten in close to 30 pro bouts before stepping up to the plate. Talk about protected. He was nurtured to a sickening point. He cleaned out the 1930's, a talent starved decade loaded with journeyman including the champions of the period. This time frame even featured a 25 loss fighter with artheritis and nutritional deprivation issues named Jim Braddock. Braddock defeated at least 3 or 4 of the best contenders before getting a shot at " big bad " Max Baer, who's ass he whipped so badly that a new term needed to be coined to describe the pleasure. Louis took the title from a two year layed off Braddock who was basically gone from the game, and in the meantime Louis had gotten his ass licked by a 190 lb lightheavyweight named Max Schmeling. Yes, we know... Schmeling was an all time great " laughing out loud. " Let me remind you that boxing was young, Far younger than it is today. Acheiving the status of all time great did not take much. You beat a few ranked fighters, gave a good losing effort against a few others, fronted some excuses for bad performances such as " I got drafted to fight in the war " or " I had no trainer for my last match " or " I had to help my brother re-roof his house while training ", and that my friends, is how an entrance into the hall of fame was acheived. The credentials of some of these men were no better than that of Jesse Ferguson or Ross Purity. Louis regularly got decked, beaten or made to look like a fool against the most average fighters the sport has ever seen. Anyone ever hear of Tony Galento? No? Well, you're not missing anything. Folks chat about how fat Sam Peter or Ruslan Chagaev look, well if you check their profiles, they are usually in the classic forum. Now check out Galento's background and do some image searches on google and tell me if you think Chagaev or Peter look so disgusting. This man floored Louis and made his face look like an ad for some abused house wife organization. Louis fought the 40 loss Jack roper. He fought Bob Pastor who had 17 Ko's in over 50 wins and would later get stopped by Conn!!!! He gave rematches to fighters whom he never should have fought even once. Where were Elmer Ray, Jimmy Bivens, Turkey Thompson, Lem Franklin, or Lee Q Murray when Louis was fighting stiffs like Savold, Simon, McCoy and Musto??? The most padded record of all time? I think so. The most valid opinion from ESB's best post? Again, I think so. Opinions that are likely to be refuted by anyone here? I think not. About time somebody comes along and makes a great point. Bowe, Foreman, Ali, Frazier, Holyfield ect ect ect would of went undefeated fighting the trash Louis fought. No other white or black fighters is more overrated than Louis besides Marciano.
The Brown Bomber is the greatest Heavyweight of all time,he fought all comers served his country in ww2.