Joe Louis vs. Vitali Klitschko

The biggest difference IMO though is Carneras lacking instinct for finding the right distance. A taller top boxer will always instinctively stay barely out of range of his opponent, at least he will TRY to. Not so with Carnera, who had the physical advantage.

Louis on the other hand didn't have to do much to get and STAY within range the entire distance. In fact Louis took next to no punishment when he moved in and closed the distance against Carnera.

Against Vitali he'd have to pay a higher price.

 

Good points.

 

This is a reasonable position. I think Louis would beat Vitali and stop him on the basis of a large accumulation of punches, but I don't think ANYONE in the history of boxing has an easy time with Vitali. Vitali has something to troube anyone: if you can deal with his size, then there's his chin to deal with; even if you find the chin and hurt him, he's got good survival skills and a good workrate.

It's certainly no slight against Vitali that Louis would beat him. I'd pick Louis to beat almost any heavyweight who has ever lived.

 

I'll tell you what I do really rate about Vitali: the man is a real fighter. He had a certain self-assuredness that is actually quite rare in a fighter, and it's a little disturbing at times, to be honest.

 

Wow, Chagaev vs Ibragimov in black in white!

You a wizard? That was perfect.

 

Only a fool calls Galento a bum. He had real amateur pedigree, a world class punch and possessed- though not always displayed- real skills.

 

Well, while I feel Louis did KO a lotta' bums and stiffs during his reign, I never thought "Schmeling, Farr, Godoy, Conn, Galento, Simon, Bud Baer and later, Joe Walcott" as being bums...... They were decent contenders....... Walcott being the best...

I can also envision Vitali Klit beating all them dudes' that Louis beat as well, in a time machine.....

Louis is an ATG but, against a huge dude like Vitali Klit, Louis would find it hard to pop and land his jab at will like he was accustomed in doing, and his right cross would be traveling upward, in which he'd lose leverage... As for Louis' left hook, I can't see that being a factor on Klit... Klit just ain't there for the hook.....

Laugh if you want, but Louis MIGHT get his ass kicked by Klit in a time machine.?.?.?

MR.BILL

 

I just rewatched Louis vs Galento. As usual, i was in awe of Louis' swift combinations. He landed an awful lot of them in round 2 and nearly ended it right there and then, but Galento managed to land a perfect counter left hook, dropping him and buying himself another round before being annihilated.

I wasn't all that impressed by Galento's skill level, though. It's clear he relies a lot on physical traits like power, handspeed and durability. He was clearly out of his league against Louis, who i felt was a bit too aggressive at times and could've avoided some punishment. But it makes for a great fight! One of my all time favorites, this one.


Although Vitali is very heavy handed, i'm wondering if he has the power to keep Louis off him. For instance, i can imagine Wlad landing a great right hand on Louis and knocking him down or hurting him badly, but i'm not sure if Vitali can do that. It all depends on how well Joe can get through; he could be a bit slow on his feet, although he showed a lot of explosive movement against Carnera.

 

And better conditioned but less skilled than Cornelius Johannes Sanders.

 

Chris,

See.... My point exactly about swift punching....... Louis was taller than Galento, and had more skill, so landing punches in bunches on Galento's face looked and was easy for Louis........

Same scene with V.K. against Arreola....... Klit was too tall and punching down on a slower, less skilled man who was tuff as nails, but easy to hit....

HOWEVER! Arreola never came close to dropping Klit like Tony Baby did to Louis..........

MR.BILL:hey

 

Arreola is no Galento.

Two Ton could land a considerably more solid punch, was more effectively aggressive and had better defense.

In my book the Klitschkos will always be at least partially a product of steroids, so a fantasy matchup against the Brown Bomber is not on even terms.

Vitali's size, mobility, busyness, power, and fundamentals in his style will trouble Louis.

But Louis also brings to bear mobility [Baer], angles, a long jab, a crunching left hook, combinations, and, a withering body attack I see Vitali having trouble avoiding.

Both men can dish it out and take it.

But I see Klitschko the mountain breaking down in a searing contest.

 

Galento was a cross between Butterbean and Arreola......... A rugged brawler who cut easy and was easy to hit, yet owned a wicked punch...... Galento was good, as I have stated all along about Butterbean and Arreola.......

People scoff at Butterbean as a serious heavyweight fighter, and I see the gripe myself, but be as it may, Bean was huge, strong and powerful.... If Bean lands upside your head with a power shot, its lights out for just about anyone.....

Galento was NOT much different from Bean......... That goes for Arreola, too.......

MR.BILL

People make it sound like Butterbean couldn't carry a jockstrap.... He was no finess fighter, but he could brawl and punch........ And, he was VERY DANGEROUS within the first 4 rds......

 

Butterbean fought 4-rounders against bottom-of-the-barrel opposition and lost when he went up to 10-rounds against a 52-year-old flabby Larry Holmes. All his other fights were 4-rounders against nobodies, some were dive-artists.
Sure, if he hit you it's gonna hurt, but the same can be said about thousands of fat 300-pound bouncers and tough guys the world over.

Galento fought 10 and 15-rounders, and beat guys like Al Ettore and Lou Nova. He was crude but effective, against real fighters in real fights.

Butterbean carried about 100 pounds of flab, Galento carried about 25.

There's no comparison. Galento was an amusing character and made a mockery of refined boxing with his crude brawling and poor conditioning, but was a dangerous proven contender at least, and fought plenty of the top fighters.

Butterbean was just a 4-round novelty act who was never put in with a contender. He's just something fun to watch on TV, aimed at the same audience as WWE, monster trucks or demolition derby. Most of his wins were on the level of him knocking out that fool in the department store for Jackass movie.

 

Chris,

Galento was a journeyman. Vitali Klitschko easily had enough pop in his fists to keep Louis off of him. Louis is 50 pounds lighter. Also does Vitali get those 6 to 8 oz gloves? If so, watch out!

Louis was in fact stunned by the likes of Conn, and Farr, and neither guy hits anywhere as hard as Vitali does. In addition, if this becomes a boxing match, Louis shuffling feet and shorter reach are going to become a big issue here, as his his average defense.

Louis needs to land the bomb, or hope for an injury of cut ( Louis by the way cut more often than Vitlai did and had more issues with swelling ). While Louis had great power and combinations, no man has floored Vitali in 40+ fights, and he's rarely there to be hit with a second hay maker, or combination.

Watch the films and you'll see Louis chances are not so great. Punchers always looks good for poor defensive fighters who are at the jounryman level.

 

It's ironic you should say that, Mendoza, given Vitali's general level of opposition.