ummmm, yea, judge for yourself. thanks to mcvey for showing us this website http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=13877 http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=50308 Which heavyweight contender today is as fast as this past prime Louis?
As Ali put it, he was fast from the waist up. He was quick with his hands, his punches travelled a very short distance and carried a ton of power.
I didn't know lack of speed was ever even a common criticism of Louis. He was obviously lightning fast in his prime. His feet weren't slow, he just fought in a style where he was always quick to set himself flat-footed. Get the job done with the minimum amount of movement, no wasted energy.
I'm just glad this isn't another one of those discussions of his mental faculties, which was my fear in first seeing the title. :!: Joe's footwork was perfectly effective within his style and didn't lend itself to quickness (didn't need to). Certainly a fast puncher.
It always struck me as a slightly silly criticism. Then again, if Louis walked on water some people would say that it was because he couldn't swim!
Joe was quick from the waist up, but his footwork was excellent too...he was not as overtly, flamboyantly quick as Ali footwork wise, but still wonderfully efficient and economical with his feet. If he only had to move his feet 2 inches, he wouldn't move them 3 inches. The problem today is that Louis' footwork is not "highlight reel" stuff, so tends to get overlooked. We live in an era of style over substance, so it's hardly surprising. This "Louis is slow" stuff is one of the biggest myths in boxing, imo. To me, Louis is the greatest heavyweight of all time. I think some of the subtleties in his attributes are just that, too subtle to be appreciated by some casual (and in many cases younger) fans today. He was, imo substance over style.
I think most bring up his slow feet rather than hands. As Unforgiven said, it's just the way he set himself and it saved a lot of energy. Nice little video though, haven't seen it before!
Tommy Farr describes that Jouis was not fast on his feet but he "crept up on you", and when he was within range then boom-boom-boom the punches came.. Woller
He did sound awfully slow when interviewed. Louis hands are very fast at mid-range, his jab isn't though, and his feet are plodcentral
FH,you said it all !Yes, Joe Louis was SLOW ! SLOW as a rattlesnake ! In his soul, Louis and Blackburn knew of the old adage : haste makes waste... Joe knew that it was not wise to throw unecessary punches, and struck his opponents at the proper time, not wasting energy...There was no glitz or showboating. No Ali shuffling his feet without throwing punches. No taunting his opponents,under the guise of showmanship. To Louis that would be beneath him ! He let the quickest and most deadly fists do his talking, and Louis got the job done pronto...Fast, gentle and deadly, was Joe Louis...:good