This content is protected 1. Even. 2. With Baer backed into the corner, the two wailed away insanely, Nova concentrating on the body. Nova. 3. Baer. 4. Good slugging going on. Baer was on the defensive. Nova. 5. Baer. 6. A great onslaught from Baer. Baer. 7. Baer was on the attack again. Great exchanges near the end of the round. Baer. 8. Nova countered extremely well. Nova. 9. The vicious battle was closely fought. Even. 10. Nova's uppercuts began to break through Baer's cross guard. Nova. 11. Baer was gradually getting chopped down, but was not hurt too badly. The referee stopped the fight because of a cut Baer had sustained on the inside of his mouth earlier in the fight. Final score: I had it dead even going into the 11th. Each man had taken 4 rounds and 2 were even. Verdict: Very good scrap. Both gave it everything they had, and it produced a lot of good rounds. It was difficult to watch cuz of the subpar film quality though.
Nova vs Baer slugfest are really nice to watch, there is a lot of action in both fights. I think that Nova looks slightly better overall here, but I wouldn't be surprised if Baer knocked him out late without unfortunate cut.
I don't know. Lou handled everything a fresh Baer could dish out and Maxie was coming apart at the seams by the time the fight was stopped. I can't see him dropping anything on Lou that would take him out. I got to hand it to Nova, he went right at Max from the start. He was not afraid or in awe of his power. I think counter-punching Lou just had Maxie's number.
I had Nova much further ahead. A confession--I found a better copy of this film in two parts on you tube and watched that. What stood out is that Baer was wide open and eating punches, especially jabs, all night. It was an interesting fight with some good exchanges but Baer's lack of defense was obvious, and Nova showed he could take Baer's punches. Nova displayed basic boxing skills. Baer was big and he was tough, but he had to be as he never developed much skill or defense. His effective punching power might be a bit overrated. Most of his opponents finish on their feet. Many thought Nova was a coming champion and he had the shortest odds against Louis, only to completely fold. I have heard that the Louis-Nova fight was filmed but was so dull that it was never released to theatres. Nova supposedly froze with fear and did nothing offensively.
How much further? Agreed. As the fight wore on, it was clear how ineffectively Baer was utilizing the cross-guard. Wow, that's dull. Something I did see about Baer in this one that impressed me was that he was not punching as wildly as he did when he was in his prime, his punches were not nearly as telegraphed and he was more accurate. I also thought his jab seemed slightly better.
Baer was also kinda done .. post Louis his opposition was horrific .. his heart, never in the game , was hanging on for a few big paydays .. Max was never a great fighter but he was a tough one and he showed it by displaying a lot of grit against an underrated Nova with his best days behind him ..
What you don't see here is how dirty the fight is. Both of their fights were notorious for the amount of fouls from both guys. On a separate note, something really weird happened to Lou where the Joe Louis fight is concerned. He really freaked out during the contest, just grabbing Joe at every opportunity and refusing to fight. Afterwards, he asked Ray Arcel to go with him for a walk on the roof.
If you read about these fights or even interviews, particularly with Max, every foul in the book was committed and returned.
That's what I said Billy. Film quality isn't great though. If the Ref didn't call them, how are we supposed to see them watching through frosted glass ?
This is true. But in fairness, it was a haymaker, and Nova was on the attack again and had Baer in trouble before the end of the round. I will say this in defense of Maxie, however, this was a few years past his prime. Would Nova's counter-punching style have the hex over a younger Maxie? Who knows? But I'm sure it would've been a great fight based on what we saw here.
