What caused Schmeling to get beaten by Louis so thoroughly in the rematch?

I read and article that said that Louis' gloves were loaded, and that the damage that was caused to Schmeling's spine was not possible to deliver by any mortal man.

I don't believe it....similar to the Dempsey/Willard thing. But for the sake of the thread, it is worth noting.

 

1. He was fighting Joe Louis in a rematch. Nobody HW was better in a rematch than Louis.
2. He got hurt immediately, Joe finished it.
3. That was probably the hardest Louis ever trained. Think about it. Not only avenging a loss but being somehow anointed as the champion of democracy going up against the (unfairly) anointed champion of nazi-ism? Add in the racial aspect of it and the era? Can you imagine if he'd lost? Imagine what that would have done for the acceptance of black athletes? He was fighting for his country, for democracy, for himself, for the acceptance of black athletes. It all focused him in a good way.
4. Referring back to #3, Schmeling was no fan of Hitler or the Nazis. He had this forced on him. He probably felt a little sick inside as somehow being considered as Hitler's champion here. All of this probably weighed on him in a way not helpful to focusing him on the fight. Schmeling would have much preferred nothing more than a normal boxing match, without any of the world/societal implications which placed him as the villain somehow.

 

Schmeling didn't want to be Hitler's champion. He would not have been proud to have been used as some example of white superiority. None of this stuff would have helped focus him, other than self-preservation.

 

I don’t know for sure but I just think Louis went in for the kill rather than being lured into a boxing match again with Schmeling

 

That's it really, it just so ended up that he tagged him early and didn't let him off the hook.

If they had a third about it may have gone longer, it is what it is.

 

I’ve seen similar statements. I don’t believe it. Certainly don’t want to believe it. But breaking a bone in someone’s spine is pretty incredible. But Louis was that good.
Schmeling had an incredible right hand but was a slow starter. Louis knew this second time in and blitzed him and bombed him out quick. It was the best strategy. Roy Jones did same thing to Griffith in rematch attack early remove the fighter before you got a fight on your hands.

 

louis learned and adapted in the second match. early last year, WW2 history magazine had an article about them.
first fight, louis was still just a tiny bit green. schmeling watched his fights religiously while training for the fight and saw a chink in louis' armour, so to speak.
louis had matured for the second fight and schmeling had aged just a little bit more in the second fight.
was great that the two became friends after WW2 though.

 

In his autobiography … take it as you will because like all autobiographies there’s a self serving note running through it … Louis said he told Jack Blackburn before the fight that if he hadn’t finished it within three rounds to come and get him, because it was his intention to go wide open using everything he’d been taught and every bit of skill he possessed without holding anything back.

And all the literature that’s been written about the fight since it happened pretty much confirms that Louis was pissed at Schmeling in a way that he couldn’t have let on in real time and was intent on messing him up.

 

There are numerous reasons ... Joe was highly motivated and not over confident , Joe was trained to perfection while Max was two years older , Joe had been active and was ready ... Max had been truly jerked around for two years as far as title fights go and as mentally strong as he was , he was likely not the same fighter .. as much as I respect Louis he was at times a programmed fighter opposed to a natural , one of the reasons he was so exceptional in rematches in bouts against opponents he was unable to adjust to in the initial meetings .. skill wise, when he had it right he was truly deadly ...

 

There were two causes:

1) Joe’s left

2) Joe’s right

 

It might be a lot simpler than some people think.

Louis decided that the lowest risk strategy was to end the fight quickly, and the gambit worked.

Louis typically played a bit of a chess game, but there were a few opponents that decided that he wanted gone quickly.

 

That's it really, he probably would have done the same in the first bout had he gone for the kill like that.

 

Some fine responses in this thread.

I'll add that Louis was quite simply better than Schemling.

The result that sticks out as more surprising to me, was their 1st fight. I'd speculate that was potentially due to a combination of - 1) Louis's relative lack of experience, having turned pro less than 2 years earlier; 2) Schmeling's excellent game plan; and 3) Sh*t happens. Sometimes the better fighter losses, particularly at HW.