Louis vs Sharkey with original Broadcast from 1936

Nice one,Pedro. Joe was back with a bang straight after his loss to Max Schmelling.

 

Very nice vision and audio. Thanks Pedro.

Sharkey, at about 34 to, well past his best in what was to become his last fight.

Sharkey showed fair durability and courage here. Louis was simply too much.

This fight does make me think of a 3 years younger Sharkey’s dramatic KO loss to Carnera.

Obviously that fight has caused some doubt over the years . Primo single shotted Jack leaving him flat out. Apparently worse off than he was later against Louis.

An even older, less in shape Sharkey was by no means unconscious despite all the power punches Louis laid on him.

In all possibility everyone can land their Sunday punch but the sudden KO loss to Carnera is still curious.

Ive always understood that Sharkey maintained that the KO loss to Primo was legit.

That includes during his IV with Peter Heller in the book In This Corner.

However, googling recently, some discussion forums claim that Sharkey did later claim the fix was in against Carnera.

Has anyone read a primary source for this admission or is it just urban myth that has gained some traction in more recent years?

 

Louis vs. Prime Sharkey would’ve been a treat

 

Beautiful!
Great, great stuff. Thank you for posting this.

 

Yes, Louis vs a younger, switched on Sharkey would’ve been a good fight.

 

The commentary was retroactively applied.

In other words, the commentator knows the outcome and that a KO blow will be landed.

The commentators claim of barrages of blows landing doesn’t match the vision - but he is talking it up knowing that the KO is about to come.

Carnera isn’t hitting Sharkey flush with everything, many are wrist/forearm connections which do put Sharkey off balance several times - but he’s not hurt per se.

He’s getting shoved and Primo literally applied a head lock at one point.

Sharkey himself lands a few clean right hands on Da Preem during the round.

The commentator himself does state that Carnera is stunned/surprised by the sudden ending.

I think it’s very fair to say that the KO was defined by a single punch.

As to Primo’s KO % otherwise, there is strong suggestion that a good portion were the result of fixes.

Also, the 3 more notable fighters you referenced - Loughran, Uzcudun and Levinksy were NOT KO’d by Da Preem.

I think I already identified that Sharkey was past prime - and that much.more so when he faced Louis.

Sharkey did only surrender after 3 KDs - which were brutal as you yourself said -which lends to the anomaly of the Carnera KO - which wasn’t preceded by any KDs.

IF Sharkey were to have carried the same implied chin that he did when it took only a single uppercut from Carnera to apparently put him to sleep, then Louis, who obviously punched harder than Primo, would be reasoned to have already landed plenty of flush shots to see Sharkey rendered unconscious.

By the time he fought Louis, Sharkey’s chin wasn’t going to be any better - if anything, it would’ve only been less resilient.

 

Thank you so much for posting this. This is the best quality version of Louis-Sharkey that I've ever seen. A real treat.

 

No, not aggressive at all Pedro. You simply gave your opinion.

I’ve always liked your posts since you jumped on board.

The commentator is Gene Ward, a boxing columnist.

That’s good that you base your judgment on what you see.

Personally, I think the commentators narrative for the last round is a bit off and misleading if one were to factor it into their interpretation.

While Primo appears more aggressive in round 6, he doesn’t appear to be landing as well as the commentator claims - Primo’s last uppercut and Sharkey’s reaction to same being the real standout to a “sudden” finish.

The commentator states that Sharkey is leading in the fight going into the 6th round - per the provided rounds, I agree. .

So whatever truly aggressive and effective work Primo did, it was concentrated into the final round - after a round (rd 5) that Sharkey dominated and during which Sharkry even hurt Primo.

Early in the fight the commentator notes Carnera’s bullying and mauling tactics - adding that Sharkey has trouble maintaining his balance due to same throughout the bout. I agree. Most strikes were half shove half punch at best.

The commentator also noted that Carnera’s KOs have come from a long line of hand picked opponents, Sharkey having engaged a much higher level of competition. -

It’s further noted that Primo hasn’t learnt to punch with any real power - rather, he uses shoving and mauling tactics to wear his opposition down.

Prior to this fight, Sharkey was only stopped twice - a 9th round TKO loss early career and of course his KO loss to Dempsey. So this was a reputable chin vs a giant whose punch was nothing to write home about.

No offence, but I don’t see the correlation between the two fights in terms of Louis winning in half the time.

In absolute terms, Louis hit Sharkey with more flush punches (and with greater power) than Primo did - yet Sharkey still wasn’t rendered unconscious.

 

I mentioned this before, even posted some excerpts, the NY Daily News (a Newspapers.com subscription is a gold mine for boxing fans) absolutely savaged Sharkey for his performance in their coverage of this fight. I'll see if I can find where I posted it but Lord ... let's just say their boxing writer's impressions of Sharkey's efforts were not as positive as folks here LOL. There wasn't anything left but two ears and a tail by the time they got through carving him up.

 

Found it, from March of this year:

From Jimmy Powers:

"Jack Sharkey, a pasty-faced old man with flabby jowls and a stomach of suet, was slaughtered in 1 minute, 2 seconds of the third round last night.

"... Louis chopped him silly, dug cruel lefts into his bulging belly, pounded his heavy flanks and jabbed his soft, white face into bloody tatters.

"... Sharkey obviously was in wretched condition. He had a double chin and his jaws were blue and they trembled each time he received a blow about the head. Sharkey's bald spot was bigger, his pasty face drawn and his legs weak and white. He looked like a man who'd been living under a stone for years."

From Jack Miley:

"The old guy (he was 34), always a great front runner, never likes to take it. He just didn't have the stomach for such stuff. The ticker in his ample carcass wouldn't have fitted a flyweight, and when the going got tough you could count on him to fold up."

 

Wow! That was scathing! And, IMO, unwarranted. Everyone knew Sharkey was struggling in his comeback, but he was getting his sea legs back under him with some hard matches and fighting fairly often (the Louis fight was his 5th in 9 months). But despite him working the cobwebs off the bones, no one was predicting a Sharkey win. Louis, even after the Schmeling debacle, was still a force of nature in the business. This was always going to be a Louis victory, so to disparage Sharkey in this manner is just poor form. From my POV after watching it many times, I don't think Sharkey did too bad in a fight that he hadn't a chance in. He was able to fire in that left jab of his (always fired it in ones), his bobbing/twisting staved off the inevitable as long as it could and I think he showed tremendous heart after taking the shots that he had. And again, this was a young Joe Louis we're talking about here. I will also say, watch just before the knockout in the 3rd, when Louis and Sharkey exchange left hooks along the ropes. Louis' landed better with more fire, but on the slo-mo, watch Sharkey's. That was a beauty and if it was a stand alone shot that was not fired at the same time Louis' landed, one would be talking about 'that hook that Sharkey landed.' It momentarily straightened up Joe. So Jack went out with both guns blazing and all things considered, he fought well and went out on his shield. And deserved to be lauded for his last gasp performance.