Analysing Joe Louis' in-ring ability.

Joe Louis is one of the greatest Heavyweights of all time, most think so, as well. He is also one of the best Heavyweights of all time, but some don't think so. Let's attempt to change that, shall we ?

Let's begin with the jab. Louis' lead jab was one of the best tools in his kit, not only was it heavy enough to worry Louis' main ref, Arthur Donovan, that Louis would break someone's neck with it, but it was also well utilised. The first round of the Max Baer fight is as good a showcase as any.

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You can see Louis' versatility with the jab here, he is varying both the speed and power of the jab to keep his intentions unclear and leave his opponent guessing, using simple range finders and feelers while circling, and more hurtful jabs with his feet planted. He is also seen feinting with it, threatening to go downstairs but then going upstairs, a bit later he is seen using it to create openings and setting up the rest of his offensive arsenal. At the end of the round he is also seen using it to counter while parrying and slipping.

The aforementioned offensive arsenal is what most people rightly associate Louis with, it's his best asset. As mentioned earlier, he would use his jab as a fake, varying its speed and power. That way, Louis would create or find open spots that he would exploit with the right hand, the sudden rhythm break leaving the opponent overwhelmed and unable to react. Perhaps there is no better case of this happening than in the rematch with Bob Pastor.

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After going down from a previous Louis right, Pastor would get up on the count of 1 at 3:43 in the video, and what welcomed him after was a sudden jab and follow up right that would make him visit the canvas once more. Another similar scenario can be seen playing out in the second round at 8:00. And just look at these shots. Louis' method of delivering the right hand is the best I've seen in the Heavyweight division, if not in all of Boxing, period. Louis' arms were tucked in, the elbows protecting the ribs, but when throwing the right hand, Louis' elbow, and therefore his forearm, would bent to his right and sideways, fully utilising the stretch-shortening cycle by then throwing the fully loaded fist forwards and upwards, as if releasing a gigantic rubber band which would then crash into his opponent's head, leading to some devastating KO's. This is the famous ''circular motion'' that Louis would perform with his right hand. The fight ending right at 24:10 is excellent, but perhaps no better examples exist than the Braddock and Paycheck KO's.

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Of course, the right hand was not the extent to Louis' offence. His left hook was just as dangerous. Not only was it incredibly powerful, but it was also incredibly short and perfectly disguised. Look at the second and third rounds against Nathan Mann.

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After Joe gets hit at 7:40, he steps back with his back to the ropes, and as Mann is about to commit to his offense, he gets hit with a jab which is later proceeded by a right hand and a combination that includes 2 left hooks in it. Look how close Joe's arms are to his body and at what position he's in. Still in his fundemental stance, he managed to find space to execute 2 incredibly dynamic and powerful counter hooks that left Mann completely perplexed. This same type of perfectly disguised counter hook is also what ended the fight at 12:53. He was so competent at hooking off the jab, that he knocked out one of his opponents in that exact matter, with a jab proceeded by a double left hook, despite it being an incredibly unnatural motion. Just look at this beauty below at 12:36.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOdIpvAe4Bg

His uppercuts, although not as frequently utilised as his straights and hooks, were also thrown in a textbook manner, mostly with the purpose of slowing down his man with an assault to the body, but he would also go to the head with more concussive purposes, which along with some shorter hooks and some defensive responsibility, comprised of his inside game. The Godoy rematch is about as good an uppercut showcase as any. I'm particularly fond of these 3 consecutive uppercuts at Godoy's face at 7:08.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCb_K91Q6aU

He was also a great counter-puncher, as I'm sure the Mann fight has at least implied. He was very adequate at slipping, ducking, weaving, stepping back and blocking to avoid blows, and obviously had the offense to take advantage. That said, he was primarily defending when looking for counter-punching opportunities, and not so much proactively, and would outright abandon defense when on the offensive, though not always. But nonetheless, as far as counter-punching goes, he was about as good at it as anyone in the division. He had the Ring IQ to create openings, the skill to exploit them, and the physical gifts to reach them. I'm particularly fond of his step back-right uppercut-left hook combination that he showcased against Nathan Mann in the third round, which was later used again in his second KO of Billy Conn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHcljZuHcG0

The counter right hands that dropped Carnera at 9:50 and 10:06 are also equally breathtaking and terrifying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKOSnB-GlvM

His footwork was coldly efficient given his style. His short, shuffling steps closing the distance and cutting off the ring, with Joe trying to always have his lead foot alligned with his foe's rear foot to apply pressure. He was always in position to punch and defend, rarely off balance and always economical. That said, there is some merit to the criticism that his feet lacked dynamism. He wasn't a slow plodder like some of his detractors claim, but Billy Conn did show that technically efficient footwork does also need to have some more dynamic and larger steps in it, which Louis rarely relied on. Louis used his pressure in order to force the opponent into creating disadvantageous angles, rather than creating them himself, which was almost his downfall against Conn. But given his style and overall ability, he could get away with that, he was just too good overall, everyone that tried to exploit that flaw got knocked out after all.

Louis was at his merculiar best when all his punches were thrown in tandem. His power, speed, accurary, combinations, feints, shot selection, set ups, counter-punches and finishing ability led to the finest offensive machine the Heavyweight division ever saw. As I'm sure you know, his rematches against Schmeling and Buddy Baer were the culmination of everything that made Louis great. So I'm closing this with these 2 destructive showcases of offensive ability.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LNzWHuygpw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwxFNSIgxJo