Anyone Think Tiger Jack Fox Should Have FoughtLouis For Title?

This is a valid point.

People tend to be wired to find black contends that Louis failed to fight, but completely overlook any white contender that he failed to fight.

Bettina as you say, probably has the most credible claim, of all the contenders he didn't figth. Even Gunnar Barlund might have had a better claim, than some of the black contenders who are brought up.

The more you look at it, the more you think that these fights simply weren't forced.

 

Bettina was another who became a contender during the war years.

He apparently went into the service himself in 1945, and so was dropped from the ratings,

he came back to have a few fights in 1946 but Louis was defending against Conn and Mauriello.

Bettina fell out of the picture when Lesnevich stopped him in less than a minute in early 1947.

There probably was some talk about this fight, but I wonder when it could have been made. If Bettina had beaten Lesnevich, he would have been a live choice, possibly for a summer of 1947 defense.

Baksi was penciled in to fight Louis in the fall of 1947, but blew the fight when he took a tune-up fight with Ole Tandberg and lost it.

 

Bettina was not better than bivins. When bivins was at his best he toyed with Bettina

 

There was never a point where it made sense for Louis to fight Bettina



However Louis definitely should have fought Franklin in 41, bivins in early 46 and Ray in 1947

 

Louis fought Bivins in 1951.

I said the best fighter Louis didn't fight. It might have been clearer to say the best fighter Louis never fought.

There also, when it comes down to it, isn't much evidence that Bivins was better than Bettina. They seem to have been on about the same plane.

 

I don't think it's even close Bivins at his best was better than Bettina. Bivins resume was much better too. When they both fought at their peaks in 43... Bivins won 9 out of 10 rounds

 

"Louis definitely should have fought Franklin in 41"

Louis already had defended his title seven times in 1941.

Burman, Simon, and Baer were ranked ahead of Franklin going into 1941. Conn and Nova were the #1 contenders when Louis fought them.

Franklin came on strong during the latter part of 1941, but it really is unfair to demand that Louis make more than seven defenses in any calendar year.

Franklin would have had a strong case for 1942, but blew it in the Pastor fight.

 

But he didn't beat him the other two fights, including the one in 1945.

Don't forget, Bettina was quite a bit older. Bivins began to fade in his mid-twenties. Bettina was a few years older when he began his fade.

Bivins fought more top men than almost anyone, but Bettina fought a lot of them and beat most of them.

 

I looked closely at Louis' championship years and broke down the rated fighters and Louis' defenses. *--Louis fought. Off Ring Magazine yearly ratings.

1937-1939

white contenders:

Max Schmeling*
Tommy Farr*
Nathan Mann*
Alberto Lovell
Tony Galento*
Jimmy Adamick
Lou Nova*
Bob Pastor*
Andre Lenglet
Max Baer*
Maxie Rosenbloom
Len Harvey
Red Burman*
Gus Dorazio*
Johnny Paycheck*
Gunnar Barland
Lee Savold*

black contenders:

Roscoe Toles*

Louis fought 11 of the 17 white contenders as rated by Ring, including the top men. I would consider Alberto Lovell the best contender he did not meet.

Louis had a KO win in 1935 of the only black contender rated between 1937 and 1939, Toles.

1940 to 1941
white contenders:

Max Baer*
Arturo Godoy*
Red Burman*
Abe Simon*
Buddy Baer*
Pat Comiskey
Lee Savold*
Billy Conn*
Melio Bettina
Lou Nova*

black contenders:

Buddy Walker
Otis Thomas
Lem Franklin
Jimmy Bivins*
Roscoe Toles*

Louis fought 8 of the 10 white contenders, including the best at this point. Of the black contenders, Louis fought the two who stayed at the top longest. Franklin had a great run, but the window to fight him was pretty narrow.

1946 to 1948

white contenders:

Tami Mauriello*
Bruce Woodc-ck
Melio Bettina
Joe Baksi
Joe Kahut
Joey Maxim
Pat Comiskey
Tommy Gomez
Phil Muscato
Lee Savold*
Johnny Flynn
Pat Valentino
Freddie Beshore*

black contenders:

Elmer Ray
Jersey Joe Walcott*
Lee Q. Murray
Curtis Sheppard
Turkey Thompson
Ezzard Charles*
Jimmy Bivins*
Rusty Payne

The best men here are Walcott, Charles, and Bivins. Louis fought them. Ray does have a case for a shot in early 1947.

**bottom line--of the top 15 contenders during Louis' reign, I would judge Louis fought at least 13 of them. Ray and Bettina are the only ones he missed at some point in his career.

 

Excellent post.

 

Except for the fact that Louis never fought Roscoe Toles.

 

Gold jacket green jacket...who gives a shhit

 

There is no way anyone can convince me that Simon deserve two title shots while Franklin got none despite Franklin spanking Simon twice. Franklin should've got one of those shots

Just admit Louis dropped the ball on that one. He also should've fought Elmer Ray when Ray went on that incredible streak and jumped up to number

Oh and I pretty much rate Joe Louis as the greatest fighter of all time