Did Louis EVER learn to keep his left up after a jab ?

Did Sugar Ray? Did Benny Leonard? Did Willie Pep?

 

All of those guys wore their lefts low and returned them low. Joe never "lerned to keep his left up" because nobody was tyring to teach him to do so. His left hand was for parrying, not for guarding. Guarding was ineffective because of the small gloves. Instead, fighters moved the line of attack or attacked to eliminate the line of attack.

The answer to your quesiton is "no." Nor did Max Schmeling, James Braddock etc.

Leonard wore his hands lower than Louis, if anything. Did you say he was weak chinned and known for being weak chinned?

 

Yes i've heard of Blackburn. What don't you understand about what I'm writing? Blackburn wasn't teaching him to hold his hand high after the jab - almost everyone in the era dropped their hand after a jab. Fighters used other methods to prevent the counter right. I've already written all of this though.

It has nothing to do with ATG heavies, it is about his contemporaries. The point I am making to you is that almost nobody had any interest in achieving what you are talking about. It was never really a question of lifting his hand, that was never considered a real possibility outside of his learning to parry that punch.

These fighters didn't wear their guards where you are talking about, it didn't happen.



Can you give me any examples of where people stated over and over again that Leonard had a weak chin and what it was based upon?

 

I think the easiest way for you to expand on what i'm saying is to spend even just five minutes even watching some other heavyweights form the time. Linking here isn't possible any more, but all the guys i've listed usually drop their left after jabbing. Boxers of the era wore their hands low to repel bodypunches, parry, and direct offence. It's all on film. It's actually one of the most remarked upon differences between eras.

 

Sometimes, some guys crowd behind their jab, others bob, whatever it might be. Some guys do use a high guard like when they move in or something, maybe trying to bait the body, but this idea that Louis was defective because he didn't "learn" to keep his hand high after the jab is a modern notion, mostly.

Louis just wasn't very aware of punches coming back at him after the jab, he didn't try to slip or parry or whatever. I mean really, show me a fighter from that era who doesn't drop his hand after a jab? Guys like Tommy Loughran, all the definitive technicians for the thirties, none of them had these high hands. The smaller gloves meant they were easy to split, corner, whatever. The idea that a high technical guard would protect you from top-line professional punches isn't one that developed around these gloves. Look at the size of gloves now, or in the seventies, see the difference.