Although Joe Louis was a shell of his former self, Are you happy that we got to see this fight? Do you think it was necessary for boxing history? For Marciano's legacy? How many people were backing Joe Louis to win at the time?
It was necessary for Louis to pay back some of what he owed the IRS. As to the fight I think its a sad way for an icon to go out but it's the nature of boxing,"the king is dead, long live the king". Rocky was genuinely sorry to do it ,but he had his own career to think about "youth will be served".
It was the passing of the torch...Joe was on his way down...Rocky was on his way up...it's happened throughout boxing history. When they fought Oct. 26,1951....Joe was on a comeback...and he won 8 straight fights in a row....the odds at fight time were 6-5 Joe Louis. Reports were that Joe was punching just fine at his training camp in Pompton Lakes N.J.
I think you are looking at it wrong. It wasn't a Legacy fight in the sense of "Holmes vs Ali" or "Tyson vs. Holmes" as it's often mistaken. Joe Louis was the active #1 contender and I think Marciano might have been #2 or round bouts, so it was a necessary fight between two leading contenders on their quest to force a title fight with the Champion. It was a dangerous fight for both men and they both had apprehensions but the payday and promise of a title shot was too good to pass on. Joe Louis was a 6 to 5 betting favorite.
Reports from training camps seldom if ever say, "the guy looks terrible ,he has no chance etc". You only have to read the daily reports from Jim Jeffries 1910 training camp.
Yeah I can imagine Joe was still punching fine, but it seems that wasn't the problem. The problem was the Rock punched better at the time and never stopped punching!
Jimmy Bivins was stopped just 4 times in the final 19 losses of his career. 1 KO loss to Charles, 1 KO loss to Moore, and 2 corner retirements to Moore. In addition to Joe Louis, in those 19 losses he went the distance with Clarence Henry, Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, Bob Baker, Lee Q Murray, and Sid Peaks. Unless you are not only a great puncher and really going after the guy, he seems like he was tough to stop. Against Louis, Bivins was described as "....did little but retreat and flick his left. Only occasionally did he bull inside or chance a hard punch" Prime for Prime Louis vs Bivins is an intriguing match up. I'm not completely sure prime Louis stops Bivins at least not in the first bout.
In this case, yes. Louis had won a string of fights in a row, and Marciano at the time had some doubters and was viewed as crude. Louis was actually a 6 to 5 betting favorite. While the torch was officially passed from Walcott to Marciano, Rocky got his shot because he destroyed Joe Louis. What's lost in the KO is it was one of Rocky's best-filmed performances. He looked faster and more explosive.
louis was obviously still world level, due the outstanding elitism he possessed when prime, which outweighed his physical disadvantages by age 36. But he came up against an as yet unrecognised elite, so of course he was the betting favourite. on reflection its obvious marciano would take him apart once he gassed out.
Tough to stop but not to drop. Henry had Bivins down ,Baker had him on the verge of a ko in the 8th rd, and Archie Moore stopped Bivins 6 months earlier for the second time .In one of their series Charles, giving Bivins14lbs , floored him for over a minute to score a ko.Charles also floored Bivins in their last fight.Walcott floored him too. Q How many times did Louis floor Bivins? A.None.
Louis himself said he didn't think he could beat Marciano after the fight at his best because Rocky had a crowding style and crouching style and he needed room and range to be at his best. After the fight, Louis said he had trouble lifting his arms over his shoulders to do simple tasks such as wash his face or comb hair for a week. Louis was 37 for this fight. Louis still had his jab for this fight, but much of his power was based on velocity, and that was diminished when he fought Marciano.
