How good were Louis' opponents before becoming a champion?

PrimoGT · Sep 10, 2025

USFBulls727 said: ↑

Just looking through Louis' record, I can't help but notice that the vast majority of his opponents, and the majority of the ranked Heavyweights from around that time, were White Americans. From the time I've been watching (mid 80s or so), ranked boxers from that group are rare. I mean, who were the last ten White American Heavyweights (or any weight for that matter) to have cracked the top 10 Ring ratings at any point in their careers? Seems you'd have to go a LONG way back to come up with ten. What happened with that group of fighters? Have they actually devolved since the Louis era? Have they just been exposed with more diverse competition? Are they not participating to the degree which they used to? Didn't seem to be many standout black Heavyweights during Louis' reign. Where were they? Can't knock Louis for any of this of course, but the Heavyweight landscape looked WAY different during Louis' reign than say, the 90s. Can't help but be skeptical when I see footage of some of these guys who were ranked back then.
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You could make the same argument - ask the same questions - about black American heavyweights now though.

USFBulls727 · Sep 10, 2025

PrimoGT said: ↑

You could make the same argument - ask the same questions - about black American heavyweights now though.
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That's a very good point. I don't really follow closely anymore, but Wilder, and maybe Hunter, are the only Heavyweights I can think of in the last 5 years or so who were legit top 10. Plenty of talent below Heavyweight though.

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How good were Louis' opponents before becoming a champion?

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How good were Louis' opponents before becoming a champion?

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