If the first Louis - schmeling had taken place later, would the result have been the same?

Hard to say. Louis would have still had the technical deficiency Max went thru but being champ he may have prepared a lot harder. The loss was due to both technique and preparation.

The Schmeling loss was a godsend for Louis. Max would still be a great chance of toppling him at that stage.

 

I agree. Max saw the chink in his armour and exploited the h#ll out of it.

 

Excellent question!

My first impulse was to think that Max would have surprised and upset an overconfident and undertrained Louis anytime in the late '30s.

Upon closer examination, while it is true that Max developed a brilliant strategy and trained diligently while Joe took a victory for granted, it was not an easy victory for Schmeling. Louis gave Schmeling a pretty solid lacing over the first three rounds and had one of Max's eyes nearly swollen shut. Schmeling, in his autobiography, states that after the 4th round in which he floored Louis, Joe came roaring back and nearly turned the tide. Max said that while Joe's punches began losing steam, he was in great condition and was able to absorb much punishment without going down. Joe started getting wild and landing low punches, and Max feared losing right up to the end. In the twelfth, Max put Joe down for the count for a spectacular victory.

Suppose we remove the first Schmeling fight from Joe's resume, and assume he fights Braddock for the title in June, 1936. As Joe was already considered the uncrowned champion, he probably KOs Braddock. Does Braddock deck Louis as he did in their actual meeting? If so, this could serve as the wakeup call for Louis that the first Schmeling fight did in actuality. Further wakeup calls could come in the form of title defenses against Bob Pastor and Tommy Farr, bouts that Louis would win, but not looking good in doing so. But they would be learning, seasoning experiences. By the time he met Schmeling, Louis would be a more mature fighter and Schmeling would be older and further past his prime. I doubt that the fight would have ended in the first round as did their rematch, for in that fight Louis was out to avenge his only defeat and was not about to let Schmeling execute his strategy. But the one factor that may keep Joe focused and prevent his becoming lackadaisical as he was in 1936 would be the world political scene. Their real 1938 match was more than a heavyweight championship fight - it was America vs Germany, freedom vs tyranny, good vs evil. Had Joe first met Max in the late 30s, the world situation would have been more like it was in 1938. Joe would have been motivated to hold onto his title and I believe he would have beaten Schmeling in a tactical fight, stopping him before the tenth round. I believe that Max would land a few good right hands, but this time Joe would shake them off and prevail. The best window of opportunity Max had for victory was the one he got in 1936 and he made good use of it.

 

I think the result would have been different.

 

Yes,people sometimes forget that Louis closed Max's eye in their first fight ,the German took his share of punishment from Louis' jab before he finally finished him off.Max was already seen as slightly past his best ,another couple of years on him and I doubt he would have taken Joe.

 

Louis had destroyed Baer who had ko'd Schmeling,he was complacent and expected an easy night. He trained on the golf course and in bed.