Max Schmeling really got the shaft after he beat Joe Louis. He not only did not get the immediate crack at the title that the Joe Louis win deserved but Max was black balled out of any big fight unti it suitedl Jacobs to match him with Louis two Years later. Of course the shrewd Jacobs prefered a situation where "Schmeling is two years older and Louis was two years smarter in boxing", a line Joe Louis parroted on film in the build up to their eventual rematch. But in 1937, in light of Schmeling not getting his crack at Braddock a real attempt was made to set up a rival championship to the title Louis won from Braddock. Tommy Farr and Max Schmeling would be fighting for a genuine version of the "world title". A Farr vs Schmeling fight was almost made for a version of the World title in 1937. Wanting to scupper any plans for a rival championship he had no control over, for what ever reason, rather than offer Schmeling a fight with Louis the scheming Jacobs offered Tommy Farr more money to challenge Louis rather than take part in a vacant title fight. What if Tommy did not take the offer and two championships ran parallel with each other during Joe Louis reign? It almost happened! How would that play out if an eventual unification never happened before the war? Schmeling vs Farr would result in either Farr or Schmeling defending against Lou Nova. The eventual champion and championship would feature title fights with Galento, Godoy and maybe even contenders Joe Louis never got around to like Comisky, melio Bettina, Lovvell, Toles, Lem Franklin, Bivvins, Bobo and Lee Savold? Maybe it would be like the 1980s where challengers who failed with Louis could Challenge for this rival championship? And as with Larry Holmes, what if between his defences the other champions keep losing to one another and he misses out on facing as many of the number one guys since they have another title to opt for? Who would be Louis's Greg Page? The guy he never got to fight who held a version of the world title?
I think Max would have beaten Farr by UD. Farr would be jabbing and moving well and was to durable for Max to KO. But Schmeling’s harder punching should se him earn the decision. Im not certain he would have faced Lou Nova next though, if Max won the title I imagine there would have been a big risk of him going back to Germany with it, defending against mediocre europeans. I doubt the nazis would have wanted to risk losing the title to an american had they gotten their hands on it.
The French heavyweight Andre Lenglet had a rating that year perhaps he might have featured? The rival championship might attract as many of the better contenders as Joe Louis championship. This is after all why Mike Jacobs wanted to crush it in the first place. Schmeling fought a lot in the states, if he came to America to fight Louis in 1938 why wouldn't American challengers go over there? With America out of the War Titles were not frozen until 1942 there's a five year window for a lot of title fights on both sides of the Atlantic. I dont see Schmeling lasting until 1942. For credibility the Germans would want real challengers for Schmeling and they had a deluded faith in him, after all he had beat Joe Louis. Why would they fear him fighting Nova? If Farr won he did fight Nova but that was after losing to Braddock and Baer in back to back fights. So if Farr won against Schmeling the title would stay in America. Tommy fought in the states until 1939, his country was at war too by then and he was active until 1940. That's proberbly the earliest a world champion from European might have his title frozen. It still leaves three years of title contention.
Schmeling stated that he would have retired if he had won the title from Braddock. I guess that sees Louis fighting N for the vacant title, and Schmeling Louis II, being the ultimate boxing what if!
Probably Billy Conn. had their been multiple titles back then, Conn would have surely won an alphabet title.
There almost was multiple titles. Only Mike Jacobs tempting Tommy Farr from a vacant title fight prevented it. The other 50% of the championship not contested by Joe Louis would have been wide open. I can see it passing from challenger to challenger. Yes Conn was an outstanding contender in his own right maybe he winds up with it just before the war? Would it have effected Joe's Legitimacy With him still winning whilst the other half kept losing to one another or would he still present himself as the stand out champ of that era?
