Jimmy Cannon Talks To Louis After The 1st Walcott Fight

Jimmy Cannon the famous boxing writer was a good friend and confidante of Joe Louis
After Louis' narrow squeak win over Walcott the first time,Joe holed up in a Manhattan apartment for a week,nursing his bruises.Cannon rang him and Joe said ,"come up".
Here is some of their conversation.Louis " I made the fight tough for myself.He didn't make it tough for me.He did so many wrong things.I saw every opening,but I couldn't go get him.It was a lousy fight. It's like a guy running ,you can't make a sprint at the end.
your legs feel you can go ,but you feel bad in the,"
I should have weighed 214,I weighed 215 and sometime the day before the fight ,I killed myself taking off the 4 lb . But that ain't no excuse ,it was a lousy fight? "
Cannon."why did you dry out?" Louis."I don't know,I guess I figured it was a good weight."
Louis points to a bunch of roses in a vase.- if you don't water them the flowers got to die.That's me.The day before the fight I had four lamb chops .No juice. Nothing else.No water all day,I eat no more,not even water .until 2 o clock ,the day of the fight.
You got to have strength to go to a guy,I was weak."

Cannon."When did you know you weren't right?"
Louis." In the dressing room","I was warming up in there for fifteen minutes.I knew I didn't have the strength in the dressing room."
Cannon.The punch that knocked you down in the first was a sucker punch."

Louis."You can see it coming when you're weak,but you're late getting up there.I saw every right hand ,but it hit me anyway.One thing I'm happy to know."
Cannon." What's that?"
Louis." I made it tough for myself,he didn't."
Cannon."I thought you lost the fight."
Louis.On my little daughter,I never thought at any time I lost the fight.I chased his tail all the rest of the night.
You knock a man down,you're supposed to go at a man.He knocked me down and then-run-run -run."

Cannon ."Suppose they had given him the decision?"
Louis."If they had given him the decision,I wouldn't have cared about it.What I mean is it would have been alright with me.
What the decision says,you got to go by it.I wouldn't have mentioned it."

Cannon ." But you were so sore,you tried to leave the ring before the decision came down."

Louis " I was mad because I was so silly,getting hit by those sucker punches.Seeing them coming and getting hit."
"This is no excuse it was a lousy fight.
Everybody say something.Everyone give a reason why you do this.

No one knows what's in your mind,but you do I can tell you how I feel,but you don't know how I feel.
I had no excuse for a lousy fight."

Louis weighed 211lbs for the fight.
Jimmy Cannon scored it 8 -7 for Walcott.

 

I believe it,and its reliably documented that he did the same thing for the 1st Billy Conn fight.
Are you saying Louis was lying?
If not,what is your alternative explanation?

 

He had a swollen half closed eye and a swollen right fist,I doubt he was in the mood for "ice skating," with Sonja

 

Louis never believed that he did.
Why do you say he did?

 

You have seen the complete film,not just the highlights?