Joe Louis: can we be honest with ourselves?

What next....... Muhammad Ali being judged by his losses to Trevor Berbick,Leon Spinks and Larry Holmes ?


Joe Louis was a cinch for number one or number two all time heavyweight.


I rate Ali as number one but can totally understand and respect the case for The Brown Bomber being given that accolade.

 

I knew a lot of the tales I was hearing was just poppy**** but I liked hearing it nonetheless.
One bloke told me he saw Benny Lynch koing Jackie Brown and said he could hear the rosin s****ing Brown's back as he hit the deck.
Tony Galento is one of the biggest characters boxing's ever had.

 

my dad would
change his mind on Ali and Louis depending on his mood

 

Again, "bum of the month" has to be took into the context of its time.

Prior to Louis, heavyweight champions defended the title very infrequently, usually against their outstanding contender or a popular opponent built up by the press.

Louis defending the title that frequently against all comers, top 10 rated or not, was a break from tradition and met with disdain.

In modern eyes a busy champion cleaning out the ratings is incredible, but to contemporary nostalgic critics is was damaging to the prestige of the title they remember only being defended on superfights.


Bum of the month is not a valid criticism when applied by the modern fan.

 

He was also clearly past his best in both Walcott fights.

 

How many did Louis defend against that was not in the top ten? I don't think any.

 

The term "Bum of the Month" was coined by journalists of the time not to disrespect the quality of opposition, but as a refence to the regularity with which Louis was defending the title.

They were not bums; look at their records. Sure, some opponents were lesser than others, but if you defend that often (7 times in 1941?) you can't defend against the top contender each time.

Many great champions have a Jean-Pierre Coopman level opponent (for example - no disrespect intended) on their record.

 

Mc, you got a point there. The only time Dempsey get's a rest on ESB is when some Einstein goes to "work" on the immortal joe Louis...
Who's next in the demotion list ? Ray Robinson ? ...

 

How about the rematch when Louis knocked his ass out!!!!!

 

Very good accurate Post!!!

 

Speaking of stories, I just heard this one.

My dad has been close friends with Ali since the 80's. He was also an immigrant, and didn't know too much about boxing history.

One day he gets a call from a hospital. "I'm calling on the behalf of Joe Louis. He's not doing too well. I think it'll be nice if Ali comes down and sees him."

My dad relays the message to Ali: "Someone from the hospital called saying Joe Louis is sick, and would like you to see him. Who's Joe Louis?"

Ali was shocked: "Who's Joe Louis?!"

He starts laughing hysterically. He started running up to every single person he saw for the next two hours pointing at my dad and saying "He doesn't know who Joe Louis is!! He doesn't know Joe Louis!! Can you believe it?!?!"

My dad was bewildered at all of this. How important can this Joe Louis guy be for Ali to completely lose his mind?!

 

:goodCool story. Thanks for sharing.

 

welcome to the planet where wins are losses, and retirement fights have full validity as evidence of your championship career/ability.

welcome to planet where 31 is shot.

 

It was certainly disrespectful.

As I said, they were not bums, almost all were rated contenders. But this wasn't good enough for the writers who didn't see the point in Louis defending the belt that frequently against opponents that were not popular or outstanding head of the pack contenders.

 

np! Ali spent a lot of time with Louis when he went to visit. He really respected him and had a deep admiration for him.