http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR9zg7B-4p8 Great Performance by Joe at age 37. I believe Savold was the BBC heavyweight champion, and rated # 2 in the world at the time.
I just recorded "Louis-Brion" last month on ESPN Classics.... Louis was in-shape, but also old and slow by 1950 / '51.... Joe Louis didn't age gracefully after age 35...... Louis still had presence and power, but no speed or reflexes at all...... Cheers..... MR.BILL
Interesting fight between an aging former champion and an aging contender. Both were around 36 years old I believe. Both also went onto to lose their next fight to Rocky Marciano. Savold was still top ranked at the time as was Louis, the number 1 and the number 2 ranking contenders in the division actually (as rated by the Ring Magazine). This content is protected Savold was a bloody mess at the end of the fight. This was the best Louis looked during his comeback. Of course the fact that he was in there against another slowened down old man instead of Rocky Marciano or Ezzard Charles probably made it seem that way. It was the last knockout of Joe Louis' career and one of his more underrated KO's I feel since it's rarely seen anywhere unlike many of his other knockouts.
It looks like a very short, incisive, well-timed left inside Savold's punch that closes the show. All-around, for a guy his age, Joe was in good shape and fighting form. Good seeing you again, SuzieQ.
While Louis looked better against Savold than Marciano would do a year later Savold was past it at 35 a tko over Woodcock had briefly ressurrected his career, but he was never a real top liner, in thruth. Louis in this fight ,showed he could still dominate the third and second raters but he was no longer the "Brown Bomber"
Bob Baker and Clarence Henry were # 4 and # 5, and Marciano was around # 10, so I would hardly call the contenders "weak".
Savold had lost 38 fights going in to the Louis fight and had been kod 8 times ,the last by Elmer Ray in 2 rds.I didnt call the contenders weak ,I said Savold was never really a top liner ,and I stand by that.
Savold has a lot of losses on his record, but also has a lot of good wins over contenders. I think he is somewhat underrated.
The other respectable performance of Louis's comeback was the Beshore fight where he did a somewhat better number on Beshore than Charles did. While Louis was a shell of his former self during his comeback he was still relative to the other heavyweights in the division one of the best around. Whatever asesment you make of Savold at this stage this was an important fight relative to the heavyweight picture at the time. Perhaps akin to winning an alphabet belt today. If Ezzard Charles had not lost the title to Walcott it is probable that Louis would have got a second shot at the title though I dont think her had enough left at this point to beat Charles or Walcott for that matter.
You could make the case that the fight was for an alphabet title since the British Boxing Board of Control recognized Lee Savold as the heavyweight champion after his TKO win over Bruce Woodcock. Early rounds of Marciano vs Louis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVHNlm9MHPM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbl1ly8vyrE
One thing is certain, as time went on during Joe Louis' 1950s comeback, he got himself in much better shape than the soft looking 218 he was for Buzzard Charles in 1950... I have "Louis-Brion 1" rolling and Louis looks fit to me here... Of course he is aged at 36, but still a solid 1950s heavyweight contender all the way... MR.BILLthumbsup
