Joe Louis on Rocky Marciano (Murray Warner Tournament)

I transcribed Louis's comments on Marciano from the audio-extra's on the Ali-Marciano Superfight disk.


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Murray Warner Computer Tournament

Louis-Fitzsimmons post fight interviews
(plugging the Marciano-Baer contest)

Comments begin at 1:03:15 (as found on the
Ali-Marciano Superfight dvd extras:
Audio Fights -- Marciano/Baer)

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This content is protected

Interviewer: Joe, what about a fight between Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano?

Joe Louis: Well, I could say that very easily. Marciano beat me . . .

Interviewer (interupts): Oh, yeah, now that wasn't when you were at your best. I'm talking about when you were at your best, twenty-eight years old.

Joe Louis: Oh, I don't know. Marciano's the type of fighter I think is good enough and strong enough and takes a good enough punch to fight anybody.
I don't think that no one, (unclear word) either Dempsey or me, could say "I could beat Marciano".
I think the fight could be . . . It's close, it'd have to be a close fight, because he's too strong, and he could take a good punch, and he just . . . you just can't say that I could beat him.
I'd like to say that I'd fight him, alright, but who would win, I wouldn't know; but I'd like the pay for the fight -- i think it would draw money, though.

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I suspect Louis's 'could' -- "you just can't say that I could beat him" -- should be understood as meaning 'would'. His statement "I'd like to say that I'd fight him, alright, but who would win, I wouldn't know" strikes me as supporting such an interpretation; unless Louis meant "I'd like to say (but I can't)" -- which I think is a far less likely interpretation, though not impossible.

 

The two questions I've always had about this quote are:

1) When did Louis say this? Not anytime around 1990, certainly -- he was some time dead by then.

2) Does 'never' mean 'never in my life'?; or does it mean that 1951 Louis could never have beaten Marciano? Though I think the former meaning is more likely, since we've already read "throughout my career".

I'm not saying Louis didn't say or mean this. But I'd give it much more weight if I knew when and to whom he is supposed to have made this comment, particularly as I haven't seen any reference to this comment until sometime after his death.

 

Carmelo Modica wrote

'Never' could mean a) never in Louis's whole career; or b) it could mean that the '51 Louis could never have beaten -- eg, had no chance of beqating -- Marciano. But I do think that, since it's previously stated Louis had a problem with crowders "throughout (his) career", the likely meaning is 'never in his entire career'.

As to the veracity of the quote, it may well be a genuine quote. I tend to suspect it is. But what makes it 'obvious' that he said it? It's obviously claimed that he said it; and I hope that the author wouldn't make up a quote. I'd just be a bit more comfortable, given that the quote surfaced somewhat after Louis's death, if there were some explanation of where the quote came from. I think Louis likely said it.