Blame it on "Coming to America" or my own lack of knowledge of the Brown Bomber's career, but I guess I was always under the impression that Joe Louis came out of an extended retirement (like Ali vs Holmes -- 2+ years of inactivity, etc.) to fight Marciano. What I didn't realize was that following his loss to Charles, Louis fought 8 times within approximately 12 months, and was just over a year removed from facing Charles when her fought Marciano. Louis went 8-0. How good were these opponents? How sharp was Louis? What were the expectations going into the fight with Marciano? Again, for whatever reason, my assumptions were that he was washed-up and inactive, so I was surprised when I saw the activity in between while perusing his record.
Louis came out of a 2-year retirement to fight Charles in 1950. He had retired after his victory over Walcott in their 1948 rematch, and had planned to stay retired, but financial problems (mostly income taxes) made it necessary to return to the ring. After losing to Charles, he returned to the ring against Cesar Brion, a tough, good boxer. He won two 10-round decisions over Brion, along with victories over Lee Savold and Jimmy Bivins, and others. Bivins, although now past his best, had been a top contender and interim heavyweight champ while Joe was in the army during WWII. He was still a good fighter, though. Savold was actually recognized as world heavyweight champion by the British Boxing Commission. Sportswriters were complimentary of Louis' work against Savold, noting his effectiveness with combinations in scoring a six-round stoppage (which would be his last KO victory.) Originally the plan was for Joe to work himself back into contention for a return match with Charles in the fall of 1951. He was active, fighting often and working hard to regain his former skills. Although noticeably slower, his jab was still good and his left hook was now his best power punch. His opponents during this time were either legit contenders or fringe contenders. Everything was building toward the rematch with Charles when Jersey Joe Walcott pulled off a major upset when he KO'd Charles in July, 1951. Joe would now have to wait until Walcott defended against Charles. In the meantime, Marciano had been coming along and now Louis and Marciano were the standout challengers. Needing money, Joe signed to fight Marciano, receiving the lion's share of the purse. Going into the Marciano fight, Louis was the slight betting favorite. Utilizing his left jab mostly, he held Marciano off until the 8th round. He hardly used his right at all, except for defensive purposes. Louis did well in the early rounds - one judge scored three of the first five rounds for him. Film of the fight shows Joe starting one round (5th?) with a spring in his step. But Marciano's relentless attack ground him down. In the 1950-51 time frame, Joe still had enough skills to be one of the top contenders, but was a far cry from what he had been pre-WWII. He probably would have been victorious over anyone other than Charles, Walcott, or Marciano.
