Joe Louis should be said to have 27 successful defenses to his name

I disagree.

 

I have never been a fan of counting alphabet title defenses.

Perhaps a better claim, would be the fact that the title was on the line, in a couple of his exhibitions.

 

Lee Savold was the heavyweight champion of the world recognized by BBBC. That’s a fact. So Savold was a title claimant when Louis knocked him out.

What is also a fact is when Louis knocked Savold out. Rather than recognize Louis as heavyweight champion of the world according to bbbc, the B.B.B.C chose to recognize Ezzard Charles based on his win over Louis one year earlier

 

From a previous post back in 2014:
"In fairness to Solomons and the BBBC, it was arrogant of the IBC to name two of their fighters to fight for the championship w/o a box-off. After Tunney retired, there had been a series of fights featuring the best world heavies with Schmeling and Sharkey coming out on top. They probably should have done something like that in 1949. Bruce W and Ole Tandberg would probably have been the logical opponents. Certainly Charles and Walcott would have emerged as the final pairing, but it would have made the whole thing more legitimate as a "world" championship."

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1950-06-06 : Bruce Woodcock 190½ lbs lost to Lee Savold 192 lbs by RTD in round 4 of 15

• Location: White City Stadium, White City, London, United Kingdom

Woodcock had suffered a detached retina in his earlier go with big Joe Baksi, and was almost blind in his left eye.
On June 6, 1950, he defeated Bruce Woodcock on a fourth round cut eye stoppage to win the EBU version of the World Heavyweight title, Savold had lost on a foul in their first meeting in 1948.

On June 17, 1951 he fought Joe Louis in what was the first professional prizefight carried to theaters on closed circuit TV. He was knocked out in 2 minutes 29 seconds of the sixth round. Although it was a non-title match, after this bout the EBU withdrew recognition of Savold as "world" champion.[7][8]

1. Dawson, James P. (1951-06-17). "VIDEO IN THEATRES SEEN SPORTS BOON - 'Fantastic' Success of Plan With Louis-Savold Fight to Lead to Expansion - Article - NYTimes.com". Select.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
2. "JOE LOUIS KNOCKS OUT LEE SAVOLD IN SIXTH ROUND". Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1954). Qld.: National Library of Australia. 18 June 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
   Dawson, James P. (1952-02-14). "Marciano Knocks Out Savold at Philadelphia for 39th Consecutive Triumph - BATTLE IS HALTED AFTER SIX ROUNDS Manager Concedes One-Sided Contest to Marciano for a Badly Battered Savold KNOCKOUT LISTED FOR 7TH Brockton Heavyweight Stays Unbeaten and Strengthens Bid for Title Chance - Article - NYTimes.com"

1951-06-15 : Joe Louis 211¼ lbs beat Lee Savold 190 lbs by KO at 2:29 in round 6 of 15

• Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA
• Referee: Ruby Goldstein
• Judge: Frank Forbes
• Judge: Harold Barnes

Notes

• The fight was originally scheduled to take place outdoors at the Polo Grounds on June 13. However, after two postponements due to rain, the fight was moved indoors to Madison Square Garden.
• A crowd of 18,170 paid $94,684.
• Louis entered the fight as a 2-1 betting favorite. [1]
• The Associated Press reported: "It was strictly a one-sided battle all the way as Louis snapped Savold's head back with jarring left jabs and belted him to the head and body with short rights and uppercuts. From the second round on Savold gushed blood from his nose. Only in the fifth, when he shook the Bomber with two overhand rights to the head, did the Englewood (N.J.) veteran inflict any damage. Louis said the rights did not bother him. 'I knew what I was doing all the time,' said Louis. He sure showed it in the sixth. He ripped away at Savold with both hands and did something he could not accomplish in his five previous victories. He put away Savold with a right to the body and as beautiful a left hook to the jaw as you will ever see." [2]
• Savold entered the fight recognized as World Heavyweight Champion by the British Boxing Board of Control. After Louis knocked him out, the organization decided to recognize Ezzard Charles, who had decisively defeated Louis the previous year, as the Heavyweight Champion of the World. [3]
• It was the first professional prizefight carried to theaters on closed‐circuit TV. New York was blacked out, but the bout was shown in motion picture houses in eight cities, in the East and was judged a box — office success