Joe Louis. The 8 black men who got away.

You would be on safe ground saying that Melio Bettina had a stronger claim to a shot at Louis than Fox did, but nobody cares about that, because there is not the color line angle to the story.

In fairness to him John Henry Lewis was a ranked heavyweight contender, and probably had a stronger case on paper than most of the men you have mentioned.

 

Franklin shouldnt have had to fight a top rated fighter to get a title shot? Thats ridiculous. Well within range? What does that even mean? Bivins, Sheppard, and Murray were nobodys and the only reason Simon got a title shot ahead of anyone was because Louis was fighting for free. Again, context means everything.

 

This is the bottom line. Pull any black hw from the 30s and 40s out of a hat regardless of how mediocre his record was or the fact that they might have had their best days when Louis and most of the top white contenders were in the service and not fighting and suddenly Louis ducked them.

 

No he shouldn’t have. He was already ranked #2 and had beaten plenty of good opponents including Musto and Simon who had gotten title shots. There’s your context.

 

If you’re suggesting that being ranked #2 isn’t in range of a title shot then hopefully you’ll never use rankings again in any of your arguments

 

[QUOTE="klompton2, post: 22087432, member: 99355"the only reason Simon got a title shot ahead of anyone was because Louis was fighting for free. .[/QUOTE]
Louis’s decision to donate his entire purse to the army reserves was his choice and he could have done that with any fighter he met. He only fought Simon because he was a popular draw which is fine but NOT because he was the most qualified

 

I’m not personally claiming that these were intentional “ ducks “ by Joe Louis and I’m actually one of Louis’s bigger advocates on here. But can a case be made that some of these fighters were as good OR better than some of the ones he fought at roughly the same time they emerged ? Absolutely.

 

When Franklin beat Musto Musto was unrated and had won just three of his previous ten fights and would win just one of his next seven. Nice try.

No, what Im suggesting is that Franklin never proved himself as either the top contender, the biggest threat, the biggest draw, or in any way elevated himself to a position where anyone could possibly say that Louis ducked him. Period. You dont have to believe me, the ratings dont lie. Franklin was basically rated #2, no higher, for two months. You act like he had this clear claim to be Louis' top contender and shouldnt have had to fight anyone for the privilege when in fact his record isnt any better than Pastor's, certainly not better than Conns. So why shouldnt he have had to fight a guy who ultimately proved he was better??? Oh, he was black, he should have just been given the shot. That seems to be your argument. Or, "he beat two of Louis' gimme's so he should have gotten a shot." Sorry the sport has never worked like that.

These are the names of every man rated #1 from the time Louis became champion to the time he defended against Abe Simon for charity:

Max Schmeling
Tony Galento
Arturo Godoy
Max Baer
Lou Nova
Billy Conn

Louis had beaten all of those men. If you expand that list to his other top challengers and take into account the frequency that he defended his title, he was under no obligation to pick Franklin, a guy who had not yet and never would prove himself as Louis greatest threat or biggest purse, so Im not sure what you are crying about. You want to believe Louis ducked a bunch of mediocre black fighters, thats on you but the facts dont jive with your argument.

 

1. and what point was Musto ever better than Franklin and what did HE do to get a shot ?
2. There’s more BS in this paragraph than in the groves of a cowboy’s boots. I never said that Franklin being “ black “ was grounds for a title shot OR that it was a clear duck. I simply stated that Franklin was better than some of the men Louis DID fight and Franklin beating Simon TWICE within close to when Louis fought him should be a clear indication to anyone who’s honest.
3. My mentioning Franklin being number 2 was in direct response to your disingenuous question about what “ being in range of a title shot “ meant. Regardless of him being highly ranked for a short time doesn’t change the fact that he was in range.
4. Yes. He beat most of his number one’s which is why I’ve always credited him as being a great champion. But he also fought a lot of garbage contenders ( as many long reigning champions do) while there were clearly better fighters. Why is this so hard to admit ?

 

With regard to Fox, there is such a thing as a fighter who is too good to be a tune up, but not good enough to compel a title shot.

With regard to Lewis, he was what I would call a high value challenger.

An excellent challenger on paper, but one who was ready to be taken in practice.

Let's give it some perspective though, he was the light heavyweight champion, and a ranked heavyweight contender.

This was a very easy defense to justify on paper, and his paper credentials were much stronger than most of the men you have named.

 

You are going to have a hard time convincing me that Louis wad deathly afraid of Willie Reddish in his prime, but that he cheerfully fought Jersey Joe Walcott when well past his prime.

Just going to put it out there!