I never thought this would make for a promising fight, just another workout for Louis, maybe not even that. My only guess is that Sharkey, encouraged by Schmeling's upset victory over Louis, thought that maybe he too had something left in the tank. This content is protected 1. Louis was feeling Sharkey out, but dug in some solid body blows. Louis. 2. In all fairness, Sharkey was holding his own, but let's face it, we all knew Sharkey wouldn't go far. The signature Louis left jab, right cross is what did the trick, and Sharkey was down. As soon as he was up, Louis stormed in, driving Sharkey into the ropes and quickly gaining a second knockdown with a straight right hand. Louis. 3. Louis quickly established his ownership in the 3rd, sending Sharkey face-first through the ropes with a right hook. Sharkey was up, but quickly leveled for a fourth time, this time by a right uppercut. Verdict: Although I wouldn't even classify this win among Louis' top performances, it is a good example of Louis' punching versatility. The first KD was produced by by a right cross. The second was by a straight right. The third by a right hook. And the fourth by a right uppercut. Like I said, not the greatest performance, but it's Joe Louis.
The money was good, man. How else was Sharkey going to make $35,000 for one night's work during the Great Depression? Louis was a godsend for everybody in the boxing business at that time.
It's funny how the KO can overshadow a certain aspect of a fight. Such as Marciano-Walcott I, where just as Marciano lands the KO blow, Walcott himself had actually tagged Rocky with a pretty decent right hand. It's just something we don't talk about in the melee afterwards. The same could be said for Louis-Sharkey. Just before the final knockdown (at the 10:44 mark in the slo-mo sequence) Louis and Sharkey exchange left hooks along the ropes. That left hook Sharkey landed was arguably, his best punch of the night.
"Louis was a godsend for everybody in the boxing business" There was a downside though if you were the one on the recieving end of his punches.
Louis bounces back. Interesting how quickly they put him back in the ring. After only two months I think. Sharkey was a washed up name opponent. Louis did what he had to do. I doubt if any version of Sharkey would have been all that much of a problem for Louis. This version barely put up a fight. Like Baer, it looked like he decided he had given the costumers their money's worth and elected to learn if Donovan could count to ten.
It's a rough business. You have to carefully weigh your opportunities for a big score against the likelihood of injury. Sharkey did better than 98 percent of them. He was very well off and he was apparently pretty healthy into his 90s. As a matter of fact, you can argue that he and Schmeling had the best long-term outcomes of any heavyweights.
I do think it would have been competitive, but Sharkey had too many major problems in my opinion. He was easily intimidated and confounded by a decent jab, and Louis had a terrific jab.
I just don't get it. I've heard a few here say Sharkey was one of the most exciting heavies of all time. I've watched every one of his fights I could get my hands on, and I thought he was incredibly boring.
Actually unlike Baer Sharkey was far from his own prime , a good seven years at least, and didn't lay down .. Sharkey kept getting up , four rimes till it was stopped .. A prime Sharkey had the speed and mobility to trouble Louis ...
I agree this isn't a great fight, and I think Louis was a little overexcited here. He was obviously looking to prove himself after losing to Schmeling. He showed good selection but was spending too long loading up or looking for a punch. He was forgetting to parry the jab, and lunging when he had Sharkey hurt. Brutal power shown, as well unnerving accuracy, but a subpar performance compared to what I've come to expect from Louis' best.
