I love Joe Louis, and, because fighters are judged by what they accomplish in their own time, he was either the greatest or second greatest heavyweight ever. But in a h2h, let's be realistic. A certain amount of evolution has taken place between now and then. A guy who was stopped by Schmeling at 192 pounds, dropped by obese bar-fighter Toney Galento, dropped my light-hitting career LHW journeyman Braddock, and who struggled with LHW Billy Conn, is not going to beat Usyk. And yes, Louis admitted that he would never, ever defend against a southpaw, so he's going to jump in there and beat the best southpaw heavy ever? Louis is the greatest BY ACCOMPLISHMENT, but Usyk wins this ten out of ten times.
Louis stops Usyk late in a fight he’s losing. Odds are if Bettina’s southpaw style was enough to scare Louis from fighting southpaws, that Usyk will cause him fire. However, I also doubt Usyk’s durable enough avoid getting rocked as well.
This one has been done before and produced a lot of arguments. At the end of the day, Joe Louis is a pioneer of the sport that was heavyweight champ during a pivotal and popular time for boxing. Uysk, is something that Louis never saw in his era and I don't think he could handle him. No disrespect to Louis but this is not about legacy or impact on the sport but a contest between fighters. I have Uysk.
I get so tired of people saying he had poor footwork. No No he didn't. He had superb economical footwork and could bounce or slid quickly in out side to side. Joe was a perfectly balanced fighting machine. Usyk doesn't make it to the final bell.
Louis is the most technically correct HW I’ve ever seen. I mean, that’s a good thing, right? His footwork was fine also - efficient, on point, never superfluous. But somehow, and curiously so, boxing has “evolved” to a point that is well beyond The Bomber’s own exhibited and unparalleled capabilities??? Also, when did the sterling attributes of elite speed and power become superseded AND, superseded by what, exactly? Somehow I missed the Darwinian update memo for that also. Btw, did Zab Judah’s obviously greater mobility help him against the efficient, sure/steady advances and precision punching of Kostya Tszyu? “Low Tech” met “High Tech” but “Low Tech” somehow won the day - and resoundingly so. Crazy, isn’t it? Perhaps there is case to say boxing hasn’t so much evolved, rather, some fans ability to properly appreciate the legitimate qualities of a great and always effective fighter has de-evolved somewhat.
We can all make these arguments. Usyk was dropped in the amateurs by body shots. Using that logic, he should not have been able to beat better fighters as a pro. But he did. we know Louis could be complacent and sometimes dropped by a lesser fighter. But a focused Louis rarely if ever got hurt. Louis is technically the best Combo puncher in history. Which techniques that have coke subsequently are superior to Louis’s own technique?
Joe Louis was a better Boxer-Puncher than Anthony Joshua, by far, in my view. Usyk won both encounters with Joshua by WU12 and WS12. I question if Oleksandr Usyk survives 12 rounds with Joe Louis, but, since Usyk's never been stopped, I will go with Louis by Decision win.
And I respect your opinion, but amateur is amateur. He's come into his man strength. And there is no circumstance in which I could see Galento or Braddock being a tough night for Usyk. Consistency counts, too. I respectfully stick to my opinion.
