Im often looked at like a crazy man when I say Louis was the most mechanically sound boxers of all time. Unlike Liston I dont have a notes folder full of all his showings, so lets make one! Send me your best feats and statements for Joe, lets make something really cool.
His rematches w/ Pastor, Godoy, & Conn are his best from a purely technical perspective IMO. Pastor 2 is Louis' most well-rounded performance & the night that he would have the best chance of beating Ali IMO. This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected
Joe Louis's Double left hook KO of Al Ettore at 12:36 This content is protected Correctly thrown double left hooks are rarely even seen in lighter weight divisions, so to see a 200 lbs Heavyweight execute them so beautifuly is certainly something. Notice how Louis also puts himself in an outside angle to Ettore with his rear foot outside the latter's lead foot, with both of their lead feet very close to each other. Louis basically forces Ettore to stay where he is and quite literally negates any form of movement that way, so the hook is sure to land, and the angle makes it land right at the side of the head with full follow through. No wonder Ettore drops to the ropes like he has been shot. An incredibly underrated Louis moment is this exchange at 7:32 in the Max Baer fight This content is protected Baer manages to catch Louis with a shot that hurts enough to catch Louis' attention. He manages to force Louis to the ropes where he could pummel him with no room for Louis to escape Baer's ATG power. But Baer just throws wild and inccorectly thrown punches, and Louis manages to find a moment within the chaos to extend his arms to create distance and then move away. And then Louis proves why he is the best Heavyweight puncher of all time. Here he faces a man with maybe even more punching power than he does, a guy whose power is several times compared to Foreman's, but he manages to outhit him easily due to his shorter, most structured, faster and more correctly thrown combinations and makes him go into a complete defensive shell. This is why I laugh when I see people think that a strong puncher can just beat Louis by punching him really hard even if he is less than technically adequate. No. No he wouldn't.
Joe Louis vs Buddy Baer II - High Quality Colorized (1942) (youtube.com) Louis-Baer 2 is the most technically perfect Louis. He keeps his hands reasonably high, punches with incredible crispness and tightness, gives Budy zero counter punching ability. Wide variety of punches, incredible precision, fast hands, and absolute technical perfection.
