Joe Louis's best year

1935 was arguably his best year. 11-0. Plus an exhibition over Roscoe Toles. 41 is great 37 too.

 

You could make a case for 1941, but I lean towards 1935.

 

The Joe Louis of circa 1935, who obliterated Max Baer and others was a lean
sinewy amazingly coordinated destroyer best described as "a coil spring unwinding" would have to be a favorite over anyone following him for damned sure. Too small, too slow, is a lot of hooey for no man that ever
lived could take the trip hammer punches that the Brown Bomber landed,
once he had you hurt. NO ONE...

 

J, the Joe Louis of the Max Baer fight, would have certainly
flattened brave Bill Conn of the 1941 bout much sooner. Once a great fighter pasts his peak, he cannot ever get it back. Youth must be served...

 

Burt----

To me, that's the best corner the sport has ever seen. Young Louis with Blackburn and his assistant, Manny Seamon. Man, that guy was a top trainer when we was what, 25?

Have you seen a better corner?

 

All speculation Z, but my favorite corner trio was Ray Arcel,
Whitey Bimstein, and Freddie Brown...I used to see them at Stillman's gym plying their trade so well...I was also a great
fan of Emanuel Steward...

 

Burt - wasn't there some talk in the newspapers of '41 that Joe was past his peak? Or was it more a case of an element of staleness or burnout due to the lhigh volume of title defences in a short timeframe?

Louis himself said Baer in '35 was his greatest performance. On that basis it would appear that '35 was his best year, but he had some other damn good years too. As Sinatra said "It was a very good year..."

 

Yet a year later he was thoroughly dominated and knocked out by Max Schmeling....

 

The Max Schmeling that kod Joe Louis in 1936 was a helluva fighter in that bout. Schmeling that night was at his very best
and showed that fateful evening as Nat Fleischer at ringside
reported, the best right cross seen on a heavyweight til then.
That being said Louis absorbed dozens of laser right hands til
the ko in the 12th round.
I still contend that the Schmeling of that night, had the capability
to beat a Marciano and most of the heavyweights who followed him. When Max was stopped by a better trained and prepared Brown Bomber 2 years later, Schmeling in his 30s ,was a faded fighter...

 

Jeffries perhaps?

It is not uncommon for fighters to have their best year, while hunting a title shot.

 

"It was a very good year", one of Sinatra's best songs, and watching the young taut and explosive Joe Louis of the Baer fight in 1935, was I believe Louis at his very best. Just look at his triple left hooks Joe landed on Baer's jaw so fast and well timed...Fantastic to watch was this version of the young Brown Bomber.....I would favor this edition of Joe Louis over any
fighter ever ...Yes as he was described once as "a coil spring unwinding "...