Reading Jeffrey Sussman's book on Barney Ross and Max Baer and he mentioned that Louis' management didn't want to risk a healthy Baer so Max didn't get a rematch (Baer had injured his right hand before the first fight) Really?
Something I can't believe. By then Max was done, he was prrety terrified by some account s when he faced Louis. I don't see Max actually wanting a rematch same result anyway but maybe even faster.
The only rematch I 've heard of being proposed was around 1940 when Baer was riding high off a few decent wins.
Wasn't much of a duck considering Louis absolutely slaughtered Baer. The second fight would have been different. About half as long with the same result...
Yeah, Max was kidding Joe about it in the interview filmed in Baer's dressing room after he stopped Tony Galento. If he had defeated Nova in their rematch, talks about a Baer-Louis fight might have become serious. But Max lost and that was that. To my way of thinking, after he was butchered by Louis the first time, he wasn't eager to face him again. If the shekels were right he might have done so, but I think he only would have put in an appearance. It wouldn't have been much of a fight. By then, he was more interested in getting out of the fight game with as much loot as he could while his brains were still relatively intact.
I think, had there been a rematch, the first time Joe threw, and landed, what even resembled a good punch...you know where I'm going with this.
A rematch with an uninjured Baer goes very much like Lewis-Ruddock. Joe just wouldn't let Baer the opportunity to use his right, and Max would go to fight and get KOed in two or earlier.