Louis telling Ali he'd have been a "bum of the month"

Ali was a master of fight promotion.

 

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Well I'm a little older, my grandfather was born in 1897. As a kid I recall him talking about a American boxer named Dempsey, how he liked to read about his fight s in the paper. Some time, I think it must have been the 60 s, he travelled to America and actually got to meet Jack. He shook his hand, told him he'd loved reading about him and found him the most exciting heavyweight he'd heard about. My grandfather also enjoyed marciano s days as the champion, but he wasn't a big fan of Ali. He said he was to gobby! Lol. He actually lived to be 92, so he caught the beginning of Tyson s reign. He was all there in the head and used to say that Tyson s life style was no good for a boxer and he wouldn't last long at the top. Well I kind of think that he wasn't far wrong.
So my grandad had the pleasure of seeing or at least reading Dempsey through to Tyson.

 

Its good to have parents or grandparents that can relate to the past like that, the fact they actually lived through those times and remember when Louis or marciano, liston etc were the champ s. It gives it that bit of a personal touch. My grandad told me about meeting Dempsey when I was around 15. When he said he'd actually shook jack s hand I immediately shook his hand lol so I could say I shook the hand that shook the hand of the mauler. Probably my best memory of him.

 

I'm not entirely sure what the circumstances were to be honest about his meeting with Dempsey were. He had a brother that moved to America back in the fifty s, so every so many years he would go visit him. I recall he said he met Jack while he was in New York. He introduced himself and his brother and told him how much of a fan he was. My grandad was 6 feet tall but he said Dempsey seemed a lot bigger. I believe Jack was actually an inch or two bigger? But it may have been my grandad star struck lol. But anyway, he said Jack seemed such a pleasant guy and he could have stood talking to him for hours. He also asked which part of Ireland he was from, my gd was from londonderry, and Jack replied he also had Relatives over there. It probably only lasted ten minutes or so the chat but something he remembered many years later clearly.
By the way your spot on about the Dempsey /Tyson similarities imo. I know Tyson was a massive fan of Dempseys.

 

Joe Louis represented the I know my place, don't rock the boat crew of black people, which is understandable, given his background, and sign of the times.

 

Louis rocked the boat big time.

He improved the position of black athletes exponentially.

He was astute enough to understand that America needed a black heavyweight champion, who was a positive role model.

It might have been hard for him at times, but history shows that he was right.

 

True, but trust me, he had to swallow some crow to deal.

 

In the 60's movie "AKA Cassius Clay", Clay is making fun of a Joe Louis fight film when interviewed by Cus D'Amato: Clay, says "Joe Louis, slow Joe Louis...he would never have got to me". Then Clay & D'Amato stand up and 'spar', and 65-year old D'Amato easily slips under Clay's jab and moves inside on Clay. Young Cassius seemed a little befuddled by it all. Yank Durham & Joe Frazier probably took notice too.

 

Well Jack Johnson did nothing but date white females like black women weren't good enough. Wouldn't they make Johnson the uncle Tom? Also the only females Ali dated were ones mixed with white. So he was a uncle Tom as well.

Joe Louis was biracial not black. So he couldn't be a uncle Tom. Ali also had white in his blood line. Jack Johnson was the only one who was actually "black". Jack Johnson disgraced himself so much it took years for "blacks" to get a shot at the heavyweight title again. Joe Louis carried himself with dignity and respect. Something Jack Johnson and Ali never did. So 2 birds of a feather right? I see why Ali respected Johnson.

 

Joe Louis was effectively still the World Heavyweight Champ in WW2. When he toured around the Military bases during the war....if the Camp Champion (no matter what r*ce) got too "uppity" pre-fight, Louis would just k.o. them....just to put things in proper perspective. Louis let his fists do the talking.