Rate Louis' win over Schmeling

From a historical perspective, it was a great win. It was what the USA needed at the time.

But I agree with you about Max being a bit past his prime...

 

It was important for Joe to win. The fact is he did it so convincingly too. No one did that to Max.
But yes, he was past best, would like to have seen that Joe face the max that beat him.
Now that's an interesting fight.

 

9-10.

For two reasons. It takes a fair bit of heart and confidence to come back and beat a guy that knocked you out and also for the way that he beat him. It was a complete decimation.

 

I lean towards the idea that Schmeling had gone back at this point, but the evidence isn't very strong.

His next fight is a rather impressive destruction of Adolph Heuser.

 

Probably about the equivalent of Haglers rematch win over Antuofirmo

 

With that level of stress and attention given to the event that the fight became, the very way Louis essentially gutted him like a fish inside a round has to make this one of the great victories of all time.

The win itself meant everything to millions, black and white alike. The way he went about it was almost as important, and would have been hard for anyone to do to a fighter as skilled and experienced as Max. Joe managed to do it. I give him massive credit for it.

 

It’s a 10 on a scale of 1-10 win. For the division’s history it’s one of the most important fights ever. Schmeling was past it, but still defeating a guy that previously knocked you out is always a good win. Add on top of it the implications of this bout and the pressure around it. It’s a top level win.

 

It must be acknowledged that one round destructions of former lineal champions, and current #1 ranked contenders, are relatively rare in the divisions history.

This win probably belongs in the company of Dempsey Fulton, Liston Patterson I and II, Tyson Spinks, and Lewis Ruddock.

 

You're not wrong JT.

I think it takes a really special fighter to comeback from same and in such empathic fashion as you aptly highlighted (see the other Lewis also). Unless you're made of that true ATG grit, I would think it nigh impossible not to carry some of the mental/emotional trauma of prior, devastating KO defeat into the rematch with you - putting you at a disadvantage before first bell. At least as I view boxers, their stocks rise considerably when they pull that mental/emotional game off.

Though he didn't win the rematch, I would include Joe Frazier rematching Foreman. Joe wasn't impaired by any fear or doubt (Frazier didn't know the meaning of those terms), he tried his absolute best but Joe being past his best and Foreman an absolute stylistic nightmare - well, it was simply too much to overcome.

 

I was thinking same - re possible deduction for Schmeling having gone back - but then, looking at the fight and its brevity, I'm not sure what Schmeling could've done to offset the furious onslaught. The only thing one might consider is loss of resilience of Max's part, but even then, who survives what Louis put to him at any time of their careers?

 

Heuser was a contender at light heavyweight, and a European Champion at heavyweight.

So a credible test for Schmeling, but far enough from Schmeling's level, that Schmeling could have declined significantly and still prevailed.

 

It's probably the most important fight ever. Not only just for the fact that he won, but for the way he won that fight. Not only as a democracy vs nazism thing, but also for the fact he, a black man, was the one representing democracy. And then to come out and just demolish Schmeling in one round. Overall, the most important win in boxing, even if it wasn't the "best" win.

Imagine if Louis had lost, or worse, been knocked out again. How bad would it have been for public mood on its own? To add another aspect to it, how much worse would it have made racial sentiment? He'd be remembered as one of the biggest disappointments in boxing history, not as an American hero.

 

The biggest fights of the 20th Century regarding sociological worldwide impact were Johnson Jeffries, Louis Schmeling 2 , Ali Frazier 1 and possibly Holmes Cooney. For Louis to destroy Schmeling like he did, coming back from a brutal defeat, in pre WW2 setting as a black man was beyond gigantic.