What caused Schmeling to get beaten by Louis so thoroughly in the rematch?

I think at it's core, this is the simplest and most accurate explanation. He simply caught Max off guard with his out of character 1st round aggression . Too bad a third fight couldn't have happened.

 

Skill, Determination and fitness, you know normal things... nothing mythical or magical.

 

BRILLIANT!

 

In the first fight Louis wasn't used to adversity. The idea of someone offering resistance confused him and he didn't know what to do. When a fighter loses it gives them a bunch of things they could improve and Louis had 2 years to reflect on all those things.

In 1938 he was taking Schmeling as seriously as one can take an opponent and was ready to take belt to ass.

Before Louis I Schmeling didn't really stand out as an opponent compared to Max Baer and Carnera and Louis probably took him lightly. Schmeling was seen more like Uzcudun.

 

Funny no one discounts the loss to Schmeling for Joe like the Mike Tyson Defense League discounts all his losses because he just wasn’t quite right.

 

I've always found that odd. Louis could not have done more to suggest the first fight was a fluke.

"Mike Tyson defense league". Lol.

 

the M.T.D.L

 

Evidently, Joe Louis was totally committed to finishing the job in the first round.

" While at his training camp in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, sportswriter Jimmy Cannon asked Louis for his prediction. When Cannon suggested a six-round win, Louis replied, 'No, One,' and held up a single finger, adding, 'It go one.' "

One source, of many: The Boxing Kings: When American's heavyweights ruled the ring. (From my Late Grandfather's Collection.)

 

They talked about how Joe played too much golf and didn’t train hard. I always thought golf a was code for the ladies. That Louis was running around chasing women and not being as dedicated as he should have. That combined with how much better he always did in second fights plus that Max was on the downside of his career and getting older while Louis was young and on the rise. Then also all the motivation he had for revenge and all those counting on him made it have such a vastly different outcome. But after all isn’t even a closely matched fight always just a punch away from ending early.
Max was still looking for the right cross counter over Joes left jab which if you watch the fight Joe had not really corrected. Max said he was hit with a body shot that literally paralyzed him. After that he was a sitting duck for multiple power shots to body and head and it was over. I always thought had he avoided that body shot and had time to counter over the jab if he could have given a much tougher showing.

 

Who else is still commenting in 2026?