What if schmeling had ruined Louis?

that would have been the real question. I can't come up with a solid conclusion. Its difficult to envision any one man being dominant for very long in those times. My guess is that heavyweight title would have changed hands regularly and often, but again who knows.

 

They would have called it a Golden Era for boxing.

So many champions swapping the belt! So much talent! No one man could dominate such a competitive era.

The members of the Bum o de Month Club would have been legit contenders that underscored how good the time was

 

I don't know if it would have happened but I would have liked to have seen Bob Pastor get the title even if only briefly. Bob is a criminally underrated fighter.

 

Could be the case. Pastor beat a lot of good fighters.

 

I think the whole history of boxing would have changed because Mike Jacobs and his company would have had trouble taking over MSG and New York boxing with Louis completely derailed in 1936. This would have effected fighters in all divisions.

 

Yes, it's impossible to say. I think the best fighters would risen to the top anyway.

The Schmeling factor is in another interesting one. If he'd regained the title maybe he'd have been champion when ww2 broke out and goes into hiatus from late 1939 until the end of the war. Whether he'd come back after the war, symbol of a crushed and disgraced nation, to be crushed and humilated against a hungry young American, I don't know.

Or maybe he escapes to Argentina .....

 

Even a ruined Louis might have navigated his way to the top at some point. He was younger than the other top contenders, and his power alone would have given him a chance against most. Perhaps it would be simpler just to push him under the wheels of a Model T Ford?

Anyhow, I digress.

A timeline without Louis being the dominant factor would almost certainly see one of the lineal champions of the 30s becoming the first to regain the lineal title, and it would almost certainly include two or more additional lineal champions.

I think that with Louis out of the way, America would have looked to Max Baer to save it from Max Schmeling. I also think that they would have fought again, and that one of them would have become the first fighter to regain the lineal title.

The most likely candidates to become champions among the contenders of the era are Lou Nova and Billy Conn in my opinion. Other plausible candidates include Tommy Farr, Bob Pastor, Tony Galento, Arturo Godoy, Buddy Baer, Jimmy Bivins, Elmer Ray, and Joe Walcott at an earlier time.

 

Really good post... I agree with the consensus, the division would have devolved into a perpetual state of hot potato. Hard to see anyone in that landscape with the class to be a long term dominate champion, even half or 1/3 as long as Louis.