What if schmeling had ruined Louis?

Who does Braddock defend the title against in 1937? Schemling was not available.

Bob Pastor? Braddock could win that.

 

Lou Nova was probably champion material without Joe Louis. Film of the fights with Baer show a champion level fighter. Of the filmed heavyweights of that era I think Nova is the next best. I think next to Joe Louis the fans thought so too since his fight with Louis drew an incredible 56,000 crowd to the polo grounds to watch this fight.. nobody talks about it!

Less fans went to watch Billy Conn against Joe Louis.

Aside from the Schmelling rematch it was the highest ever turn out for a Joe Louis title fight.

This was a fight of some magnitude. The receipts for Louis v nova was $583,711 and represented Joe Lous's second largest purse as a champion before the war.

Tony Galento was his banana skin but without Joe Louis to pull his plug out I don't see anybody in novas way including Galento in a rematch.

The war would still wreck careers of course, and Charles would still make it to champ when he did.

 

he did for a while. but louis knew how to get back up

 

It is a wonder that Schmeling didn't ruin Louis with that horrific beating he administered, and a testament to Louis' toughness how he rebounded. Just two months after this crushing defeat, he was back in the ring against the man who had dethroned Schmeling as champion, even though a controversial decision. True, Jack Sharkey had little going for him other than his name, but the symbolism was significant and started Joe on the way back.

But if Joe had been taken out of the title picture, I agree that we probably would have seen a continuation of the frequent changing of the heavyweight title that characterized the early to mid-thirties. Schmeling would figure more prominently than he did, and perhaps a Braddock-Schmeling fight would have taken place. I could envision Schmeling taking back the title and as posted above, holding it through WW2. Regarding Schmeling, going back a little further, had he gotten a few breaks that went against him in real time, he could have been remembered today as the dominant heavyweight of the 1930s. Had he been awarded the decision in Sharkey II, he might have held the title until his rematch with Louis, although Max Baer would probably always give him problems.

Another scenario would be Braddock-Baer II. This fight could be the alternative to Braddock-Schmeling. If Braddock wins, he probably retires soon after. If Baer wins, he could possibly put together a decent number of defenses say against the likes of Galento and Farr.

Going into the 40s, Lou Nova, Buddy Baer, and Billy Conn could end up on top. Walcott and Charles might begin their series a few years earlier, with the title eventually passing to Marciano.

 

I actually find this quite a plausible scenario.

The powers that be would not have liked the idea of the title going to Germany, and Baer might have looked like the only remaining solution to the problem.

Baer was starting his Indian summer around the time that Louis fought Braddock, and could have been manoeuvred in ahead of Schmeling.