Whilst poster Warlock has to some extent shortened my reply here, with his two brilliant posts earlier on featuring the greatest heavyweight of all time, Joe Louis, Iâll still briefly express my feelings on the Brown Bomber, without trying to duplicate what has already been written and read.
Joe Louis was a superbly tuned athlete in all respects, who so often converted the boxing ring into a ballroom with movements which were so precise and elegant, that they almost seemed choreographed. In the history of this great yet brutal sport, only two others boxers can lay rightful claim to also being able to accomplish that task. Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard.
Louis was a powerful man and fighter in its true meaning. He was the greatest punching machine to ever lace on the gloves in the history of heavyweight boxing. Nobody in that area alone even comes close. Nobody. When the time came to prove himself, Louis was ruthless and punishing in the ring, and as one reporter wrote in the Chicago Tribune once â..he often displayed the cold-hearted brutality and ferociousness of a hired mob hitmanâ.
Louis was never the dancer and show-pony that the self proclaimed greatest was, Muhammad Ali. He was a boxer in itâs true meaning, and a model of precision fighting for many boxers before and after him. Louis did his talking with his fists, and after delivering some of the sports most brutal beatings to many opponents, still chose not to belittle and talk of them or the bout like some others. Louis never said âI told you soâ at the conclusion of one of his many victories, Louis often commented âhe (the opposing fighter) should have known better than to step in the same ring as meâ at the conclusion of his bouts.
What set this great man and champion apart from all other heavyweights before and after him, is that Louis was arguably the smartest boxer ever. A man who very rarely made a mistake, and never made the same mistake twice. Ever! Just ask Max Schmeling. He was an incredibly hard worker outside the ring, who often studies his opponents to such great lengths, that he had the bout predicted ending to almost the second of the round. Not the round like Ali so often screamed to the world. The closest Louis ever came to boasting was once when he commented that his â..opponents can run, but they can never hide.â
Joe Louis became the second black heavyweight since Jack Johnson in a time when America was still battling racial differences. So when he won the championship, not all was rosy for the man. But within a matter of a few months, barely a year, not only was he the pride and joy of black America, but he was rapidly earning the well wishes of white America too. People didnât just like Joe Louis, they absolutely adored him. Considering he never told the world he was the greatest, or flaunted his belt like a two bob prostitute, it was truly a remarkable achievement. People first fell in love with the person Joe Louis and then the boxer Joe Louis. Hardly a transition that takes place now days, but should always be the case. When a sports writer once called Joe Louis a âcredit to his raceâ in an interview before a fight, another young sports writer at the time, Jimmy Cannon quickly commented â Joe Louis is a credit to his race - the human race!â
Louis easily (though arguably) had the very best hands in boxingâs heavyweight history. He had incredible power in both hands with lighting speed. He could, at will, and did, flatten any boxer with punches that could travel a mere five or so inches. No BS. Iâll be the first to fairly admit that his footwork could look slow and tiresome at times, but the incredible speed in which he delivered his punches was formidable, and only a very few men could, and did, stand up to one of his ruthless onslaughts. Louis also took excellent care of his body, and very rarely if ever came into a fight looking anywhere near out of shape. He possessed the perfect physique a boxer should carry, with just the perfect amount of muscle so as not to slow him down yet still be lethal.
Throughout his illustrious career, Joe Louis defended his heavyweight crown no fewer than 25 times, more times than any other heavyweight in boxing history, and he succeeded in knocking out no fewer than five former heavyweight champions. Absolutely brilliant.
Joseph Louis Barrow - the greatest heavyweight champion the world has ever had the pleasure and privilege of seeing fight.
Javaman thanking those who read.
