How would a Post War Joe Louis do against

[boxingbuff]

How would a post war Joe Louis do against Joe Frazier and George Forman?

Why post war? Because Ali fought Frazier and Forman after his 3 1/2 year lay-off.

[JAB5239]

How would a post war Joe Louis do against Joe Frazier and George Forman?

Why post war? Because Ali fought Frazier and Forman after his 3 1/2 year lay-off.

You haven't taken into account that Ali was only 29 when he came back and with 29 fights. Louis on the other hand was 32 with almost 50 fights. These things do make a difference.

[princemanspoper]

Louis is a completely different boxer to Ali so while such a long layoff from the ring doesn't suit any boxer very well,It is much more detrimental to the career of someone like an Ali or a roy jones who rely on their physical gifts.Joe Louis was as simple as you could get,he did everything by the textbook and apart from some ring rust(which can quickly be sorted out by three or four warm up bouts)the accuracy should still be there,the power should still be there and even the speed should still be there.The problem is,I don't see a Jou Louis type fighter beating a george foreman as for frazier vs Louis who cares?

[boxingbuff]

You haven't taken into account that Ali was only 29 when he came back and with 29 fights. Louis on the other hand was 32 with almost 50 fights. These things do make a difference.

Ali was 32 when he KO'd George Forman,and 33 when he stopped Joe Frazier.

Didn't you know this?

[TheGreatA]

Well, Joe Louis in his prime was known for his ability to get punches off very quickly in combinations. Louis said that after the layoff he found it increasingly harder to "pull the trigger".

In Louis vs Conn II both men looked slow compared to their former selves. This was the first comeback fight after the Second World War for both.

Against Mauriello, Louis started slowly and got caught with a right hand early but recovered well. He countered Mauriello with a left hook and finished him off. This was the last time, according to Louis, that he felt like his former self.

Walcott truly exposed Louis for what he was, an older fighter whose abilities to counter and put punches together had greatly diminished. Louis' last great moment was in the second Walcott fight when he countered the showboating Walcott with a right hand and finished him with a beautiful combination.

He retired for two years until coming back to face Ezzard Charles because of money problems. Louis was game but he could only find Charles a couple of times. He was simply not able to throw enough punches to win.

Louis thought he had rushed into the fight with Charles after a long layoff and decided to be more active in the ring.

Jimmy Bivins who was one of Louis' opponents during that time said that while Louis still had his power, he did not have the speed or accuracy to catch and finish off his opponents like he did before.

Omelio Agramonte and the recently passed Cesar Brion both went the distance with Louis, twice.

His most notable comeback fight was against Lee Savold, a veteran of the ring himself, and Louis found the similarly aged contender far easier to hit than his previous foes. Louis showed he could still hit as long as the opponent stood right in front of him and knocked the durable Savold out with a left hook in the 6th round.

Louis in his last fight fought the upcoming Rocky Marciano. The fight was even after 6 rounds but Louis didn't have any legs left after the 7th. Marciano finished off the tired Louis and his career in the 8th round.

Marciano said in post-fight interviews that while Louis' left still "hit like a hammer", his right hand felt like nothing. Louis said that he simply couldn't fire the right hand properly anymore and could only use his left jab.

[JAB5239]

Ali was 32 when he KO'd George Forman,and 33 when he stopped Joe Frazier.

Didn't you know this?

Which means Ali didn't fight them after a 3 and a half year lay off. He had time to recondition his body. Give Louis this same convenience and he's 35 and 36. Don't give it to him and you've changed the scenario to be what you want it to be. Either way it is obvious you are trying to put Louis down in some way.

[TheGreatA]

Ali had his own Louis vs Walcott I when he fought Jimmy Young.

[boxingbuff]

Which means Ali didn't fight them after a 3 and a half year lay off. He had time to recondition his body. Give Louis this same convenience and he's 35 and 36. Don't give it to him and you've changed the scenario to be what you want it to be. Either way it is obvious you are trying to put Louis down in some way.

Ali was 7 years past his prime when he KO'd George Forman.

Ali was 8 years past his prime when he TKO Joe Frazier

Could a Joe Louis that far past his prime stop both Forman and Frazier?

[TheGreatA]

Ali was 7 years past his prime when he KO'd George Forman.

Ali was 8 years past his prime when he TKO Joe Frazier

Could a Joe Louis that far past his prime stop both Forman and Frazier?

You could say that but just how far past his prime was Ali in those fights? He certainly looked to be in great shape, had quick hands and took a punch as well as anybody. In some of his comeback fights he looks close to the prime Ali of 1966/1967.

[boxingbuff]

Ali had his own Louis vs Walcott I when he fought Jimmy Young.

No doubrt....I believe Young beat him,and Norton later that year in 1976.

I believe Ali left a piece of himself in the ring in the 1975 Trilla'in Manilla.
Ali was never the same.Nor Joe Frazier.

Ali fought on as a shot fighter against Young,Norton,Shavers,etc. etc.