When people place Joe Louis at the top their lists

reason why hes #1 cause of his career acomplishments, no one defended the title 25 times in a row, and u say u think he had power? he definetly did and his kos were fast, he knew how to get rid of sumone when he had them in trouble, i agree his footwork was very slow

i like watching old tapes of him, but Foreman would have beat him and everyone in that era very bad. I think Carnera would have given him some trouble because he was so big, but once George gets through those big arms, nighty night. lol

i like watching old tapes of him, but Foreman would have beat him and everyone in that era very bad. Foreman is overrated.

joe louis had some blinding speed in his better days when he'd get on the inside and exchange. that match with baer, in round one Louis let his hands go when he had baer cornered if I remember correctly.Was a great display of handspeed and technique, caught baer with a flurry of hooks and had him in trouble. he was pretty sound technically too so thats probably why many people believe he would've fared against the other top HW's of other eras. he not only had power and speed but was also an excellent boxer, he would never be over anxious and would always study his opponents, keeping his right next to his chin but the right hand wasnt stationary, he would anticipate his opponents punches and use his right hand to block/parry it and then counter, other times he would move and just use his jab, or he could get inside and make you really pay, Louis deserves all the credit people want to give him imo.... This is the answer to the question asked. Great post.

i like watching old tapes of him, but Foreman would have beat him and everyone in that era very bad.

I actually tend to look at fighters in respect how advanced they were in their own eras, as boxing has continued to evolve over time and styles have become more efficient. I think Louis was extremely advanced stylewise for his era, and when he was young he had very fast hands and put punches together well compared to other heavyweights. His jab was probably just about the hardest in the division at the time, even though there were heavier fighters than him, and he swore by it, busting his opponents up while shuffling around the ring after them, sometimes cutting the ring off and letting his hands go. He was almost 6'3, which was a fairly tall heavy for the time which is why alot of present day fighters would have trouble with him, they'd have to deal with that jab. He also fought and KO'd many very large fighters, that's not something you can say about every great fighter from the past. Carnera, even though he sucked ass, was 6'6 and weighed 260 lbs. Buddy Baer was 6'5 and weighed 235, both were KO'd. I mean, there's just not much bad you can say about him, other than he had trouble with Conn because he moved a lot, and he fought way too long. The guy kicked ass.

What about the Foreman-Frazier rematch? Anyone see that fight? did Frazier take as bad a beating in that fight? Frazier used a more boxing oriented style which included flicking his jab out whether it landed or not, and staying away from George. He made it into the 5th round before George pounced on him. I think he only got up once in that fight, the second time he got caught and kind of fell into the corner in a sitting position and was completely out of it. Actually sadder to me than the first because you knew Joe was kidding himself fighting the way he was, he had no chance.

It's very sad, Frazier should have ducked Foreman it was a terrible style matchup. I honestly believe if it weren't for that fight, Frazier would speak much clearer today. a good 30% of the total damage inflicted in his entire career had to take place on that night.. What about the Foreman-Frazier rematch? Anyone see that fight? did Frazier take as bad a beating in that fight?

When I rank a fighter compared to others in their division, I usually do it based on accomplishments and skill among other things. I don't consider who can beat who because as boxing evolves, fighters will get better and top fighters of the more modern days will be able to beat top fighters from the past. In most cases anyways.

Foreman would have fared very well against many fighters from the past simply because he's so damn big and strong, and has such an excellent chin coupled with a tough mentality, if he gets KD he'll get up and come looking for you. Pick a good in and out rangy fighter though at the top of his game and Foreman will have some trouble with him, but if you put a man who likes to come forward vs George Foreman like Dempsey,tyson,frazier...legendary swarmers and other sluggers, he would eat for lunch. Gene Tunney would give Foreman more trouble than Tyson would've Good Assesment. All you have to do is look at Foreman Fraizer. Almost sad to watch, really.

You were looking for the wrong things. Foreman would literally cripple the smaller, weak chinned louis.

Louis looks technically sound I give him that and may have some power, but his foot speed looked terrible I think a young Tyson would have destroyed just because I dont think Louis could have gotten out of the way. Foreman was just too big and strong he wouldnt have been able to work inside of Lewis jab. I know exactly what I was looking for I just didnt find it

I haven't seen too many of Joe's fights yet, just the Schmelling rematch, and some later performances when he was slipping (Walcott and Marciano), but where I gained appreciation and learned about him and why he is regarded as great was when I read Joe Louis: The Great Black Hope by Richard Bak. Excellent read if anyone wants to learn more about him.

Accomplishment wise he has a bid for the nunmber 1 heavyweight of all time, but i shudder to think what would have happened to Louis had he faced a prime George Foreman. IMO, however, both with opposition faced and skill wise, Ali is the best heavyweight ever, and its not that close.

I mean no disrespect at all I was simply just curious Im not trying to start a web-war just wanted some insight.

I've seen some fight footage of Louis and I saw nothing real spectacular, he looked to me as if he would have been beaten by a heavyweight Roy Jones Accomplishment wise he has a bid for the nunmber 1 heavyweight of all time, but i shudder to think what would have happened to Louis had he faced a prime George Foreman.

I've seen some fight footage of Louis and I saw nothing real spectacular, he looked to me as if he would have been beaten by a heavyweight Roy Jones

Some believe he waw the best HW ever, most say this without ever seeing him fight, just reguritating the views of boxing historians. Yeah.....I have seen a few of his fights and only call him #1 because my grandpa wants it that way.

Are they talking about P4P?or are people actually saing that he could beat any heavyweight ever? Some believe he waw the best HW ever, most say this without ever seeing him fight, just reguritating the views of boxing historians.

Some people believe he was the greatest HW ever.....