Louis title opponents ranking as of their title shot?

[HOUDINI563]

Can someone accurately list all Louis title opponents and their heavyweight ranking as of their title shot?

[IronDanHamza]

Can someone accurately list all Louis title opponents and their heavyweight ranking as of their title shot?

Nathan Man #3
Schmeling #1
Galento #4
Pastor #3
Paycheck #6
Simon #4
Bear #6
Conn #1
Mauriello #2
Walcott #3
Walcott #1

That's what I've got, could be missing some.

JAB5239 will probably know.

[Bronson66]

Nathan Man #3
Schmeling #1
Galento #4
Pastor #3
Paycheck #6
Simon #4
Bear #6
Conn #1
Mauriello #2
Walcott #3
Walcott #1

That's what I've got, could be missing some.

JAB5239 will probably know.

Using Ring Ratings
Simon. 42,5
Burman.3
Baer 42. 7.
Nova .8.

[JAB5239]

Tommy Farr #2
Nathan Mann #3
Max Schmeling #1
John Henry Lewis (lightheavy champion)
Tony Galento #4
Bob Pastor #4
Arturo Godoy #2
Red Burman #3
Abe Simon #4
Buddy Bear #6
Billy Conn (lightheavy champion)
Lou Nova #8
Buddy Baer #7
Abe Simon (not sure if top 10 rated at this point)
Billy Conn #1
Tami Mauriello #2
Joe Walcott #1
Joe Walcott #1
Ezzard Charles #1
edit: Johnny Paychek #6

Best I can tell here. Louis fought the song most top ten fighters at heavyweight with only Ali having one more. These were from his title defenses starting after he wont the title from Braddock until losing to Charles.

[Willie Pep 229]

Tommy Farr #2
Nathan Mann #3
Max Schmeling #1
John Henry Lewis (lightheavy champion)
Tony Galento #4
Bob Pastor #4
Arturo Godoy #2
Red Burman #3
Abe Simon #4
Buddy Bear #6
Billy Conn (lightheavy champion)
Lou Nova #8
Buddy Baer #7
Abe Simon (not sure if top 10 rated at this point)
Billy Conn #1
Tami Mauriello #2
Joe Walcott #1
Joe Walcott #1
Ezzard Charles #1

Best I can tell here. Louis fought the song most top ten fighters at heavyweight with only Ali having one more. These were from his title defenses starting after he wont the title from Braddock until losing to Charles.

So where did all this "bum of the month" crap come from? That's an impressive list.

He cleaned up the division before he became champion (save Schmeling) and then looks to have fought the best available once champion.

It seems to me Louis was taking on the best available and making them look like "bums."

Maybe I am being unfair but sometimes I think this Forum underrates Joe Louis.

I know, a funny thing to say out loud.

P.S. I think Ring Mag-azine sees the Louis-Charles go as Louis the challenger and Charles the Champion.

But if you talk lineal, then Louis is the Champion and Charles is merely a claimant upstart (until he beats Louis.)

Sort of like Holmes-Ali; Johnson-Jeffries, or Tyson-Spinks. Some fighters have to win the title twice.

Straps vs. Lineal.

[JAB5239]

So where did all this "bum of the month" crap come from? That's an impressive list.

He cleaned up the division before he became champion (save Schmeling) and then looks to have fought the best available once champion.

It seems to me Louis was taking on the best available and making them look like "bums."

Maybe I am being unfair but sometimes I think this Forum underrates Joe Louis.

I know, a funny thing to say out loud.

P.S. I think Ring Mag-azine sees the Louis-Charles go as Louis the challenger and Charles the Champion.

But if you talk lineal, then Louis is the Champion and Charles is merely a claimant upstart (until he beats Louis.)

Sort of like Holmes-Ali; Johnson-Jeffries, or Tyson-Spinks. Some fighters have to win the title twice.

Straps vs. Lineal.

Bum of the month was coined by the press because Louis was taking everyone out with reletive ease.

I don't think The Ring recognized Charles as the champion until he beat Louis, but I could be wrong.

[Willie Pep 229]

Bum of the month was coined by the press because Louis was taking everyone out with reletive ease.

I don't think The Ring recognized Charles as the champion until he beat Louis, but I could be wrong.

Yeah! It is hazy. Charles did win the NBA vacant title in a match-off with Walcott (in 1949) before fighting Louis in 1950. Boxrec IDs the 1950 Louis-Charles fight as an NBA title fight which makes Charles their champion.

But the question at hand is: What did Ring Mag-azine think? The annual rankings may not give us a clear picture. We need to see where The Ring had Louis in the summer of 1950.

The Ring's annual 1950 rankings have the title as "Vacant" and Louis is not ranked. But the annual rankings can be deceiving as to what people were thinking and what was occurring during the interim.

Louis did "officially" retire in 1949 that's why the NBA called the title vacant.

The Ring did keep Ali as champion despite his ban, but once Ali announced his first retirement The Ring moved the title to "vacant" and then recognized the winner of the Frazier (NYSAC) Vs. Ellis (WBA) fight. Thus making Frazier the champion for the FOTC.

It's open to debate. But I don't know what The Ring's stand on the issue was.

Straps vs. Lineal.

P.S. When people speak of the number of Louis' defenses one always has to deal with the 1944 Johnny Davis fiasco.

So sometimes I hear 25 defenses and other times 26. I wonder how the Charles fight gets counted.

[JAB5239]

Yeah! It is hazy. Charles did win the NBA vacant title in a match-off with Walcott (in 1949) before fighting Louis in 1950. Boxrec IDs the 1950 Louis-Charles fight as an NBA title fight which makes Charles their champion.

But the question at hand is: What did Ring Mag-azine think? The annual rankings may not give us a clear picture. We need to see where The Ring had Louis in the summer of 1950.

The Ring's annual 1950 rankings have the title as "Vacant" and Louis is not ranked. But the annual rankings can be deceiving as to what people were thinking and what was occurring during the interim.

Louis did "officially" retire in 1949 that's why the NBA called the title vacant.

The Ring did keep Ali as champion despite his ban, but once Ali announced his first retirement The Ring moved the title to "vacant" and then recognized the winner of the Frazier (NYSAC) Vs. Ellis (WBA) fight. Thus making Frazier the champion for the FOTC.

It's open to debate. But I don't know what The Ring's stand on the issue was.

Straps vs. Lineal.

P.S. When people speak of the number of Louis' defenses one always has to deal with the 1944 Johnny Davis fiasco.

So sometimes I hear 25 defenses and other times 26. I wonder how the Charles fight gets counted.

The Ring has the heavyweight championship vacant in the 1949 year end ratings and Charles as Champion in the 1950 year end ratings. It's strange Charles wasn't promoted to lineal and Ring Champ after beating Walcott, since they were number 1 and 2, and Louis had announced his retirement March first 1949, and them fighting in June of that year. I never noticed that before. I believe Louis was still considered lineal, though I don't know how in this case.either way it's 25 defense because of the Davis fiasco you mentioned. No fault of Louis, but it's still a sketchy defense.

[DeeMoney]

So where did all this "bum of the month" crap come from? That's an impressive list.

.

If they had social media back then I am sure all the online fans would complain that it was the worst heavyweight division in history. That Buddy Baer was proof that being big is actually a disadvantage for a heavyweight, and that these big modern fighters wouldnt stand a chance against guys like Fitzsimmons and Choynski.

You could insert all the Andy Ruiz comments for Galento. People would see all those muscles Walcott had and deride him as being too bulked up. Can't be a good fighter being built like a body builder we need guys like Marvin Hart, because thats really the optimal build to fight.

Problem is, theyd claim, fighters in the 1930s don't fight enough and grew up spoiled. Philadelphia Jack O'Brien grew up before electricity was invented, a hard life made him tougher and just a better fighter than these fighters now (1930s & 40s). They are a bunch of bums!

[HOUDINI563]

I think we are missing a few. Louis defended his title 25 times.

From what I see Simon was rated 4th when he signed to fight Louis the first time. Simon then had several tune up bouts losing a disputed decision just a month or so prior to fighting Louis to an unknown heavyweight.