Ali IS tha man...

[Heckler]

Joe Louis was a technically brilliant fighter who beat many a good opponent. You cannot take that away from him, awesome power, skill and he had heart. Butterfly read about Louis before you make such a foolish judgement... against ali he would be NO pushover and out of 5 fights its not ridiculous to suggest he would win atleast 1 if not 2.

[butterfly1964]

Joe Louis was a technically brilliant fighter who beat many a good opponent. You cannot take that away from him, awesome power, skill and he had heart. Butterfly read about Louis before you make such a foolish judgement... against ali he would be NO pushover and out of 5 fights its not ridiculous to suggest he would win atleast 1 if not 2.

i believe ali, liston, holmes, foreman, frazier, and tyson would beat louis. johnson would make it a close fight.

[Heckler]

i believe ali, liston, holmes, foreman, frazier, and tyson would beat louis. johnson would make it a close fight.

Well your wrong... Liston was too slow to contend with the likes of Joe Louis, Liston would prod forward as always and have the **** counter-punched out of him. Frazier couldn't contend with Joe's technically brilliant, rapid combos, they would be overwhelming because he wouldn't have the handspeed to counter. Tyson? TYSON? are you crazy, LOUIS could box... if buster douglas, a mediocre boxer at best could use 'stick and move' to beat tyson what do you think Louis would do to him. Johnson, possibly. Holmes possibly if he could avoid the power punching. Joe Louis had many weapons in his arsenal that he executed with textbook form and with speed... i dont think you realise HOW GOOD HE WAS... please read up on him, watch some fights and you will realise.

[butterfly1964]

Well your wrong... Liston was too slow to contend with the likes of Joe Louis, Liston would prod forward as always and have the **** counter-punched out of him. Frazier couldn't contend with Joe's technically brilliant, rapid combos, they would be overwhelming because he wouldn't have the handspeed to counter. Tyson? TYSON? are you crazy, LOUIS could box... if buster douglas, a mediocre boxer at best could use 'stick and move' to beat tyson what do you think Louis would do to him. Johnson, possibly. Holmes possibly if he could avoid the power punching. Joe Louis had many weapons in his arsenal that he executed with textbook form and with speed... i dont think you realise HOW GOOD HE WAS... please read up on him, watch some fights and you will realise.

ali would beat him cause ali is very fast, and has a granite chin, and he is bigger and physically stronger than louis, louis might get some good shots, but like i said before, ali has a strong chin, so not much would happen. that left jab would be all that louis sees. ali would ko louis in the 7th.

liston is not as slow as you are making him out to be. i have learned over the years that you don't judge a fighter on one or two fights. it's obvious you are basing liston's entire career on the two ali fights, when he had others. liston has a very fast jab that even a fairly fast fighter couldn't avoid for long. he is way bigger and stronger than louis, plus add in the fact that louis' chin isn't that great, and you've got louis on the canvas counted out by the third round.

holmes beats louis cause again, holmes is a mover, and louis always had trouble with movers, the only reason why louis didn't lose to one was because they were too small, but holmes is big and has a strong chin, not to mention he has a fast and fairly powerful left jab, so louis would lose by stoppage in the thirteenth round.

foreman would rip louis head off, no doubt about that. foreman is bigger than louis as well, also foreman chin is probably the 2nd or third strongest in history, so none of louis punches would bother him, period. foreman has the hardest punch in history as well, and louis was floored by a light hw in conn, so replace conn with foreman and see what happens now? foreman wins by a 2nd round ko.

frazier would beat louis as well. frazier wouldn't need the ability to counter because he has a granite chin as well, so all frazier has to do is hit to the body, get in a few philadelphia left hooks, and louis would be hurt. again, louis has a weak chin, so frazier would mall louis like his other opponents who weighed more and had more chin than louis. frazier wins by a fifth round ko.

tyson would overwhelm louis cause of his speed. i'm not talking about the tyson that didn't care anymore, i'm talking about prime iron mike. the guy weighed like 220lb. to louis' 195. tyson is faster than louis, hits harder than louis and gets inside with ease. tyson gets louis late in the second round.

[Brassangel]

butterfly1964
ali would beat him cause ali is very fast, and has a granite chin, and he is bigger and physically stronger than louis, louis might get some good shots, but like i said before, ali has a strong chin, so not much would happen. that left jab would be all that louis sees. ali would ko louis in the 7th.

liston is not as slow as you are making him out to be. i have learned over the years that you don't judge a fighter on one or two fights. it's obvious you are basing liston's entire career on the two ali fights, when he had others. liston has a very fast jab that even a fairly fast fighter couldn't avoid for long. he is way bigger and stronger than louis, plus add in the fact that louis' chin isn't that great, and you've got louis on the canvas counted out by the third round.

holmes beats louis cause again, holmes is a mover, and louis always had trouble with movers, the only reason why louis didn't lose to one was because they were too small, but holmes is big and has a strong chin, not to mention he has a fast and fairly powerful left jab, so louis would lose by stoppage in the thirteenth round.

foreman would rip louis head off, no doubt about that. foreman is bigger than louis as well, also foreman chin is probably the 2nd or third strongest in history, so none of louis punches would bother him, period. foreman has the hardest punch in history as well, and louis was floored by a light hw in conn, so replace conn with foreman and see what happens now? foreman wins by a 2nd round ko.

frazier would beat louis as well. frazier wouldn't need the ability to counter because he has a granite chin as well, so all frazier has to do is hit to the body, get in a few philadelphia left hooks, and louis would be hurt. again, louis has a weak chin, so frazier would mall louis like his other opponents who weighed more and had more chin than louis. frazier wins by a fifth round ko.

tyson would overwhelm louis cause of his speed. i'm not talking about the tyson that didn't care anymore, i'm talking about prime iron mike. the guy weighed like 220lb. to louis' 195. tyson is faster than louis, hits harder than louis and gets inside with ease. tyson gets louis late in the second round.

I agree with most of these statements, so I will concur the following:

Frazier and Louis would probably be a decent match, as both have a lot of heart. Louis's boxing brain would give him a tactical edge against Smokin' Joe, but Frazier's double-up hooks to the body and head would likely rock the weak-chinned Louis.

Ali would beat Louis twice in a row, and that would be that. Joe Louis usually took awhile to gain momentum in a fight, and Ali would control the fight from early on, making it difficult for Joe to come back.

Holmes would annihilate Louis, as his style was similar to Ali's, while a little slower, but with greater power. Holmes also had a remarkable chin that only really got ko'd late in his career by the following man...

Tyson. Mike would make Louis look pretty silly. Give him almost 20 pounds over an opponent, plus more power, plus more speed...this one's ugly folks. Buster Douglas is never a valid argument against anything in Tyson's career except his heart which had long since given out by that time. We're talking the buzzsaw Mike, with Cus/Rooney. Douglas could have taken on nearly anybody that night in Tokyo.

Foreman would make things pretty tough for Joe. Louis had a great boxing brain, but I can't see him putting up with Big George for too many rounds. If an old James Braddock knocked Louis down during his prime, Foreman would put Louis out pretty early.

Liston was not always slow. He did stalk his opponents, much like the power fighters of old, but his reach was enormous. This one could be a good fight, simply because Louis was intelligent in the ring, and Liston wasn't one to parlay with smart fighters. On the whole, I think Sonny eventually ko's him, though less brutally than he did Patterson.

Do I think that any of these fighters are better champions than Joe Louis? No. The Brown Bomber held the belt for nearly 12 years; that's incredible. He defended it a zillion times and only lost it because age finally caught up to him. Joe Louis is one of the best champions in heavyweight history, but he would have incredible difficulty against the heavier, faster, and stronger fighters of later eras.

[hellfire508]

Joe Louis is the 2nd best heavyweight in history IMO, and I don't usually argue when people rank him number 1. If someone ranks him below 2, then I argue. He was amazing.

The only fighter I would pick to beat him on his best night is a prime Ali. A prime Foreman would have a great shot, though I would still favour Louis. Holmes would have a chance too, though I think Louis' power would be too much for him.

Ali vs Louis - The one match I would pick to happen if I could make one happen.

[hellfire508]

Dempsey, Marciano and Frazier would also have a great chance against Louis, though I would still favour Joe. Pressure was something Louis didn't like, though he could handle it. Frazier would probably have the best chance against Louis out of those three.

[butterfly1964]

Dempsey, Marciano and Frazier would also have a great chance against Louis, though I would still favour Joe. Pressure was something Louis didn't like, though he could handle it. Frazier would probably have the best chance against Louis out of those three.

frazier definetely beats louis, but dempsey and marciano are swarmers, and louis is a slugger. it is a known fact that sluggers do well against swarmers, so louis beats dempsey in 8, and marciano in 6. frazier is a swarmer as well, but he dwarfs louis in body size, and would overwhelm louis.

now the best matchup i see against louis is jack johnson. both are fast, great defense, about the same height and weight, the same chin. so this would be a great fight. however, punching power goes to louis by a close margin, and since louis fought more evolved fighters than johnson, then louis' defense would be a little better, so louis would probably win by a 13th round ko after a very close fight.

[Yogi]

frazier is a swarmer as well, but he dwarfs louis in body size, and would overwhelm louis.

Frazier "dwarfs" Louis?

Frazier: 5'11 & about 205 lbs at his best.
Louis: 6'2 & about 200-205 lbs at his best.

[BKM-]

Joe Louis could have beaten anyone of the fighters you say would beat him. Ali too, He could beat him..all of them.