Joe louis worst loss

[Sugarj]

arguably the last two losses aren't really losses at all, he shouldn't have been in the ring at that age.

The Big Schmellie is the only one that counts. Joe really has only one loss.

It wasn't so much age. Lets face it Louis was only 36 or so, which today isn't old for a heavyweight........it was more that he was a good deal post prime and was only really fighting to clear his debts with the IRS.

[Panamaniac]

I am going to say against max shemling.

So will I.

But he absorbed even more punishment against Marciano.

I don't rate the degree of a loss by the severity of punishment absorbed, but by the ability to win a given bout. A relatively young Louis was expected to prevail against Schmeling, while an over-the-hill shadow of his former self against prime Marciano, not so much.

[Ray Corso]

....36 is old, today they only fight once a year! The first with Max was devasting in that Max told everyone that he see's a weakness and that he'll defeat Joe easily. He did!
The Marciano fight was one of the saddest days in boxing because Joe was in NO condition to fight and was beaten by Rock and the goverment he performed for many times with pride. Marciano sat in his locker room weaping after the fight. Joe was his hero as a kid.
I remember as a kid seeing Louis guest refereeing wrestling matches and how he was ridiculed for doing it!! The rest is a sad story in boxing, today I think of Leon Spinks life and how boxing refuses to help the fighters that help position the original game at a high level of sport and entertainment. Ray.

[jabsRstiff]

I'm not so sure Joe took a worse beating and more punishment against Marciano than he did Schmeling. Schmeling really beat the hell outta Joe between the first knockdown and the finish. Joe was put to sleep just as much by Max as he was Rocky, also. It's just that he looked more pathetic as a balding, aging man knocked through the ropes by Rocky than he did being out in the middle of the ring.

[SBleeder]

It wasn't so much age. Lets face it Louis was only 36 or so, which today isn't old for a heavyweight........it was more that he was a good deal post prime and was only really fighting to clear his debts with the IRS.

He fought a LOT of exhibition bouts... not sure how much they took out of him, but it goes without saying that the modern heavyweight's schedule is less grueling than Louis' was.

[Ray Corso]

I had two old friends in New Haven who fought in the Louis era and they both served as Joes sparring partners. George Fitch & Nathan Mann were their names and George used to assist me at my Ring One gym in the late 70s! Both fought quite a bit and their praise for Louis was very high. George did alot of exhibitions with Joe and back then if you weren't getting ready for a fight they were very light work and almost instructional in nature!! So there wasn't much wear n tear on a fighter. At times they would open up on one another but they'd que each other when!! Just to give the audiance a chance to "hear" shots being taken. If you've never seen a show live the sounds from the ring can be very surprising to anyone. Its a different show from watching it on TV! Ray

[- Ram Raid -]

Marciano. He came back from the Schmeling loss. There was no coming back once he got put through those ropes. Truly one of the saddest sights in the history of boxing and American sports.

[Sugarj]

So will I.

I don't rate the degree of a loss by the severity of punishment absorbed, but by the ability to win a given bout. A relatively young Louis was expected to prevail against Schmeling, while an over-the-hill shadow of his former self against prime Marciano, not so much.

I suppose we all have different criteria. For example, I'd personally rank Ali's loss to Holmes as a worse defeat than his first loss to Norton......simply because he absorbed so much punishment and looked so tragic in defeat. Like Louis did when he fell through the ropes against Marciano; so sad to watch.

[Sugarj]

He fought a LOT of exhibition bouts... not sure how much they took out of him, but it goes without saying that the modern heavyweight's schedule is less grueling than Louis' was.

Agreed.

Bottom line.....irrespective of age; Louis was in no condition to face Marciano that night.

[Ray Corso]

Ali was way beyond his best years when the Holmes bout came, not even close to being competitive. His worse loss was against Joe Frazier, they were both undefeated at the time and fighting for a shot at the title!!
Some say the loss to Leon Spinks was his worst defeat!!!! Its the only time Ali was defeated in a title match! Ray