Joe Louis

Joe Louis
Data
Birth Name	Joseph Louis Barrow
Fight name	The Brown Bomber
Weight class	Heavyweight
nationality	US-american
birthday	May 13, 1914
place of birth	La Fayette , Alabama
Date of death	April 12, 1981
Place of death	Las Vegas
style	Left delivery
size	1.87 m
Range	1.93 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles	69
Victories	66
Knockout victories	52
Defeats	3
draw	0
Profile in the BoxRec database

Joe Louis Plaza in Manhattan

Joseph Louis Barrow (born May 13, 1914 in La Fayette , Alabama , † April 12, 1981 in Las Vegas , Nevada ), called The Brown Bomber , was an American boxer and undisputed heavyweight boxing champion . Louis became an idol and symbol of emancipation for the marginalized and discriminated African-American population in the United States. The professional world recognizes him as one of the best boxers in history.

Life

Joe Louis was born the seventh child of eight siblings in a southern farming family. After his first successes in boxing, black businessmen John Roxborough and Julian Black signed him. They tried to build him up as a positive counter-example to the former black boxing world champion Jack Johnson and to portray him in the media as a "good black". Above all, that meant answering reporters politely and as blandly as possible, and not having affairs with white women.

In 1935, Louis was honored with the Associated Press Athlete of the Year award . As early as 1936, after knockout victories over almost all strong opponents of the 1930s, including several former world champions such as Primo Carnera and Max Baer , he was considered invincible. This year, however, he was defeated by the German ex-champion Max Schmeling by knockout in the 12th round. Schmeling had previously discovered a weakness in Louis through an intensive study of film recordings: After a straight line on the left, he did not take his forearm back in front of his head, but let his arm hang down. In pre-fight interviews, he confirmed several times that he had found a weakness in Louis' boxing style. In fact, he was able to hit Louis on the chin with a right hook and full force already at the beginning of the 2nd round after a left straight and downward movement from Louis.

In 1937, Louis became heavyweight world champion with a knockout victory in the eighth round over Jim Braddock , although he should have defended his title against Schmeling first. Only after several offers to increase his income could Louis' promoter Braddock persuade to fight Louis.

From 1937 to 1949 he dominated with 26 successful title defenses. This makes him the boxer who has been world champion for the longest uninterrupted period. He sensationally knocked out Max Schmeling in the 1938 rematch in the first round after two minutes and four seconds. The press wrote of "2 minutes of murder and manslaughter". The African-American people celebrated this victory with exuberant enthusiasm on the streets of the United States. Then there are many other big names in his fight record, such as Buddy Baer , a world-class man with extreme clout. Louis even boxed twice against him, in the first fight Baer even knocked Louis out of the ring in the first round with a single blow, Louis came back in time, dominated him and beat him in the seventh round by disqualification. In the second fight Baer had no chance, Louis knocked him to the ground three times in the first round and knocked him out classically. At the end of his winning streak he had a lot of trouble against Billy Conn and Jersey Joe Walcott .

In early March 1949, he announced his retirement from the boxing business; Cab Calloway then set him a musical monument with the title Ol 'Joe Louis . In 1950 he was forced to step back into the boxing ring due to tax debts. He lost a title fight against Ezzard Charles only on points, a non-title fight against Rocky Marciano by knockout; Marciano is said to have cried afterwards in his dressing room. In 72 professional fights, Louis suffered only three defeats.

Most recently, he worked as a bouncer in a Las Vegas nightclub and had drug problems. He died impoverished, sometimes still financially supported by friends like Sonny Liston or Max Schmeling. At the request of Ronald Reagan, he was given a hero's funeral at Arlington National Cemetery , which was partially financed by Max Schmeling.

In 1977 Louis had a brief guest appearance on the series Quincy (episode "Ring Free for Death"), in which he played himself.

The Joe Louis Arena in Detroit , completed in 1979, was named after him. In 1990 he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame . The square in front of Penn Station in New York was named after him.

List of professional fights

66 wins (52 knockout wins), 3 defeats , 0 draws
year	Day	place	opponent	Result for Louis
1934	July 4th	Bacon's Arena, Chicago, USA	Jack Kracken	Victory / KO 1st round
	July 12	Bacon's Arena, Chicago, USA	Willie Davies	Victory / TKO 3rd round
	30th July	Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena, Chicago, USA	Larry Udell	Victory / TKO 2nd round
	13 August	Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena, Chicago, USA	Jack wreath	Points victory (unanimous) / 8 rounds
	August 27	Marigold Gardens Outdoor Arena, Chicago, USA	Buck Everett	Victory / KO 2nd round
	September 11	Naval Armory, Detroit, USA	Al Delaney	Victory / TKO 4th round
	September 26th	Arcadia Gardens, Chicago, USA	Adolph Wiater	Points win / 10 rounds
	October 24th	Arcadia Gardens, Chicago, USA	Art Sykes	Victory / KO 8th round
	October 31	Arena Gardens, Detroit, USA	Jack O'Dowd	Victory / KO 2nd round
	14th November	Arcadia Gardens, Chicago, USA	Stanley Poreda	Victory / KO 1st round
	30th of November	Coliseum, Chicago, USA	Charley Massera	Victory / KO 3rd round
	December 14th	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, USA	Lee Ramage	Victory / TKO 8th round
1935	January 4th	Detroit Olympia , Detroit, USA	Patsy Perroni	Points win / 10 rounds
	11th January	Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, USA	Hans Birkie	Victory / TKO 10th round
	21st of February	Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, USA	Lee Ramage	Victory / TKO 2nd round
	8th of March	Dreamland Auditorium, San Francisco, USA	Don Barry	Victory / TKO 3rd round
	March 29	Detroit Olympia , Detroit, USA	Natie Brown	Points victory (unanimously) / 10 rounds
	12. April	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, USA	Roy Lazer	Victory / TKO 3rd round
	April 22	Memorial Hall, Dayton, USA	Biff Bennett	Victory / KO 1st round
	25th June	Yankee Stadium , Bronx, USA	Primo Carnera	Victory / TKO 6th round
	August 7th	Comiskey Park , Chicago, USA	King Levinsky	Victory / TKO 1st round
	September 24th	Yankee Stadium , Bronx, USA	Max Baer	Victory / KO 4th round
	13th December	Madison Square Garden , New York, USA	Paulino Uzcudun	Victory / TKO 4th round
1936	January 17th	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, USA	Charley Retzlaff	Victory / KO 1st round
	June 19th	Yankee Stadium , Bronx, USA	Max Schmeling	Loss / KO 12th round
	18th of August	Yankee Stadium , Bronx, USA	Jack Sharkey	Victory / KO 3rd round
	September 22	Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia, USA	Al Ettore	Victory / KO 5th round
	9th October	Hippodrome, New York, USA	Jorge Brescia	Victory / KO 3rd round
	December 14th	Public Hall, Cleveland, USA	Eddie Simms	Victory / TKO 1st round
1937	11th January	Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo, USA	Steve Ketchel	Victory / KO 2nd round
	January 29th	Madison Square Garden , New York, USA	Bob Pastor	Points victory (unanimously) / 10 rounds
	February 17th	Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, USA	Natie Brown	Victory / KO 4th round
	June 22	Comiskey Park , Chicago, USA	Jim Braddock NBA / NYSAC World Heavyweight Championship	Victory / KO 8th round
	August 30th	Yankee Stadium , Bronx, USA	Tommy Farr NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Points victory (unanimously) / 15 rounds
1938	February 23	Madison Square Garden , New York, USA	Nathan Mann NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / KO 3rd round
	April 1st	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, USA	Harry Thomas NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / KO 5th round
	June 22	Yankee Stadium , Bronx, USA	Max Schmeling NBA / NYSAC heavyweight title defense	Victory / KO 1st round
1939	January 25th	Madison Square Garden , New York, USA	John Henry Lewis NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / KO 1st round
	17th April	Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, USA	Jack Roper NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / KO 1st round
	June 28th	Yankee Stadium , Bronx, USA	Tony Galento NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / TKO 4th round
	September 20th	Tiger Stadium , Detroit, USA	Bob Pastor NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / KO 11th round
1940	February 9	Madison Square Garden , New York, USA	Arturo Godoy NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Points win (split decision) / 15 rounds
	March 29	Madison Square Garden , New York, USA	Johnny Paychek NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / TKO 2nd round
	20th June	Yankee Stadium , Bronx, USA	Arturo Godoy NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / TKO 8th round
	December 16	Boston Garden , Boston, USA	Al McCoy NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / abandonment 5th round
1941	31 January	Madison Square Garden , New York, USA	Red Burman NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / KO 5th round
	February 17th	Convention Hall, Philadelphia, USA	Gus Dorazio NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / KO 2nd round
	March 21st	Detroit Olympia , Detroit, USA	Abe Simon NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / TKO 13th round
	April 8th	St. Louis Arena , Saint Louis, USA	Tony Musto NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / TKO 9th round
	23. May	Griffith Stadium, Washington, USA	Buddy Baer NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / Disqualification 7th round
	18th of June	Polo Grounds , New York, USA	Billy Conn NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / KO 13th round
	September 29th	Polo Grounds , New York, USA	Lou Nova NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / TKO 6th round
1942	January 9th	Madison Square Garden , New York, USA	Buddy Baer NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / KO 1st round
	27th of March	Madison Square Garden , New York, USA	Abe Simon NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / TKO 6th round
1944	14th November	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium , Buffalo, USA	Johnny Davis	Victory / KO 1st round
1946	June 19th	Yankee Stadium , Bronx, USA	Billy Conn NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / KO 8th round
	September 18	Yankee Stadium , Bronx, USA	Tami Mauriello NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / KO 1st round
1947	December 5th	Madison Square Garden , New York, USA	Jersey Joe Walcott NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Points win (split decision) / 15 rounds
1948	25th June	Yankee Stadium , Bronx, USA	Jersey Joe Walcott NBA / NYSAC Heavyweight Title Defense	Victory / KO 11th round
1950	September 27th	Yankee Stadium , Bronx, USA	Ezzard Charles NBA World Heavyweight Championship	Point loss (unanimously) / 15 rounds
	November 29th	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, USA	Cesar Brion	Points victory (unanimously) / 10 rounds
1951	January 3rd	Detroit Olympia , Detroit, USA	Freddie Beshore	Victory / TKO 4th round
	February 7th	Miami Stadium, Miami, USA	Omelio Agramonte	Points victory (unanimously) / 10 rounds
	February 23	Cow Palace , Daly City, USA	Andy Walker	Victory / TKO 10th round
	2.May	Detroit Olympia , Detroit, USA	Omelio Agramonte	Points victory (unanimously) / 10 rounds
	15th June	Madison Square Garden , New York, USA	Lee Savold	Victory / KO 6th round
	August 1st	Cow Palace , Daly City, USA	Cesar Brion	Points victory (unanimously) / 10 rounds
	15th of August	Memorial Stadium , Baltimore, USA	Jimmy Bivins	Points victory (unanimously) / 10 rounds
	October 26th	Madison Square Garden , New York, USA	Rocky Marciano	Loss / TKO 8th round
Source: Joe Louis in the BoxRec database

literature

• Randy Roberts: Joe Louis: hard times man , New Haven [u. a.]: Yale Univ. Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0-300-12222-0
• David Margolick: Beyond Glory. Joe Louis Vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink. Alfred Knopf, New York 2005, ISBN 978-0-375-41192-2 ; German edition: Max Schmeling and Joe Louis. Battle of the Giants - Battle of the Systems . Blessing, Munich 2005, ISBN 978-3-89667-169-1
• Chris Mead: Champion - Joe Louis: black hero in white America , New York [u. a.]: Penguin Books, 1986, ISBN 0-14-009285-4

Filmography

• The Brown Bomber (The Joe-Louis-Story) feature film, USA, 1953, 88 min., Director: Robert Gordon
• Joe & Max . TV film, USA, Germany, 2002, 109 min., Director: Steve James , u. a. with Til Schweiger as Max Schmeling
• The fight of the century. Max Schmeling versus Joe Louis. Documentation, USA, 2004, 87 min., Director: Barak Goodman, summary ( memento from June 30, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) by Phoenix
• Max Schmeling - A German Legend . Movie, Federal Republic of Germany, 2010, 123 min., Director: Uwe Boll , with Henry Maske as Max Schmeling, Susanne Wuest as Anny Ondra , Vladimir Weigl as Joe Jacobs , and others. v. a.

musical

• The fight of the century - Max Schmeling versus Joe Louis. A boxing musical by Paul Graham Brown (music) and James Edward Lyons (book), website

See also

• List of heavyweight boxing champions

Web links

Commons : Joe Louis  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Wikiquote: Joe Louis  - Quotes

• Literature by and about Joe Louis in the catalog of the German National Library
• “The Brown Bomber. The man behind The Fist, " Detroit News, Jan. 24, 1996, (biography with pictures)
• "Joe Louis, 66, Heavyweight King Who Reigned 12 Years, Is Dead" , New York Times , April 13, 1981
• On the 20th anniversary of death , boxingpress.de
• "June 19, 1936: Schmeling versus Louis" , Deutsche Welle
• Joe Louis in the BoxRec database

supporting documents

1. ↑ How Joe Louis became world champion. Schweizer Film = Film Suisse: official organ of Switzerland, accessed on June 8, 2020 . 
2. ↑ Joe Louis, the "brown bomber", had returned the most important belt in boxing after twelve years in the heavyweight division and 26 defending titles.
3. ^ NYSAC World Heavyweight Champion
4. ↑ The Battle of the Century. Max Schmeling versus Joe Louis. ( Memento from June 30, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Documentation, USA, 2004, 87 min., Director: Barak Goodman
5. ↑ Cab Calloway in Chronology, Ol 'Joe Louis (08-18-49) .
6. ↑ The Battle of the Century. Max Schmeling versus Joe Louis. ( Memento from June 30, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
7. ↑ Review: Beyond Glory by Joyce Carol Oates , New York Times , October 2, 2005