Was max schmeling past his prime, When he fought joe louis?

[Benny The Kid]

During the 2nd Fight in 1938.
I would say most definately.
His only fight in 1937, was on an 18 month layoff.
had 2 tune up fights in 1938.
against some bums.
That's almost 2 solid years there, with ONLY 3 fights.
Not even against some top tiers guys.
He beat the prime Joe Louis and Got nothing in return for it..
He was in line for the title shot, not Joe louis!
Then he gets destroyed by louis, after he lost his
motivation, because he was by-passed for the title shot.
I think the only reason he faced Joe louis was for a payday.
I think he already knew, he career was almost nearly over
and took the payday.
I Just can't give Joe as much credit as he deserved(it wasn't Joe louis' fault),
but i don't see this as a big win.
In History's eye's it was HUGE, i don't dispute that.
But a return match, should have taken place within 8-10 months.
Not 2 frickin Years.
Louis was fighting non-stop, and schmeling lost his will to compete
after he was rewarded, with nothing!
I think these guys are alot closer in skill, than many others think.
They Both got there butt kicked by each other.
What makes Joe Louis so far superior, for beating a rusty fighter.
At best he split a series with him.
Joe Louis was certainly real close, to being in his prime when max beat him.
I Think Schmeling was already over the hill, in 1938.
Does anybody agree with this take?

[Friedie]

I think Louis beeing Champ for 12 years with 25 title defenses is much more impressive than Schmelings Championship Run, more impressive than any other Run in Heavyweight History. For me Louis is therefore the Greatest of all Times.

Nevertheless Max was a great fighter who - at his best - could be a tough opponent for every Heavyweight in Boxing History I guess.
In 1938 he was not at his very Prime any more but still very good. And his 1937/38 Opponents were no Bums. Harry Thomas was a high ranked Heavyweight (and fought for the Title some months later) Ben Foord was a former British Empire Champion. Schmeling lost to Louis because Louis was nearly unbeateble that evening and because of the circumstances of that Fight. The back injury (3-times broken vertebrae) Max suffered early made it impossible for him to continue much further, I think it was a wonder Max got up three or four times. But from these 123 seconds you can't decide if Max wasn't still near his Prime or not.
One year later Schmeling crushed Adolf Heuser for the European Heavyweight Title in only 60 seconds and his Manager Joe Jacobs was working on a rubber match with Louis. WWII ended that attempt.

[pundit]

My take: Schmeling's prime was 1929-32, when he was the world's best heavyweight. It is well known that he fell a bit apart in 1933 and 34, before getting his act together once again. Whether one wants to call the 1935-37 period his "second prime" (where he had his most spectacular win) is a bit a matter of taste. Schmeling was surely world class though through 1939.