BoxRec

..the reason joe louis defended his title against john henry lewis was because lewis had to retire because his vision was nearly gone. they were friends and joe wanted john henry to have a decent purse so he made the match. he knocked john henry out in the first round so the latter wouldn't have to take a beating.

i posted this on a thread that box buzz has locked and i made a typo in it. as it is now locked i can't correct the error so i'm doing it here. this has nothing to do with the reasons buzzy locked the thread so i assume he will let it be entered. but, with buzzy one never can tell so i shall just have to wait and see.

John Henry was a beast. One of the most underrated fighters to ever lace them up.

This is what I've heard. The scant footage shows Louis absolutely pasting Lewis.

How did Braddock defeat Lewis? Or was this also after his prime. Was Braddock lucky? Or was Braddock better than some of the pictures that have been painted of Braddock on this sight?

...barrywash....if you think this is common knowledge go out and ask a few people....picked at random....who john henry lewis was and what was his last participation in his profession and what was the result.


buzz....i don't know about braddock and lewis, but i'll see what i can find. you might do better by asking bwashington as this too might be common knowledge.

i have another bit of info for you to add to my personal message, but i don't know if you're interested. if you are pm me.

Lewis was in his prime when he lost to Braddock. Braddock was a little bigger but I think the victory points mainly to Braddock being much better than some give him credit for. But if they fought 3 times I'd favor Lewis 2 outta 3 (Lewis did beat Braddock in their first fight)

I always question really how bad John Henry's condition was vs Louis . . certainly he was having major eye issues, but he'd defended the title over 15 rounds just a few months prior vs the excellent Al Gainer, and in the same year had KO'd future heavyweight contender Elmer 'Violent' Ray. Certainly he couldn't have been a shot, blind fighter like he's described having beaten so many top men recently.

..dempsey...as i understand it, lewis was virtually blind in one eye and the other may have been fading. he was such a great fighter he may have been able to win those fights with just one good eye.

maybe barrywash can help us here...we may just be ignorant of common knowledge. after all, if HE knew about the details of the fight the knowledge must be pretty damn common.

..aw, come on barry....it's just that things have been dull around here for a while and i just wanted to stir something up. why am i acting like that? it's just my nature, i guess, which has been lying dormant since i turned eighty in july. as far as coming off as offensive or pretentious i don't think you were...at least by my standards as i have a few medals in both departments.

i'm interested in that documentary. can you recall a little more about it?

Wow, old jacflem2 coming out winging in his 80th year.

He might need what BarryWash is smoking.

And just when I thought this place had totally died.

BarryWashington wrote:

Giancarlo wrote:Wow, old jacflem2 coming out winging in his 80th year.

He might need what BarryWash is smoking.

And just when I thought this place had totally died.

i'd be more than happy to provide

You got enough for everybody?

BarryWashington wrote:

The Great John L wrote:

BarryWashington wrote: i'd be more than happy to provide

You got enough for everybody?

yep

WOOHOO!!!

See http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9r ... ouis&hl=en

No mention of him being blind. Not saying he didn't have vision problems, as he did retire after the Louis bout, but I just don't see him as being practically blind as some make out

dempseyfire wrote:See http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9r ... ouis&hl=en

No mention of him being blind. Not saying he didn't have vision problems, as he did retire after the Louis bout, but I just don't see him as being practically blind as some make out

Of course I seem to remember that there was virtually no discussion in the press about Joe Fraziers eyesight during his career.

...barry.....you couldn't be wrong on louis and lewis being friends because i'm the one who told you that...and i'm jaclem!!!!

..okay barry...when i get to read that documentary i'll check it and make corrections if they're needed.

and....you said you weren't sure about them being friends...and i assured you they were...so the documentary you learned from must not have had that.

The Great John L wrote:

dempseyfire wrote:See http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9r ... ouis&hl=en

No mention of him being blind. Not saying he didn't have vision problems, as he did retire after the Louis bout, but I just don't see him as being practically blind as some make out

Of course I seem to remember that there was virtually no discussion in the press about Joe Fraziers eyesight during his career.

Point taken.

I may be wrong because Im certainly no expert on this era but wasnt Braddock Lewis considered a bit of a controversial decision. Either way, Braddock wasnt better than his record suggests. He was pretty awful and his claim to fame, the win over Baer, was as close a decision as youll see a title pass on in that era. He also got a gift over Farr, and was made to look absolutely terrible by Loughran. Braddock looked worse than an amateur in that fight.