BoxRec

So, it's been claimed that James Braddock had bad ring rust leading up to the fight against Joe Louis, 2 years off.

If he had kept up, fought more contenders, and tried to keep himself in the game and ready for the fight, assuming he had no injuries, how much longer would he have lasted?

Would he have gone down in the same way? I guess it's very hard to speculate, considering Braddock went from being the fantastical Cinderella Man to an average boxer, he seems inconsistent. Not majorly inconsistent, mind you, he's certainly one of the greats, but when he stops pushing himself is when he stops being great, he had one of the best hearts of boxing in history, imo.

I don't know if the ring rust was the problem as much as it was the fact that he was older and had been plagued by injuries for years and years. The long layoff, if anything, for a man of his age and wear and tear was probably the best thing for him when he fought Louis. Considering all that, he gave Louis alot of problems in the ring and gave a good account of himself.

Braddock figured to be a 5-round job for Louis... The pundits of the day said, "5 rounds and he's outta here".... He was extraordinarily tough and lasted longer than expected... Ring rust or not - he was outclassed as a boxer and puncher.