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This was kind of discussed on another thread. If Joe Louis was around today would he be the best HW on the planet? Would he be undisputed world champ, make 20+ defences and dominate for years?

Controversial wrote: ↑16 May 2022, 05:12 This was kind of discussed on another thread. If Joe Louis was around today would he be the best HW on the planet? Would he be undisputed world champ, make 20+ defences and dominate for years?

He wouldn’t make all the defences because as we know fighters at the top fight 2-3 times a year max nowadays. He would wipe the floor with everyone aside from Fury and Usyk. I think he would beat Tyson fairly comfortably and have a tough first fight with Usyk then win the rematch handily.

NO !

Yes! Without question.
There are no current heavyweights more technically sound.
He had more power than anyone but Wilder, whom he is far superior in just about any other category.
He had a better workrate than anyone currently.
He was a more accurate puncher than anyone currently.

Possibly Fury and Usyk could win him.

Cruiserweight, yes.

At Heavy he would beat some big names but there's little chance he'd make 20 defences.

While we're on the subject of Joe Louis. How would everyone rate his defense ?

He was an offensive fighter. Methodical and educated. Great hand speed and accuracy. He could deliver every punch almost text book. This was his defence.

Sometimes judging how good a fighter is defensively is a little deceiving. Some guys could make themselves hard to hit by doing almost nothing offensively. It's harder to be offensive and not get hit.

There are very few fighters who got hit rarely yet were great offensive fighters.
Anyway, considering how good Louis was good defensively, he didn't get hit a lot.

Seamus wrote: ↑16 May 2022, 07:30NO !

Had to say who's the best heavyweight in the world right now, but Louis is better than Wilder. I don't think Fury is as good as his record suggests. He fights the old or incompetent. Usyk is one of the top 2, but his work among top heavies is rather thin and he's approaching 36. A prime Louis, despite his size, reach, and weight defenses not to mention a very hittable defense and a so-so chin would be in the mix. Like Usyk, he had good stamina, An under rated part of the game today where overnight men or rodied up men coast due to their size and incompetence of their opponents.

No.

He is the best puncher of all-time, according to Ring Magazine, but he would probably be at cruiserweight since he wasn't very big and weighed around 200 pounds. But with his power, he'd beat everyone save for Fury and Joshua.

I think he would be fully capable of beating everybody in the division with the exception of Fury, Wilder, Joshua and Usyk. His best shot would be with Joshua and he may very well win a series against Joshua. The others are either too damn big and skilled (Fury), too powerful (Wilder) or too fast (Usyk).

He was more skilled than Fury and a harder puncher.
Light years more skilled than Wilder, who would only have a punchers chance.
Hard to believe that he couldn't handle Usyk's speed.

Louis was clearly better than any of these guys.

Ambling Alp II wrote: ↑29 May 2022, 15:45 He was more skilled than Fury and a harder puncher.
Light years more skilled than Wilder, who would only have a punchers chance.
Hard to believe that he couldn't handle Usyk's speed.

Louis was clearly better than any of these guys.

Can't disagree with any of this. We still haven't seen the full potential of Usyk yet possibly, but we've seen the very best either Fury or Wilder are capable of at this point. Neither one is a pushover, but Louis' best is better than what they've shown.

Ambling Alp II wrote: ↑29 May 2022, 15:45 He was more skilled than Fury and a harder puncher.
Light years more skilled than Wilder, who would only have a punchers chance.
Hard to believe that he couldn't handle Usyk's speed.

Louis was clearly better than any of these guys.

Hard to believe the best ever or close second isn’t going to dominate in todays piss poor division.

To think that Wilder could do anything with Louis is lunacy. He hits hard but is utterly shite at boxing.

Tony Galento hurt Louis multiple times and dropped him, wouldnt be shocking if guys like Wilder or AJ hurt him or dropped him tbh. There's such a tendency in mythical fights to pick one guy to just destroy dudes, but reality is that even the best fighters had issues with guys we generally think of as well below their level

I just can't see how a guy that was at his very best at 197lbs beat mammoth heavyweights of today. Let's face it. I love the great Joe Louis, but ain't he too small for these behemoths?

Ambling Alp II wrote: ↑29 May 2022, 15:45 He was more skilled than Fury and a harder puncher.
Light years more skilled than Wilder, who would only have a punchers chance.
Hard to believe that he couldn't handle Usyk's speed.

Louis was clearly better than any of these guys.

A man can have better skills all around and still lose. Joe Louis was technically a better boxer than Muhammad Ali, and he also punched harder than Muhammad Ali --- but there is little doubt that Louis would lose to Muhammad Ali. Why? Billy Conn. If Louis was so deeply troubled by the former middleweight then you have to figure that Ali is Billy Conn but 40-50 pounds heavier (and taller and rangier) with more speed and more power.

I give Wilder a heck of a shot considering how competitive someone like Buddy Baer was against Joe Louis in the first fight--- if the slow moving, hunched over, Baer could literally knock Louis up and over the top rope I have no doubt whatsoever that a guy like Wilder would not only do the same but probably keep Louis on the canvas.

As for Fury, Louis would simply be incapable of touching him in any real meaningful way especially when you figure that Louis was basically a slow-footed stalker who would be even smaller than Steve Cunningham. Fury would never really give him the opportunity to be able to unload those combinations.

THAT BEING SAID.... I would rank Joe Louis as the #2 all-time heavyweight champion simply because of his accomplishments which I don't think anyone will be able to break in my lifetime. But records or not, I can't see him being able to beat the top three or four heavyweights today.

Ya, people simplify it too much. It's like when Shavers was discussed a bit ago, and the usual suspects were all like 'well he ran so and so great fighter close and did this and that, these guys today wouldnt be near his league'

meanwhile he got beaten by bob stallings, ko'd by mercado and cobb and stander, couldnt get past a round with quarry, nearly ko'd in a minute by jeff sims , etc

joe louis, arguably the number 1 and at worst 2 hw of all time, hurt by the first punch galento throws, hurt multiple times and dropped. pushed hard by godoy, down on points late vs a guy smaller than modern swms, etc. ali, shortly before schooling the gawd status liston, dropped heavily by cooper, who was basically a european title level guy the size of a modern lhw

its highly unlikely that even great fighters would go through a long reign vs inferior opposition without having some scares. louis getting dropped by someone like wilder, aj, or worse would hardly be lunacy or shocking, worse fighters did it and that sort of thing happens all the time in boxing

I mean watch this:



Notice how the 6'7" Baer does not fight like a tall man, all hunched over? How slow footed he is? Just basically charges at Louis. Knocks Louis right through the ropes in the first round. And Baer was a 10-1 underdog.

No offense to Buddy Baer, who is rated among ring magazines top 100 punchers of the century, but clearly Wilder not only hits harder than he does but is also faster in delivery of his punches.

Yes, Louis weathered the storm and broke Baer down until his corner jumped into the ring forcing a disqualification. Yes, in the rematch Louis annihilated Baer in one round--- but the whole point is that if Louis could look vulnerable against basically these B level heavyweights, then I have no doubt that he would be in a lot of trouble with Fury, Wilder, Joshua and Usyk.

As for being "vulnerable", nobody is perfect. Joshua actually got stopped by Andy Ruiz.

Baer wasn't a legend, but he knew how to fight, unlike Wilder. Notice that he could move his feet. And (gasp) was a big man who could fight at a good pace.
The knockdown in the first round was a classic Joe Louis moment. He gets knocked through the ropes, calmly gets up and climbs in the ring, and continues as of nothing happens.

HomicideHenry wrote: ↑29 May 2022, 19:57 I mean watch this:



Notice how the 6'7" Baer does not fight like a tall man, all hunched over? How slow footed he is? Just basically charges at Louis. Knocks Louis right through the ropes in the first round. And Baer was a 10-1 underdog.

No offense to Buddy Baer, who is rated among ring magazines top 100 punchers of the century, but clearly Wilder not only hits harder than he does but is also faster in delivery of his punches.

Yes, Louis weathered the storm and broke Baer down until his corner jumped into the ring forcing a disqualification. Yes, in the rematch Louis annihilated Baer in one round--- but the whole point is that if Louis could look vulnerable against basically these B level heavyweights, then I have no doubt that he would be in a lot of trouble with Fury, Wilder, Joshua and Usyk.

Exactly. And he have even more trouble vs the Klitschko's and Lewis.

nice knockdown, bumbling big buddy sent joe through the ropes with that hook

Guess there is no reason to watch the rest of the fight. Obviously Louis was destroyed by the much larger Baer. Rematch was probably even worse for Louis. No reason to look into this any further.

ya, cuz that's exactly what's being said bruh

man, that was a good kd though, joe almost jumped out through the ropes there