BoxRec

Best out of three...I think that's when we really true learn who the best fighter is...This presupposes each boxer won one...

Larry Holmes

Lenox Lewis

Evander Holyfield

Muhammad Ali

Joe Frazier

George Foreman

Jack Johnson

Jack Dempsey

I am interested in what you learned gentlemen think

on edit- added Marciano

I think Ali, Lennox Lewis and George Foreman had the tools to win 2 out of 3.

TheOneIsHere2008 wrote:Best out of three...I think that's when we really true learn who the best fighter is...This presupposes each boxer won one...

Larry Holmes

Lenox Lewis

Evander Holyfield

Muhammad Ali

Joe Frazier

George Foreman

Jack Johnson

Jack Dempsey

I am interested in what you learned gentlemen think

One fight between fighters at or near their peak is good enough for me.

Why is it you prefer 2 out of 3?


Anyway, I think Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Lewis, and Holmes all would have a good shot at winning 2 out of 3 from Louis.

I know many believe Louis would punch out Frazier early, but I really feel Frazier would persist and ultimately take out Louis.
Louis admittedly did not like heavy pressure.

Why no Marciano?

SteveO wrote:I think Ali, Lennox Lewis and George Foreman had the tools to win 2 out of 3.

I was watching the Tyson-Lewis fight...Lewis' jab almost separated Mike Tyson's face from its moorings...

Yancey wrote
Why is it you prefer 2 out of 3?

Because boxers learn from defeat...Johannsen knocked out Patterson...Patterson learned from it and I don't think Johannsen could have ever beat him again... Duran beat Leonard in "The Brawl In Montreal"...Leonard learned from it and I doubt Duran could have ever beat him again...

As much as I dislike Tyson I don't think Buster Douglas beats him again...

SteveO wrote:I think Ali, Lennox Lewis and George Foreman had the tools to win 2 out of 3.

Why no Larry Holmes?

He was a big, strong, durable, quick, and skilled hw...

No way Foreman or Lennox Lewis are beating Joe Louis two out of three times.

Only Ali or Johnson have the styles I believe to ever beat the Brown Bomber twice.

TheOneIsHere2008 wrote:

SteveO wrote:I think Ali, Lennox Lewis and George Foreman had the tools to win 2 out of 3.

Why no Larry Holmes?

He was a big, strong, durable, quick, and skilled hw...

I was close to including Holmes, but my feeling is that he would only win 1 out of 3 - probably their first meeting, after that Louis would have figured him out.
Anyway, it's only a bit of fun :-)

..the correct answer to the title of your thread is no.

i like a prime louis against marciano, johnson and dempsey but the size difference would start to show against the other fighters listed. not saying louis couldn't beat any of them but he would probably be an underdog in any of those match-ups.

bjermaine wrote:i like a prime louis against marciano, johnson and dempsey but the size difference would start to show against the other fighters listed. not saying louis couldn't beat any of them but he would probably be an underdog in any of those match-ups.

Now 'expert' bjermaine will give us the height and weight of Joe Louis opponents

Primo Carnera

Buddy Baer

Abe Simon

Max Baer

etc etc etc

None of them can, in fact I think most would be lucky to best Peter McNeeley 2 out of 3 after fighting Louis three times. I do make an exception for Jack Johnson, who I find a bit hard to rate.

wouter wrote:None of them can, in fact I think most would be lucky to best Peter McNeeley 2 out of 3 after fighting Louis three times. I do make an exception for Jack Johnson, who I find a bit hard to rate.

Zora Folley seems to demur from your opinion:

"(Joe) Louis wouldn't have a chance he was too slow.There's no way to train yourself for what he does. The moves the speed, the punches, and the way he changes style every time you have him figured. The right hands Ali hit me just had no business landing but they did. They came from nowhere. Many times he was in the wrong position but he hit me anyway. I've never seen anybody who could do that. The knockdown punch was so fast I never saw it. He has lots of snaps, and when the punches land they dizzy your head.; they fuzz up your mind. He's smart. The trickiest fighter I have ever seen. He's had twenty nine fights and acts like had one hundred. He could write the book on boxing , and anyone that fights him should be made to read it."

-Zora Folley
Sports Illiustrated
April 10, 1967

TheOneIsHere2008 wrote:

wouter wrote:None of them can, in fact I think most would be lucky to best Peter McNeeley 2 out of 3 after fighting Louis three times. I do make an exception for Jack Johnson, who I find a bit hard to rate.

Zora Folley seems to demur from your opinion:

"(Joe) Louis wouldn't have a chance he was too slow.There's no way to train yourself for what he does. The moves the speed, the punches, and the way he changes style every time you have him figured. The right hands Ali hit me just had no business landing but they did. They came from nowhere. Many times he was in the wrong position but he hit me anyway. I've never seen anybody who could do that. The knockdown punch was so fast I never saw it. He has lots of snaps, and when the punches land they dizzy your head.; they fuzz up your mind. He's smart. The trickiest fighter I have ever seen. He's had twenty nine fights and acts like had one hundred. He could write the book on boxing , and anyone that fights him should be made to read it."

-Zora Folley
Sports Illiustrated
April 10, 1967

I wouldn't exactly call Folley neutral on this subject 'I may not have been able to beat Ali, but neither would Joe Louis.'

wouter wrote:

TheOneIsHere2008 wrote:

wouter wrote:None of them can, in fact I think most would be lucky to best Peter McNeeley 2 out of 3 after fighting Louis three times. I do make an exception for Jack Johnson, who I find a bit hard to rate.

Zora Folley seems to demur from your opinion:

"(Joe) Louis wouldn't have a chance he was too slow.There's no way to train yourself for what he does. The moves the speed, the punches, and the way he changes style every time you have him figured. The right hands Ali hit me just had no business landing but they did. They came from nowhere. Many times he was in the wrong position but he hit me anyway. I've never seen anybody who could do that. The knockdown punch was so fast I never saw it. He has lots of snaps, and when the punches land they dizzy your head.; they fuzz up your mind. He's smart. The trickiest fighter I have ever seen. He's had twenty nine fights and acts like had one hundred. He could write the book on boxing , and anyone that fights him should be made to read it."

-Zora Folley
Sports Illiustrated
April 10, 1967

I wouldn't exactly call Folley neutral on this subject 'I may not have been able to beat Ali, but neither would Joe Louis.'

Yes sir...My point was to show that expert opinion on the subject is , indeed, mixed...

The Folley fight is my favorite fight...That was the last time we got to see Muhammad Ali in his prime:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfII9Smf ... re=related

granberry wrote:

bjermaine wrote:i like a prime louis against marciano, johnson and dempsey but the size difference would start to show against the other fighters listed. not saying louis couldn't beat any of them but he would probably be an underdog in any of those match-ups.

Now 'expert' bjermaine will give us the height and weight of Joe Louis opponents

Primo Carnera

Buddy Baer

Abe Simon

Max Baer

etc etc etc

and skill difference as well. only dingleberry can compare carnera and buddy baer to lennox lewis.

bjermaine wrote: and skill difference as well. only dingleberry can compare carnera and buddy baer to lennox lewis.

That's true, it really isn't appropriate to compare any of the champions of the steroid era to previous generations who had to hone their craft without the pharmacological supplements.

The question being "Could These Heavyweights Beat Joe Louis Two Out Of Three?," and the operative word being "could," the answer is yes to all. Anything is possible.

If the operative word was "would," the answer might be entirely different.