Joe Louis vs. Lou Nova

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Challenger rankings
Org. Pos. As of Published
1+ Mth. Old
NBA 3 24.03.1941 24.03.1941
Ring N/A N/A N/A
2+ Mth. Old
NBA 3 24.03.1941 24.03.1941
Ring N/A N/A N/A
3+ Mth. Old
NBA 4 24.12.1940 24.12.1940
Ring N/A N/A N/A
Louis hits Nova with a right.

Joe Louis 202 lbs beat Lou Nova 203 lbs by TKO at 2:59 in round 6 of 15

Notes

Timeline

  • On February 7, promoter Mike Jacobs announced that Nova had been signed to meet Max Baer on April 4 at Madison Square Garden.[1][2][3]
  • On February 19, columnist Lawton Carver wrote for the International News Service that "bar unforseen developments", Louis' schedule included facing Abe Simon in April, Billy Conn in June and the winner of Baer-Nova in September.[4][5] This was more or less reiterated by another source on March 1.[6][7][8]
  • It was revealed on March 8 that originally Nova wanted the fight in April, but Mike Jacobs offered to wait until September and in the meantime "fight a couple of good men to acquire more seasoning".[9]
  • After Nova stopped Baer in the twelfth on April 4, Associated Press wrote that "Lou Nova stands out in bold relief as the man ready to fight Joe Louis for the championship", while Mike Jacobs said that Nova might fight Louis almost any minute.[10]
  • Former heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey said in an interview on April 18 that Nova would beat Louis' June opponent Billy Conn if they ever meet, and that both had a good chance at beating Louis[11]; in another interview on April 29 he rated Nova as the second best heavyweight in the world at the moment behind Louis and ahead of Conn, and that Louis would have to knock Nova out inside three rounds, otherwise he would struggle.[12]
  • On May 7, Nova publicly accused Louis' promoter Mike Jacobs of keeping him away from the title because he didn't want to sign a three-year contract that would make him a member of Jacobs' stable and "give Uncle Mike a 99-year lease on his soul".[13]
  • On May 15, journalist Robert McShane wrote for the Western Newspapers Union that "the contenders have been thinned out to some extent. Only two hopefuls are getting much of a play in the nation's press. They are, of course, Lou Nova, experimenter in Yogi sect beliefs, and Billy Conn, rangy Pittsburgh youngster who is scheduled to meet the Bomber in June."[14]
  • On May 26 and then May 29, Associated Press and International News Service wrote that Louis was slayed to meet Nova in September, though only if he managed to get past Abe Simon and Billy Conn.[15][16]
  • On June 6, Nova knocked out journeyman Jim Robinson (28-11-1) in the third round, in what was widely viewed as a tune-up before the September showdown with Louis.[17][18]
  • Bout signed on June 21.[19]

Ranking Movements

  • Baer ranked No. 1 contender for Louis' crown by the National Boxing Association (NBA) since September 10, 1940.
  • Nova included in "honorable mentions" in the Q4 rankings released by the NBA on December 24, 1940.
  • On March 24, 1941 Nova was promoted to No. 3, while previous third-ranked Arturo Godoy was bumped to honorable mentions.
  • On June 27, Nova was promoted to No. 1 thanks his twelfth-round stoppage victory over Baer on April 4.

The Fight

  • There were 56,549 paying fans.
  • The gross gate was $583,771.
  • Louis received 47½ percent of the net gate, and Nova got 17½ percent.
  • The day after the fight, distributors viewed the bout on film and decided not to show it in theaters. They thought it was too dull. [20]
  • Nat Fleischer wrote that Nova didn't win a round and took a terrible beating in the sixth round. (The Ring, December 1941, page 4)
  • On October 7, the New York State Athletic Commission suspended Ray Carlin, Nova's manager, and Ray Arcel, Nova's trainer, for instructing the challenger to hold back early and box a defensive battle against Louis. Carlin was suspended for six months and Arcel for sixty days. They were also reprimanded for refusing to heed the referee's warning to stop using grease on Nova. [21]


Joe Louis Retains Title By Flooring Lou Nova In Sixth
By Gayle Talbot, Associated Press, September 30, 1941

If Joe Louis has fought his last fight, then the world can say goodbye to a fighting man the likes of which it may never see again.

The right that Joe laid on Lou Nova's jaw in the sixth round last night at the Polo Grounds, knocking the big Californian flat and preparing him for the technical knockout that came a moment later, was the sort of picture punch that a fight fan might wait a lifetime to see.

The big negro, now awaiting his call into the Army, may never again deliver a single blow with the precision and power of the one that paralyzed Nova's senses and shocked a great crowd of almost 60,000 that had been slowly warming up to what it thought was a fairly even contest.

A year of absence from the heat of championship fighting might rob Louis of the perfect sense of timing and the deadly kick that went into that one climactic blow. If that happens, then it will be something to remember.

Nova was close to the ropes, near his own corner, boxing confidently and well, waiting for Joe to give him an opening. Louis, his face impassive as ever, was shuffling about and getting nowhere, apparently. The crowd had been doing some booing, and the champion's most ardent followers were wailing that "he never looked like that before."

Then suddenly, and simply, it happened.

Louis feinted with his left and threw all of his 202 pounds behind his right. It struck the powerful Nova flush on the jaw and he dropped as though he had collided with a boxcar. It was such a terrific blow as to make what happened before and afterward in the fight seem scarcely worth the telling.

Though terribly hurt, Nova managed to gain his feet at the count of nine and to stagger into a barrage of blows. He shuddered under the impact of twenty or thirty cruel shots to his head and body as he sagged and floundered three-quarters of the way around the ring before Referee Arthur Donovan stopped it, just at the bell. But that one punch had ruined him.

"I just forgot to duck," said Nova, almost cheerfully, after the wobble came out of his legs and he reached the dressing room. "Joe's the hardest hitter I ever fought. I saw the punch coming all the way, but I couldn't get out of range. It must have been a beauty."

Ray Carlen, Nova's manager, was bitter because Donovan had stopped the bout with only a second remaining of the sixth round. He argued with seeming logic, that Lou should have been given the minute rest period to see if he could come out and fight. But Nova refused to join him in his beef.

"Maybe I could have taken care of myself if I had had a rest," he said, "but I've got no complaint about Donovan. He can referee all my fights."

As a matter of plain fact, a rest wouldn't have done Nova a particle of good and would have earned him only a worse beating than he got. A full two minutes after the bout ended Nova got to his feet and made his way out to the center of the ring, and his knees still were wobbling and his face still was a blank.

As it was, the worst the challenger had to show for the fight was a slight cut on the bridge of his nose and a shattered dream. He really thought he could whip Louis and he gave it a good, brave try. He learned differently, and took it very well. [22]


Preceded by:
Louis vs. Conn I 		NBA Heavyweight Title Fight
# 32 		Succeeded by:
Louis vs. Baer II
Preceded by:
Louis vs. Conn I 		NYSAC Heavyweight Title Fight
# 30 		Succeeded by:
Louis vs. Baer II


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