Joe Louis is rightfully considered one of greatest athletes last century. He managed to win and hold the title of world champion for more than ten years in a row. He defended this title in 25 fights. Ring magazine has repeatedly called him the best boxer in the world, and will forever preserve his name for posterity.
Biography
Joe Louis was born in 1914 in the USA into a poor family. As a child, the future ring star was diagnosed with developmental delays. This was manifested, among other things, in speech problems that remained with the boxer until his death. Studying at school was painful for the boy, and over time he abandoned it. His mother insisted on studying music, but Joe left the funds she provided for this in the boxing club.
When the boy was 10 years old, his parents decided to move to Detroit. Here, young Joe, at the age of 12, begins working with his father at the Ford plant. Yours free time he devotes himself to boxing. Since 1932, we can talk about the beginning of Joe Louis's amateur boxing career, which lasted two years. During this time, the guy won 50 fights and only failed 4 times.
Professional boxing career
The young boxer was instantly singled out among the others. His coach was Jack Blackburn, who appreciated Joe's abilities. Louis first entered the professional ring in 1934. His first fight ended in a triumphant victory, after which a series of fights began that ended in favor of the young boxer. In just 2 years, Joe won 24 fights, most of which ended in knockout.
Success played a cruel joke on the boxer, who relaxed a little. As a result, he lost in June 1936. But Louis learned a lesson from what happened, and until 1950 there were no more defeats in his career.
In 1937, the boxer defeated the current world champion in just 8 rounds. Over the next 11 years, he achieved only victories, proving that he was the best in his field on the entire planet. In 1949, Louis was about to retire from the sport. But a year later, due to financial difficulties, he had to return to the ring. In his first fight, he was defeated by E. Charles, but the next eight fights ended in his victory. In 1951, Joe met Rocky Marciano in the ring and was knocked out. This fight was truly the last, and Louis finally left the big sport.
Despite brilliant career boxer, Joe turned out to be not a very good businessman, and he could not successfully invest the money he earned in the ring. After leaving the sport, he tried to start his own business, but all attempts ended in failure. He ended up working as a hotel doorman. Great boxer passed away in 1981. Many of his records have still not been broken.
Max Schmeling (full name: Maximillian Adolf Otto Siegfried Schmeling) was born on September 28, 1905 in Germany.
Many still remember him, because he passed away quite recently. Personally, when I heard his last name before, I showed nothing but contempt. Then, however, my attitude changed dramatically.
Indeed, how should I, a Soviet person, feel towards a member of a hostile army, while reading: “The Nazi Schmeling before the match (with Joe Louis) boasted uncontrollably that the “Aryan” would always defeat the Negro.”
Max Schmeling was born in Germany into the family of a merchant marine sailor. At the end of the twenties, he went to “conquer” Berlin, and he succeeded in part thanks to the “bohemians,” who a few years later, under National Socialism, would mostly be arrested. Having tried his abilities in boxing, he became convinced that he had talent.
Max is often treated with prejudice. This can be seen, in particular, in Barak Goodman’s film “The Fight,” about the confrontation between Joe Louis and Max Schmeling. But Max did have a commercial streak that led to some compromises. What two characteristics do I personally think of when I think of Max Schmeling’s “Black Lancer of the Rhine”? This is adaptability. Or, to put it mildly, the ability to be reborn from the ashes. And an outcast - Max, even after becoming a world champion, forever remained an outcast in boxing: America, being the center of the boxing world, did not want to accept foreigners.
Let's talk about Max's first trait - the ability to adapt (we'll come back to it later). Schmeling came to America to seek his boxing fortune and soon realized that he needed a local manager - preferably a Jew. He immediately said goodbye to his former mentor Arthur Bulow, who led him to the title of European champion, and chose a businessman named Joe Jacobs as his manager. Jacobs advertised his ward as best he could. He even used Max's resemblance to Jack Dempsey. And in just two years, Joe managed to sign a contract to host a match for the vacant championship title between Schmeling and Jack Sharkey. (True, before that Max won against Johnny Risko and Paulino Uzcudun.) This fight is considered a curiosity. They laughed at Schmeling for a long time, because Max is the only world champion who won (in 1930) the title while lying on the floor. That’s what they called him - “horizontal champion”. The fact is that during the championship match, Jack Sharkey did not calculate the blow in the fourth round and hit poor Max below the belt with all his might, thereby depriving Schmeling of the opportunity to continue the fight. For all this, Sharkey was disqualified, and Schmeling became the world champion.
Often in Soviet press the thought crossed my mind that Schmeling was simply feigning (Jacobs immediately began rushing around the ring and shouting for the fight to be stopped). But only those who have not seen the battle itself can say this. Anyone who watched the recording of the fight will understand that after such a blow to the “forbidden zone” there could be no talk of any continuation of the match - which, by the way, Schmeling himself showed to referee Jim Crowley.
And what about our newly-minted champion? The 2003 film Fight suggests that winning the title went unnoticed. I allow myself, having watched hours of newsreels from those years, to disagree with this. Schmeling was greeted solemnly in Berlin. Of course, not as formally and formally as after the victory over Louis in 1936. But still.
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A year later, Schmeling came to America and defended his championship title, knocking out Young Stribling. Now they no longer laughed at Max and the “title” of “horizontal champion” left him. And a year later, the unlucky Jack Sharkey achieved a rematch: yes, they say, he broke the rule, but by accident, they say, and therefore he has, so to speak, a moral right to a repeat match. America did not like the Germans, whom it saw as nascent Nazis, and longed for Sharkey's accession. And when Joe Jacobs found out that Ed Smith, Sharkey’s longtime and bosom friend, had been appointed referee in the ring, he gloomily declared: “There’s no way they’ll let my guy win!”
And so it happened. To this day, the majority believes that this fight in 1932 was condemned, and the crown was undeservedly taken away from Schmeling. Officially, Sharkey won by unanimous decision. But look at the reports. Smith gave his friend 7 rounds won (Schmeling - 3). Judge George Kelly: 7 - 8 in favor of Sharkey (almost equally). But judge Charles Matheson scored 10 - 5 in favor of Schmeling! What's it like? In short, condemned and deprived of his crown, Max returned to Germany. An outcast among boxers.
But glory still awaited the boxer Schmeling - even greater than that of a champion. On June 19, 1936, he would beat the indestructible Joe Louis. This will be one of three defeats in professional career Louis (and the other two will occur during the period of Joe's athletic decline). And almost no one believed in this victory, except perhaps Schmeling himself. The odds were 10 to 1 in favor of Louis. 4 to 1 in favor of Joe knocking out Max, and 2 to 1 in favor of the fight not lasting more than seven rounds. But reality exceeded all expectations. The first rounds were approximately equal. Then, after the fourth, the advantage passed to Schmeling. Joe Louis' mom then screamed, "Oh God, he's going to kill my boy!!" (Mother Lilly was taken away). And finally, in the 12th round, Max knocked out Joe.
Before this, Schmeling had watched newsreels of Joe Louis' fights with German meticulousness. Joe's straight body shot was probably the best, but when he threw it, he directed his hand down to his waist instead of up, thereby opening him up for a split second. And Schmeling decided that this time would be enough for him to counter with his right hand. And so it happened. Add to this that before the fight, Louis himself gained weight, lost shape, and his trainer was on a drinking binge.
Now Germany greeted its son at his true worth: a mass of people, an official escort from Goebbels. The fact is that Max, being married to an “inferior” Czech woman and having a Jewish manager, was, of course, not a Nazi. (The Minister of Sports demanded in writing that Schmeling bid farewell to the Jewish manager, but Max refused to do so.) But such was the era. And such was Schmeling, who believed that “friendship” with the top of the Reich would bring him and his friends (many had already been arrested) more benefits than an official break with this government. Max, unlike many, did not want to leave Germany (he did not do this even after the Second World War, when he again had such an opportunity), and he had to put up with its government one way or another.
Max became a symbol of Nazism. By order of Goebbels, the magazine “Das Schwarze Korps” propagated that, they say, Schmeling’s victory over Louis was not only a sporting one, because it was a matter of prestige of the Aryan race. How could it be otherwise if a purebred Aria (and a German at that!) beats an “inferior” black man? (By the way, they seemed to “forget” that Max’s maternal grandmother was not an Aryan, but a Mongolian!) By Hitler’s personal order, they even erected an ugly multi-meter statue of Max Schmeling (fortunately, it was later demolished).
Now a new world championship was expected, where the first challenger was, of course, Max. But then the dishonesty of the then world champion James Braddock intervened. Joe Louis's promoter, Mike Jacobs (the namesake of Schmeling's manager), believed that if Schmeling beat Braddock (which seemed very, very likely), the title would remain in Germany, and it would be unlikely to be wrested from Hitler's hands; which means that Louis was not destined to become a champion. So Jacobs began to bargain with Braddock and his manager Joe Gould. The latter sensed that it smelled not just of greenery, but of greenery, and bargained for something fabulous - a fee of about $500,000 (according to another version - 300,000) and ten percent deductions from Joe Louis's fees over the next ten years! (Louis's side received 17.5% of the gross after all taxes.) It wasn't beating Baer that secured James Braddock for life, it was Joe Louis.
James Braddock and Joe Louis
When the time for the match with Schmeling approached (September 30, 1936), Braddock, having already decided everything for himself, feinted with his hands and allegedly injured one of them. In fact, this, of course, was a feint with the ears to cancel the fight with the German. (It is significant that negotiations with Mike Jacobs continued - despite the imaginary injuries.) Max understood everything and filed a protest with the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC). Schmeling, according to him, spent more than $30,000 preparing for the fight with Braddock (about the same amount James earned for the championship fight with Baer) and after defeating Louis he has all the rights to the title match. NYSAC in December 1936 rightly prohibited Braddock from fighting Joe Louis on its territory until he met Schmeling. Then the fight with Max was now scheduled for June 3, 1937 in Madison Square Garden. But this was another trick of the ears, because the parties of Braddock and Louis had already agreed. So, on February 20, 1937, James boasted in The Miami News that he would beat Louis (Emelya broke!..), and a fight with Schmeling was not planned before this event. It is surprising that neither Braddock nor his team were afraid of being judged for disrupting the match by the leaders of Madison Square Garden... On April 14, 1937, in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the “heroes of the occasion” were accused of disrupting the Braddock-Schmeling match. anyone, but not themselves. Their justifications began with a strange statement, allegedly that the boycott regarding negotiations for the title match between Braddock and Schmeling “is beyond the control of the defendants” (yeah, it wasn’t Schmeling, who came across the ocean to America and ran through the authorities seeking justice - it turns out that our “Cinderella” was straining himself, but lost control due to absent-mindedness!), and this, in turn, “annuls the subject of the contract” of Schmeling, which means it is extremely “unfair and unlawful (exactly so! - R.S.) to force Braddock to meeting with Schmeling”... It’s sad to read this, realizing at the same time that James Jay Braddock is primarily responsible for this whole story - the same one whom the public and many of us admired when we watched the film “Knockdown”. That's what fame and money do to people... Schmeling was robbed. Not for the first time. And to get around NYSAC restrictions, the fight between Braddock and Louis was held not in New York, but in Chicago. And the championship of the victorious Louis was recognized. First, on June 30, the NYSAC, and then, on July 1, the NBA.
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Max Schmeling was handed out to all the Yankees, and for good reason. In 1932, in a fight with Jack Sharkey, he was simply condemned and deprived of his championship title. And now a real opportunity has arisen to regain the title - and it’s yours!
Schmeling also had ears, and he decided that it was time to play with them. Using well-deserved authority in Europe, he looked for the strongest boxer in the Old World as his opponent, in order to hold with him an alternative to the corrupt world championships organized by the Yankees. And a contender was found - an Englishman, or rather a Welshman, Tommy Farr (who, ironically, will soon be sued while touring America). Negotiations began and soon ended. For the ears turned out to be one more person who not only was not afraid of a fight with Schmeling - he, remembering his defeat in 1936, thirsted for revenge! This, of course, was Joe Louis, and he simply warned the so-called. "European World Cup" victory over Farr. Now the match between Max and Tommy lost its former meaning. And Louis, unlike Braddock, was not going to shy away from the fight. Be that as it may, a contract for the Louis-Schmeling fight was soon signed.
It’s amazing how the Germans believed in Schmeling’s victory, forgetting the words of Louis: “During this time, my opponent grew two years older, and I became two years more experienced” (Joe was almost 9 years younger than Max). Joe Louis was no longer the same Joe Louis. His technique got better, he got into shape, he trained hard, and he was willing to die or win. The fight on June 22, 1938 between Schmeling and Louis lasted only one round. The German was defeated. At first, Max complained that the blow he received to the kidney was to blame for his defeat. But then he realized that crying after a defeat was humiliating, and he only apologized to everyone he had let down (the broadcast was also broadcast in Germany). And in the next interview he said: “Sport is sport, and there can be no hatred in it.” Generous for Nazism, isn't it? But now Max did not expect support from the top of the Reich.
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In Germany, he was met only by a group of close friends - idols are quickly forgotten. But Max Schmeling’s connections with the German government ended. As Max later said: “There is something good in everything. If I hadn’t lost to Louis then, my relationship with Hitler and Goebbels might have gone too far.”
Moreover, Max became an oppositionist. For many years he did not tell a story that almost everyone now knows: he once sheltered Jewish teenagers during the Nazi pogroms. This is the “symbol of Nazism”...
After the defeat to Louis, Schmeling no longer showed high sports results. During the Second World War, he was even drafted into the paratrooper regiment, so Schmeling did not escape the hardships of war.
After World War II, Max Schmeling was acquitted of Nazi crimes. And again, for the umpteenth time, the “Black Lancer of the Rhine” took advantage of his ability to adapt. Max started from scratch and became a businessman. He had his own farm, where he did not hesitate to work together with the workers. Then he acquired a license from the Coca-Cola company, which allowed him to amass real capital. But Joe Louis was completely broke by that time.
Joe Louis and Max Schmeling, 1971
So it was Max Schmeling who financed the funeral of his rival-friend.
Some dates
1924 - entry into the professional boxing arena;
1930 - winning the championship title in a fight with Jack Sharkey;
1930 - named the best boxer of the year according to Ring magazine;
1931 - successful title defense in a fight with Young Stribling;
1932 - defeat to Jack Sharkey and loss of the title;
1932 - victory over Mickey Walker;
1933 - defeat to Max Baer;
1933 - marriage to actress Anni Ondra;
1936 - victory over Joe Louis;
1941 - participation in combat operations of parachute troops, landing on Crete;
1947 - return to boxing career;
1954 - return to America, visiting the grave of Joe Jacobs in New York;
1957 - purchase of a license from the Coca-Cola company;
1970 - inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame;
1981 - financing the funeral of Joe Louis;
1982 - inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame;
1987 - death of Annie Ondra;
1992 - Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
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Joe Louis (66-3-0-55 KOs) world champion from 1937 to 1948. In 2003, Ring Magazine ranked Joe Louis first on its 100 list best boxers of all time, in 2005 the Boxing Research Organization recognized him as the best boxer in history. The Ring ranked Joe Louis in first place on the list of the 100 best punchers
Joseph Louis Barrow was born on May 13, 1914 in Chambers County, Alabama and was the seventh child in the family. When Joe was 2 years old, his father Munroe Barrow went crazy and was placed in a mental hospital. It is quite possible that he overstrained himself trying to feed his wife and eight children, after which Munro’s mind became clouded. His further fate is not entirely known. According to some sources, he died in 1918, according to others, his family was told that he had died, although in fact he lived for about 20 more years.
After Joe's mother married Patrick Brooks, who, like her, had 8 children. When Joe was 12 years old, he and his huge family moved to Detroit. In Detroit, he and his stepfather went to work at the Ford plant. Of all her children, her mother, Lilly, loved Joe the most. One day she took him aside and handed him money. “This is all I have and I really want you to learn to play the violin.” Then Joe deceived his mother for the first time and did not go to music classes, but went to the boxing gym. Soon Joe’s deception was revealed, but Surprisingly, the mother was not angry and gave her son complete freedom of action. After Louis enrolled in the boxing section, they pitted against him a member of the national team who had recently competed at the 1932 Olympics, held in Los Angeles. In two rounds, Joe was on the floor seven times, received coupons for seven dollars, which he could use to buy groceries in a certain store, and gave them to his mother. In 1934, he won the national light heavyweight champion title. In total, Joe spent time in the amateur ring 54 fights, won 50 and 43 of them by knockout.
Joe Louis with his trainer Jack Blackburn
In order to mold Joe into the ideal boxer, trainer Jack Blackburn had to sweat a lot and do a tremendous amount of work.
Louis held his arms high, elbows close together, and kept his chin low, pressing it to his shoulder. He threw out short, quick strong blows and never wasted his strength, throwing blows at random. If he breaks up and starts hitting, then everything will end very quickly. He also threw five- and six-punch combinations with more speed, power and accuracy than any other heavyweight in history. Louis was excellent at fighting both at long range and close. If his opponent decided to defend himself with a block, then Joe would close in on him and began to torment him with blows to the body until he lowered his arms, thus opening his head, after which Louis carried out his deadly combinations to the head.
He remained dangerous throughout the entire fight and only the slightest mistake turned into huge problems for his opponent, because Joe knew how to use them like no one else, and if Louis was able to catch, then it was impossible to escape, escape from him, he was extremely good at “finishing off” "rivals.
On July 4, 1934, Joe Louis had his first fight in the professional ring. His opponent was Jack Kreken, whom he knocked out in the first round.
Joe Louis's first filmed fight took place in Los Angeles in February 1935. His opponent was a pretty strong boxer, Lee Ramage Ramage received his share of crushing blows and in the end, in the 8th round, a powerful left hook put an end to this fight.
In June 1935, Joe went into battle against the Italian giant Primo Carnera Luis was noticeably superior to his opponent in speed and accuracy, easily beat him, hit him in the body, and when Carnera lowered his hands, he transferred attacks to his head. In the 6th round, Joe Louis knocked down his opponent three times, after which Carnera became completely helpless, he began to cling to the ropes and the referee stopped the fight.
On September 24, at Yankee Stadium, a fight took place against the formidable Max Baer. The cheerful fellow and favorite of the New York public, Max realized that this was no laughing matter. Joe began to escalate the fight from the first minute and it was clear that he wanted to end the fight as quickly as possible. In the fourth round after several powerful blows, Max was knocked out. After the fight, Baer will say: “he had a great future, I wish him happiness and good luck in his marriage (Joe just got married at that time). After the knockdown, when I got up, I didn’t see just one Joe, but a whole lot of them, it’s like a whole Harlem got into the ring.” During this fight, a rather funny incident happened, which still makes boxing fans smile. Jack Dempsey, who, as always, was seconding his friend, wanting to cheer him up, said: “Baby, he never really hit you.” Max, in response, grinned all over his beaten face and said in an emphatically sad voice: “Then, Jack, you’d better keep an eye on the referee, otherwise there’s someone in the ring beating me very hard.”
On June 19, Joe's victorious march was interrupted by the legendary German boxer Max Schmeling.Before the fight, Louis was very cool about training. His training camp had a relaxed atmosphere and, as a result, he was self-confident and gained overweight Louis entered the fight. From the very beginning, Schmeling took the initiative. His toughness, aggressiveness and pressure stunned Joe. More and more often, Max’s blows reached the target. In the 2nd and 12th rounds, Joe was knocked down. After a severe beating in the 12th round, Joe was knocked out. That day, Joe Louis received a cruel, but useful and timely lesson, in any case, never later did Joe Louis enter the ring careless and self-confident. All of America and the whole world were shocked by this turn events.Great Ray Robinson wrote in his autobiography that he was devastated when Louis lost to Max Schmeling, and for a short time in 1936 he even considered leaving boxing.
After losing to Schmeling, Louis went against the former world champion, Jack Sharkey Sharkey was known for his brash behavior and before the fight he said that he could beat any black boxer. But this time he was wrong because Joe Louis boxed against him, who knocked him out in the 3rd round.
On June 22, 1937, Joe entered the fight against the world champion Jim "Cinderella" Braddock, who sensationally defeated Max Baer, thereby taking the title from him. In the 1st round, Joe Louis stumbled, received an accidental blow and ended up on the floor. This was Braddock's first and last achievement in this fight, after which he said that "Louis paralyzed his will with his constant, sharp attacks." Louis soon began to methodically beat Braddock. In the 8th round, after a left to the body and a right cross to the head Braddock was knocked out. After defeating Braddock, the world boxing crown passes into the hands of Louis for a long time. The great Jack Dempsey, a former world champion, spoke of Joe Louis’ title fight: “It showed my speed and my understanding of boxing, Johnson’s technique, strength and the resilience of Jeffries, the optimism of Fitzsimons and the ring artistry of Corbett."
After winning the title, Joe was wildly popular, he was idolized in his homeland and considered a national hero, but the rematch with Schmeling haunted him. After three successful defenses, Louis began to demand revenge. He asked his manager Mike Jacobs to arrange a meeting with him under any conditions with the German, and the manager got down to business. The Nazi leaders, realizing the danger of this match for the “Iron Max”, delayed the negotiations in every possible way, but Jacobs made any concessions, and Schmeling himself - we must give him credit here, immediately agreed to go against Joe Louis. Not a single match in his life Joe did not prepare with such dedication and with such obsession. The first round of this super fight remained in the history of world boxing. This fantastic round was the first and last in a fight that had been awaited for so many years. After an explosive blow from Louis, Schmeling loses his orientation and idea of what is happening in world. After a terrifying right cross, Max fell and never got up again.
Six months later, Louis faced former world light heavyweight champion John Henry Lewis. He was a well-trained and strong boxer, who was considered one of the best light heavyweights at that time, but he could not oppose Louis. Joe knocked Lewis out, having knocked him out three times before. In the same 1939, Louis defended the title three more times. having defeated such boxers as Tony Galento and Bob Pastor. It should be noted that Galento, known for his bad character and “long” tongue, said a lot of nasty things, which simply infuriated the reserved Louis. Possessing a very strong blow, Galento was able to knock down Joe in the 1st round, but Louis managed to get up and, after a severe beating, knock out his opponent in the 4th round.
Joe Louis and John Henry Lewis
In February 1940, he met with the Chilean Arturo Godoy. This was one of the most difficult and controversial fights in Luis’ career. The fearless Godoy managed to impose a competitive fight and at times looked even more preferable than Joe. After 15 rounds of competitive fighting, Luis won by a split decision. Godoy was indignant at the result, saying that he at least deserved a draw.
In June 1940, a rematch between Joe Louis and Arturo Godoy took place. Louis was always famous for giving rematches to all opponents who deserved it. This time, an angry and motivated Louis did not allow Godoy to do anything. In the 8th round, Joe knocked down Godoy twice, after which he successfully finished him off, winning by technical knockout.
Arturo Godoy after the fight with Luis
In January 1941, Louis went to battle against Buddy Bara, brother of Max Baer. Max managed to knock Joe down in the 1st round, and then he himself fell three times in the 6th. According to one of Baer’s managers, the last knockdown was after the gong. He threw a scandal and refused to leave the ring, and therefore Baer was disqualified and the victory was awarded to Louis. Later, a year later, a rematch will take place, in which Louis knocks out Baer in the first round.
At that time, Billy Conn, a handsome man and the idol of women of those times, was gaining great popularity. He held the world light heavyweight title and had been undefeated for the last three years. Conn, being a brave and determined man, challenged Joe Louis. Preparations for the fight were in full swing, and tickets sold out very quickly. At the weigh-in, Louis weighed 199 and a half pounds. Conn's weight was significantly less - 167 pounds. Bets were accepted with a ratio of 17 to 5 in favor of Louis, and such a difference in weight made this fight look not just like a mismatch, but like an inevitable murder. In order to maintain interest in the fight and not shock the audience, Mike Jacobs made an amendment. Conn's weight was listed as 174 pounds. Before the fight, Joe Louis said: "He can run from me, but he can't hide." In fact, the fight was quite equal, if not to say that Billy Conn had the advantage. After the 12th round, Billy led the judges' scores 7-5, 7-4-(1) and 6-6. Only nine minutes remained for Conn to win and make his mark in boxing history. Calm and joy reigned in Conn’s corner, everything was going according to plan and he had to continue to stick to it and victory would be in his pocket. In Louis's corner, his trainer Jack Blackburn intensively massaged the muscles of the champion's arms and chest. "You're losing. The only way out is to knock him out." But he didn’t have to say this, because Joe himself understood it. In the 13th round, Conn got involved in an adventure and went into an open fight, began to act more openly, trying to end the fight early. He hit well, was faster and more agile than Louis, but then Joe’s left hook shook him. This was a turning point in this fight. Joe, realizing that this was that very moment, increased the pace and went for the finish. A powerful right straight to the jaw put an end to this fight. Conn collapsed and could not get up.
The fact that Joe looked so bad against Conn can be explained by his fatigue. This was his 18th title defense and 7th defense in the last seven months.
When the war began, Joe stopped performing in the ring. Like millions of people, he put on a military uniform and went through the war from bell to bell. He served with another boxing legend Ray Robinson, where they both performed exhibition fights in front of American troops. During their joint service, Ray Robinson and Joe Louis became very close friends and even wanted to organize a liquor business together in New York upon returning to civilian life, but due to problems with the license, their plans were not destined was to come true. It should be noted that being in at a young age Robinson idolized Henry Armstrong and Joe Louis, and actually lived on the same Detroit block as Louis when Robinson was 11 and Louis was 17.
Returning from the army for the next defense of his title, Joe decided to have a rematch against Billy Conn. This fight was not as interesting as the first. Joe Louis managed to knock out the Irishman in the 8th round. After that, Billy Conn entered the ring twice more and won both fights, after which he left the ring.
A year later, Louis chose his longtime sparring partner as his opponent Joe Walcott Jersey and this was almost the most serious mistake in Louis’ life. The rising star Walcott knew Joe like no one else and read him like an open book. He knew all the flaws in his defense, all his weaknesses and strengths. In this fight, Walcott relied on his speed and excellent his footwork successfully outplayed Louis and even twice (in the 1st and 4th rounds) managed to send his great opponent to the floor of the ring. After 15 rounds, Louis was given the victory by a split decision. It was a very controversial decision. But Joe Louis was not that kind of man to allow anyone to doubt his victory. A few months later a rematch took place. The rematch was very similar to the first fight, Walcott acted in his usual manner and was successful and led the fight. In the 3rd round, he again managed to knock down Louis. In the 11th round, Jersey Joe makes a mistake, he decides that the fight is done. He began to stay free, relaxed, brow with his invulnerability and then a deadly “hammer” (that’s what the right hand was called) flies out straight Louis) Joe, who shakes Walcott, followed by a series of crushing blows, after which Walcott never got up from the platform.
After this fight, Louis had nothing to prove and at the age of 34 he ended his professional career. But soon, due to financial problems, he had to enter the ring. The return of the great champion was unsuccessful. He hopelessly lost the fight for the world title to another great boxer - Ezzard Charles.
Joe spent his last fight on October 26 against the great Rocky Marciano.Throughout the entire fight, Louis pestered Marciano with his jab, after which he turned on his signature series of blows. Until the end of the fight, Rocky was unable to find a worthy defense against the jabs that had exhausted him, but withstood the hail of blows that rained down on him. In the eighth round, Marciano hit him with a left hook knocked down the Great Veteran. After Joe got up and continued the fight, Marciano delivered a powerful left uppercut, and then added a killer straight right after which Louis squatted down and fell over the ropes. Despite such a crushing defeat, Louis gave a very difficult fight to Marciano. After the fight, Marciano’s face was covered in bruises and abrasions. When Marciano came home in this form, his own sister did not recognize him and wanted to call the police to save her from the bloody hooligan who came to her house.
After losing to Marciano, Joe Louis decided to hang up his gloves, this time for good.
His fortune by that time was 4.5 million dollars - very large by the standards of that time. But it quickly began to melt away and Joe Louis began to be called the “champion of squandering money.” He was not a reveler, like many of his predecessors on the royal throne. No, in life he, in general, was a gentle, family man. It’s just that outside the ring, Joe Louis turned out to be surprisingly impractical, every now and then getting carried away by all sorts of chimeras and adventures. He opened two stores, but let the trade take its course, it is not known why he started professional wrestling, which gave him nothing but wasted time, serious injury and disappointment. Then Joe Louis rushed into the gambling business, purchased a casino, but instead of keeping an eye on things, he began to try his luck with chips, losing thousands every day. In a word, having no education, life experience and talent in business, Joe Louis looked like a mere baby, which led to his complete and rapid ruin. Joe Louis worked as a gatekeeper at the Caesars Palace casino in Las Vegas. Max Schmeling, having become a fairly wealthy man, several times sent money transfers to Joe Louis, who by that time had lost all his millions and was living in poverty.
Joe Louis as referee for the Joe Frazier vs. Jerry Quarry fight
Joe Louis died on April 12, 1981 at the age of 66. The country buried him with military honors as a national hero. No one remembered his last defeats, failures in life, the last joyless years of his life. He remained in the memory of people greatest fighter of all times and a person who was loved and appreciated by everyone. An entire era in the history of professional boxing is associated with the name of Joe Louis. This black boxer, Joe Louis, personified a unique phenomenon. Joe Louis's exploits in the ring, his charm, his noble attitude towards his opponents - sometimes even cruel ones - made him the greatest of all time. He held the title for 11 years, 8 months and 7 days, defending it 25 times. Not a single boxer, nor in one weight category I couldn't stay on top for that long. In honor of him, it was opened in 1977 Joe Louis Arena. Is the venue for various sporting events in several sports. On February 28, 2010, a 2.5-meter monument to the great champion was erected in the American city of Lafayette.
Max Schmeling
(28.09.1905 - 02.02.2005)
German professional boxer, first (and until 2007 only) German world heavyweight champion. In 1926 he won the German lightweight championship, in 1927 the European champion, and in 1928 the German heavyweight champion. World champion 1930-1932. He won his first World Cup title in New York because his opponent struck him with a prohibited blow.
On June 19, 1936 in New York, at the famous Yankee stadium, Schmeling fought with American boxer Joe Louis, one of the best boxers in the heavy weight category.
More than 60,000 spectators came to watch young Joe Louis, who had 27 victories, defeat a new opponent. Schmeling's chances were assessed extremely low: bets on the bets were accepted at a ratio of 10:1 in favor of Louis.
In the eyes of Americans, black Joe Louis personified freedom and democracy. Max Schmeling, on the contrary, was a symbol of the “Aryan race”, a representative of Nazi Germany. The match was broadcast on the radio and hundreds of thousands of boxing fans in Germany did not sleep that night, watching the radio report and cheering for their compatriot. And Schmeling did not disappoint. Having carefully studied Louis' fighting style together with his manager, the Jewish American Jacobs, Schmeling struck 91 blows with his right hand, the last of which stopped the match: in the 12th round, Louis was unable to rise from the floor. It seemed that all of America was knocked out along with him.
At this time, the boxer's wife, Annie Ondra, was the guest of the Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda, who together with her were intensely watching the fight. For Goebbels, Schmeling's victory was a real gift: the white man proved his superiority over the black man. And Hitler watched a film taken at the match and clapped his hands. He ordered the film, entitled “The Victory of Max Schmeling,” to be shown in all cinemas across the country, and soon the film generated record sales.
At a joint breakfast, Hitler called the boxer a “model Aryan.”
Schmeling with his wife after the first fight with Louis, at a meeting with Hitler (July 6, 1936)
But let's get back to business. Almost a year after the defeat, Joe Louis won the world title. In the next three matches, the American defended his title. But he could consider himself a real champion only after he won against his “offender.” The rematch, which the whole world was eagerly awaiting, took place on June 22, 1938.
Max Schmeling rejected the demands of the leadership of the imperial sport to part with his Jewish manager and separate from his Czech wife (according to other sources, Hungarian), refused to join the NSDAP and did not want to participate in propaganda shows. Once, before the start of an international rematch in Hamburg, the coach responded to the greeting of 25,000 spectators - he also raised his hand, but between his index and middle fingers he had a smoking cigar. “What do you think I should have done? Left hand I traditionally keep it down with my fingers crossed!” - he explained to reporters.
But still, in New York he was met by protesting pickets chanting: “Nazi, Nazi!”, and American newspapers published various fables such as the fact that he was an active member of the Nazi party and the money received for the victory over Louis was going to give for construction new tanks for the Wehrmacht.
However, this time Yankee stadium attracted a record number of spectators - more than 70,000 and the fight was broadcast on radio in four languages: English, German, Portuguese and Spanish. “The Brown Bomber,” as Louis was nicknamed, weighed almost three kilograms more than his opponent. When the German climbed into the ring, a bag of garbage was thrown at him. And just 124 seconds after the start of the fight, Schmeling was knocked out.
Germany felt humiliated; Schmeling's name disappeared from the pages of newspapers. But after a couple of years the name former champion the world began to flicker again on the pages of newspapers and in newsreels. In 1940, Schmeling joined the army, in the demonstration 3rd Parachute Regiment. Military service didn't last long.
During the landing on the island of Crete in the spring of 1941, Schmeling was seriously wounded and, after many months of treatment, was discharged from the army.
In June 1943, Schmeling “out of competition” took part in a competition organized by Germany in Boulogne (France), called the “European Championship”. Along with German boxers, representatives of other countries also took part in it: the French, Italians, Belgians. For geopolitical reasons, the owners of the competition wanted to see representatives of Slavic nations among the participants. As a result, a Russian athlete took part in the championship and took first place in his weight category. It was I.L. Miklashevsky. Moreover, he boxed in such a way that he attracted the attention of the venerable champion. Schmeling met Igor and, as a sign of special affection, gave him his photo with a dedicatory inscription.
In January 1947, the American occupation authorities in Germany gave Max permission to participate in professional boxing matches. And in October 1948, he spent his last one in Berlin. Having won 56 victories (40 of them by knockout) in 70 matches, the ex-world champion ended his sports career. But he did not completely leave boxing right away - he still worked as a sports judge for several years. After World War II, Schmeling brought an unknown drink from America to Europe and headed the company for its production, and in 1952, with the money earned in the ring, he bought a license from the Coca-Cola company and became an entrepreneur. The business turned out to be successful: the Coca-Cola - Hamburg company has been among the prosperous European companies for 50 years. In 1971, Max Schmeling was awarded the highest German order - the Grand Federal Cross of Merit. And in 1977 he published a book of his memoirs. The Union of German Sports Journalists declared him "Germany's number one athlete" for life.
Louis and Schmeling in 1971.
When sports career Joe Louis ended, he more than once found himself in difficult financial situations, and Schmeling regularly helped his American friend with money. And after the death of a black boxer in 1981, he paid all funeral expenses and from time to time financially helped his widow.
At one time, Schmeling often stayed at the hotel of a Jew named David Levin. They met in the early 30s. On the eve of Kristallnacht, Levin brought his family to Berlin and, fortunately for him, Schmeling was there at that time. When the pogroms began, David asked a friend to take care of his sons - Schmeling took them to his room at the Excelsior Hotel, and told the administrator that he was sick and asked not to disturb him. The Levin brothers spent three days with Schmeling, and on November 20 he took them to a safe place outside the city, and two days later he took the children to their father. Soon the entire Levin family left for Shanghai, where David began working as a hotel manager. In 1946 they moved to the USA. And then in 1980, Schmeling read in the newspaper that Henry Levin, the owner of a hotel in Las Vegas, was organizing a major boxing tournament. Max wrote a letter to Henry, and the friendships that had been interrupted by the war were restored. In 1989, Levine threw a grand reception in Las Vegas in honor of Max Schmeling. More than 800 celebrities were invited, and the legendary Mike Tyson sat next to the hero of the occasion.
In 1991, Schmeling founded a foundation of the same name with a capital of 10,000,000 marks, which supports many creative unions and associations. This is one of the most famous charitable organizations in Germany. By the way, he also managed to sing; a couple of songs performed by him are known: Max Schmeling, Kurt Gerron, Hugo Fischer-Köppe - Das Herz eines Boxers, Ich die Biene, Biene, Biene... The first song from the film "Love in the Ring" (1930), where main role performed by the boxer himself. In the film, according to the script, a young boxer fell in love with a beauty and his entire career went topsy-turvy. His trainers warned him: he must run away from any temptations, worldly life is not for him, he cannot do anything he wants, etc. The verses in the song were sung by the coaches in their athletically decadent tenors, and the chorus was sung by Max himself. In 1937, the musical number was rewritten specifically for gramophone records.
On December 14, 1996, the opening ceremony of the Max Schmeling Sports Palace (Max-Schmeling-Halle) takes place in Berlin - a multi-purpose sports complex seats 10,500 spectators.
On September 28, 2001, Max Schmeling modestly celebrated his ninety-sixth birthday. Only his closest friends gathered at his house near Hamburg. The current champions, who now live in Germany, the brothers Vladimir and Vitali Klitschko, also came to congratulate him.
Just short of his centenary, Max Schmeling died. On May 21, 2010, a monument in honor of him was unveiled in Hollenstedt.
Sources:
Maximillian Adolf Otto Siegfried Schmeling(German) Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling ), better known as Max Schmeling(German) Max Schmeling, September 28 ( 19050928 ) , Klein-Luckow, Uckermark, Germany - February 2, Wenzendorf) - German professional boxer who competed in the heavy weight category. The first (and until 2007 only) German world heavyweight champion (1930-1932). “Boxer of the Year” according to Ring magazine (1930). After completion boxing career worked as a sports judge for several years.
Professional career
On June 12, 1930, defeating the American Sharkey in New York, he became world champion. On June 21, 1932, he controversially lost to the same Sharkey. In total he fought 70 fights, of which he won 56. In 1933, Max Schmeling New York received a crushing defeat from Max Baer American boxer Jewish origin, the referee was forced to stop the fight in the 10th round. After 1933, Schmeling's name, nicknamed "Siegfried", was widely used by Nazi propaganda. He became the personification of the ideal Aryan.
After boxing
In 1952, Max Schmeling bought a license from the Coca-Cola company and became an entrepreneur. The foundation named after him, which he founded in 1991, supports many creative and sports associations.
In 2010, German director Uwe Boll made a film based on the biography of Max Schmeling.
Awards
German lightweight champion (1926).
European lightweight champion (1927).
German heavyweight champion (1928).
World heavyweight champion (1930-1932).
“Boxer of the Year” according to Ring magazine (1930).
European heavyweight champion (1939).
In 2005, the Union of German Sports Journalists declared boxer Max Schmeling "Germany's number one athlete" for life.
Honorary Citizen of Los Angeles.
In 1967 he was awarded the American Sports Oscar.
In 1971, Max Schmeling was awarded the highest German order - the Grand Federal Cross of Merit.
- Of the 10 boxers who defeated Max Schmeling, Schmeling beat 6.
- In 1939, he volunteered to join the parachute troops. He took part in the operation to capture the island of Crete, during which he was seriously wounded. After the end of the war he was engaged in commerce.
- After leaving the sport, Schmeling maintained friendly relations with his former opponents. His main opponent in the ring, Joe Louis, was no exception. When the “brown bomber”’s sports career ended, he repeatedly found himself in difficult financial situations. Schmeling regularly helped his American friend with money. And after his death, he paid for all funeral expenses.
Battle results
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Excerpt characterizing Schmeling, Max
In November 1805, Prince Vasily was supposed to go to an audit in four provinces. He arranged this appointment for himself in order to visit his disturbed estates at the same time, and taking with him (at the location of his regiment) his son Anatoly, he and him would go to Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky in order to marry his son to the daughter of this rich man old man. But before leaving and these new affairs, Prince Vasily needed to resolve matters with Pierre, who, however, had recently been spending whole days at home, that is, with Prince Vasily, with whom he lived, he was funny, excited and stupid (as he should to be in love) in the presence of Helen, but still did not propose.“Tout ca est bel et bon, mais il faut que ca finisse,” [All this is good, but we must end it] - Prince Vasily said to himself one morning with a sigh of sadness, realizing that Pierre, who owed him so much (well, yes Christ be with him!), is not doing very well in this matter. “Youth... frivolity... well, God bless him,” thought Prince Vasily, feeling his kindness with pleasure: “mais il faut, que ca finisse.” After Lelya’s name day tomorrow, I will call someone, and if he does not understand what he must do, then it will be my business. Yes, it's my business. I am the father!
Pierre, a month and a half after Anna Pavlovna's evening and the sleepless, excited night that followed, in which he decided that marrying Helen would be a misfortune, and that he needed to avoid her and leave, Pierre, after this decision, did not move from Prince Vasily and was horrified felt that every day he became more and more connected with her in the eyes of people, that he could not in any way return to his previous view of her, that he could not tear himself away from her, that it would be terrible, but that he would have to connect with her destiny. Perhaps he could have abstained, but not a day passed when Prince Vasily (who rarely had a reception) did not have an evening at which Pierre should have been, if he did not want to upset the general pleasure and deceive everyone’s expectations. Prince Vasily, in those rare moments when he was at home, passing by Pierre, pulled him down by the hand, absentmindedly offered him a shaved, wrinkled cheek for a kiss and said either “see you tomorrow” or “by dinner, otherwise I won’t see you.” , or “I’m staying for you,” etc. But despite the fact that when Prince Vasily stayed for Pierre (as he said), he did not say two words to him, Pierre did not feel able to deceive his expectations . Every day he kept telling himself the same thing: “We must finally understand her and give ourselves an account: who is she? Have I been wrong before or am I wrong now? No, she's not stupid; no, she's a wonderful girl! - he said to himself sometimes. “She’s never wrong about anything, she’s never said anything stupid.” She doesn't say much, but what she says is always simple and clear. So she's not stupid. She has never been embarrassed and is not embarrassed. So she’s not a bad woman!” Often he happened to start reasoning with her, thinking out loud, and every time she answered him with either a short, but appropriately spoken remark, showing that she was not interested in this, or with a silent smile and glance, which most palpably showed Pierre her superiority. She was right in recognizing all reasoning as nonsense compared to that smile.
She always turned to him with a joyful, trusting smile that was only for him, in which there was something more significant than what was in the general smile that always adorned her face. Pierre knew that everyone was only waiting for him to finally say one word, to step over a certain line, and he knew that sooner or later he would step over it; but some kind of incomprehensible horror seized him at the mere thought of this terrible step. A thousand times during this month and a half, during which he felt himself drawn further and further into that abyss that frightened him, Pierre said to himself: “What is this? It takes determination! Don’t I have it?”
He wanted to make up his mind, but he felt with horror that in this case he did not have the determination that he knew in himself and that really was in him. Pierre was one of those people who are strong only when they feel completely pure. And from the day he was possessed by that feeling of desire that he experienced over Anna Pavlovna’s snuffbox, an unconscious feeling of guilt in this desire paralyzed his determination.
On Helen’s name day, Prince Vasily had dinner with a small company of people closest to her, as the princess said, relatives and friends. All these relatives and friends were given the feeling that on this day the fate of the birthday girl should be decided.
The guests were sitting at dinner. Princess Kuragina, a massive, once beautiful, representative woman, sat in the master's seat. On both sides of her sat the most honored guests - the old general, his wife, Anna Pavlovna Scherer; at the end of the table sat the less elderly and honored guests, and the family, Pierre and Hélène, were sitting there, side by side. Prince Vasily did not have dinner: he walked around the table in a cheerful mood, sitting down with one or the other of the guests. He spoke a casual and pleasant word to everyone, with the exception of Pierre and Helene, whose presence he did not seem to notice. Prince Vasily revived everyone. The wax candles burned brightly, the silver and crystal dishes, the ladies’ outfits and the gold and silver epaulettes shone; servants in red caftans scurried around the table; the sounds of knives, glasses, plates and the sounds of the animated chatter of several conversations around this table were heard. The old chamberlain at one end could be heard assuring the old baroness of his ardent love for her and her laughter; on the other hand, a story about the failure of some Marya Viktorovna. At the middle of the table, Prince Vasily gathered his audience around him. He told the ladies, with a playful smile on his lips, the last - on Wednesday - meeting of the State Council, at which the then famous rescript of Emperor Alexander Pavlovich from the army was received and read by Sergei Kuzmich Vyazmitinov, the new St. Petersburg military governor-general, in which the Emperor, addressing Sergei Kuzmich, said that from all sides he receives statements about the devotion of the people, and that the statement from St. Petersburg is especially pleasant to him, that he is proud of the honor of being the head of such a nation and will try to be worthy of it. This rescript began with the words: Sergey Kuzmich! Rumors reach me from all sides, etc.
