Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow - The Heavyweights by Eric Armit Dec 16th 2007

The Heavyweights Yesterday Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow, the “Brown Bomber”, is a boxing legend on many levels. Born into poverty in Alabama, as Joe Louis (he dropped the “Barrow”) he went on to become one the most respected and admired fighters ever to lace on a glove. His legacy was not only in an amazing career in the ring but also in his impact on the race relations of his time. Never more than a cruiserweight in today's terms he ruled the heavyweight division for twelve years through 25 defences of his title, usually against bigger and heavier men. An outstanding amateur, Joe won the National Amateur Athletic Union light-heavyweight title in 1934 and turned pro in July the same year. He was an immediate sensation cutting a swathe through the ranks of the nation's heavyweights. He proved a big draw as over 60,000 turned out in New York to see him finish the former heavyweight champion Primo Carnera in six rounds in June 1935 and close to 90,000 to see him crush in four rounds another former champion, Max Baer, again in New York in September 1935 . The Louis express was then derailed in a tremendous upset as a third former champion, Max Schmeling, exploited a flaw in Joe's technique and upset the odds by kayoing Joe in the twelfth round of their fight in New York in June 1936. A run of wins, including the third round kayo of yet another former champion, Jack Sharkey, put Joe back in the picture and in with a chance of challenging James J “The Cinderella Man” Braddock for the title. At that time, as a legacy of the stormy reign of Jack Johnson, no black fighter had been allowed to fight for the heavyweight title since 1915. Joe broke through that barrier and in so doing changed the face of race relations in boxing and other sports and had a positive impact on the image of his race in all except the most bigoted minds. Politics drove the fight out of New York and over to Chicago where it took place in June1927. Even though Braddock scored a knockdown in the first round the fight was very one-sided as Joe had too much of everything for the champion and applied a brutal beating before scoring a kayo in round eight. The new champion made defences against Tommy Farr, Nathan Mann and Harry Thomas and then faced Schmeling in a return in New York in June 1938. This fight again had other aspects which were considered almost as important as the match itself. The rise of Adolf Hitler in an increasingly aggressive Germany and the accompanying dogma of Aryan supremacy gave this fight a significance and a symbolism that transcended the fact that it was basically a boxing match. Over 75,000 spectators saw Joe destroy his former conqueror in less than three minutes with a display of brutal ferocity that has rarely been seen before or since with Schmeling at one point actually letting out a scream of pain from the blows that Joe was landing. Another taboo was broken seven months later as Joe kayoed his friend John Henry Lewis, the reigning world light-heavyweight champion, inside a round in the first heavyweight title fight between black fighters for more than 20 years. Joe then proceeded to take on all comers as he worked his way through the ranks of contenders. Including in these was an epic battle with former light-heavyweight champion Billy Conn. “The Pittsburgh Kid” was a brilliant boxer but weighed only 169lbs for the fight (Louis was 200lbs). Despite this Billy was well ahead on the scorecards going into the 14th round when he decided to stand and trade punches with the best finisher in the business and paid the price, being kayoed by another display of devastating punching. At this point Joe again made an impact out of the ring by enlisting in the United States army and donating purses from his fights to the Army and Navy relief funds. He also gave voice to the patriotic spirit of the time with a now iconic phrase in a speech stating "we will win because we are on God's side” a phrase which resounded around America and again did wonders for race relations and national unity. Joe's title was frozen when he was in the services and after kayoing Abe Simon in a defence in March 1942 he did not fight again, except in exhibitions, until kayoing Billy Conn in eight rounds in a title defence in 1946. At the end of 1947, now 32 and with very little activity over a period of five years, Joe was not the force he had been and he had to climb off the floor to win a hotly disputed split verdict over former sparring partner Joe Walcott in December. He delayed his retirement to give Walcott a return in June 1948 and in a very poor fight put Walcott away in the eleventh round and then in March 1949 formally retired as undefeated heavyweight champion of the world having dominated the division for almost twelve years. Being in need of money, Joe returned in 1950 to face the new champion Ezzard Charles, but was a shadow of the great fighter he had been and was easily beaten on points. Still in desperate financial straights Joe fought on, beating useful fighters such as Lee Savold and Jimmy Bivins, until October 1951 when Rocky Marciano ended his 17-year career with an eighth round stoppage. A night when many ringsiders cried to see the defeat of a boxing idol. Joe had a slow, patient, stalking style but made up for any lack of foot mobility with the speed and devastating power of his punches so much so that a recent poll in Ring Magazine named Joe as the “Greatest Puncher of All Time”. Maxie Baer was asked to define fear and he described it as “Standing across the ring from Joe Louis and knowing he wants to go home early.” Career: 66 fights***, 63 wins, 3 losses (53 wins by stoppage or kayo and two of those losses at the end of his career) Today: Wladimir Klitschko “The Steelhammer”, the current IBF heavyweight champion and younger brother of former WBO and WBC champion Vitali. The 6'7” East European had a glittering amateur career crowned with an Olympic gold medal in 1996 before turning professional in Germany in November of the same year. He scored 24 consecutive wins, 22 by stoppage or kayo, before he met his Max Schmeling in the form of experienced pro Ross Purrity who simply outlasted Wladimir and halted the exhausted giant in round eleven. Wladimir returned to his winning ways collecting the EBU heavyweight title in September 1999 with a victory in eight rounds over Axel Schulze and in October 2000 won the WBO title with a points victory over Chris Byrd. After successful defences against Derrick Jefferson, Charles Shufford, Frans Botha, Ray Mercer and Jameel McCline, Wlad hit the wall as he lost his title when South African Corrie Sanders bombed him out in two rounds in March 2003 and when he tried to win the now vacant WBO title in April 2004 again blew up was halted in five rounds by Lamon Brewster. Wladimir found himself being written off after these shock losses, but he took six months off and has not looked back since. He won the NABF title with a points win over Samuel Peter in September 2005 and in April 2006 halted Chris Byrd in seven rounds to win the IBF title. To date Wladimir has made three defences and all have ended inside the distance, including a sixth round revenge victory over Brewer. Wladimir is only one of four claimants of the heavyweight title**, all from Eastern Europe, but is probably the best of the bunch. Putting aside colour, nearly everything about him is a contrast with Joe Louis. Wladimir comes from a well to do family, being a Doctor himself and his father having been a General. He enjoyed a long and distinguished time as an amateur with plenty of international experience. He had a long lead in as a pro with almost 30 fights before meeting a rated opponent and had no racial prejudice to overcome. He is big even by today's standards at almost 6'7” and over 240lbs. What they have in common is a heavy punch and the ability to bounce back from defeat even stronger. Career: 52 fights, 49 wins, 3 losses (44 wins by stoppage or kayo, all 3 losses inside the distance) Tomorrow: Alexander Povetkin: Born Kursk, Russia, 2 September 1979, Alex even surpassed Wladimir as an amateur. As a 71 kilo 16-year-old in 1995 he won a silver medal in an unofficial European Cadets Championships and in 2001 won the super-heavyweight gold medal in the Goodwill Games. A gold medal in the European championships followed in 2002 and he repeated that feat in 2004. In 2003 he took the gold medal in the World championships and rounded out his time as an amateur with the gold medal in the Athens Olympics. Since turning pro in Germany in June 2005 he has made steady and well planned progress. The highlights being Dangerous “sleeper” Willie Chapman halted in five rounds in December 2005, former Olympic medallist Richard Bango kayoed in two rounds in March 2006, experienced Friday Ahunanya taking Alex the full six rounds in April 2006, former cruiserweight champion Imamu Mayfield kayoed in three in December 2006, Canadian Patrice L'Heureux put away in two rounds in May this year and he won every round against veteran Larry Donald in June. He is now in sight of a title fight having beaten former champion Chris Byrd on a stoppage in eleven rounds in October as part of an IBF elimination tournament and is lined up to face unbeaten Eddie Chambers in a final eliminator in January on his way to a match with Wladimir. More of a size with Joe Louis at 6'2” and around 220 to 225lbs Alex has done everything right so far. Career: 14 fights, won 14(11 by stoppage or kayo). ** Split titles are not a modern curse. When Joe beat Lee Savold in 1951 he was recognised as “world” champion by the European Board and the British Board. *** There is some confusion over Joe's record as he engaged in numerous exhibitions and it was not always clear which were exhibitions and which were not. The Ring Record Book of 1986/87 shows Joe's kayos of Biff Benett, Roscoe Toles, Willie Davies and Gene Stanton in 1935 as “exhibitions” although in earlier editions(e.g. 1977) they had shown them as genuine fights.

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