Quote Originally Posted by Majesty View Post
Quote Originally Posted by IamInuit View Post
And please with the revisionist history. Its junk science. Who cares if Louis hit the deck a few times? He took about 60 power shots from Schmeling before he finally went down and took everything one of the biggest punchers in history had to offer in Baer. This notion that Louis could not take a punch by bigger men is perhaps one of the biggest urban legends in boxing history. And again about Marciano...talk about a reach. Thats like saying Jimmy Wilde was not that good cause he lost to Villa in his last fight.

Louis had the hand speed of Ali and punched about 5 times as hard. Louis had an actual triple left hook that he landed and each shot was as hard as the first. His right cross could stop a vehicle.

Of 25 successful defenses, 21 were won by knockout, 17 of those were ten counts and 5 in the first round. He also knocked out six men who held the heavyweight title.

Benton ranked him 1
Futch Ditto
Arcel Top 3
Tyson #1
Historians like
Fleischer #4 and #5 in many Ring publications
Callis #1
Sugar #2
Daniel #1
Carroll#1
Rose #4
Eskin#1
Loubet #1
Durant #1
Gallo #1
The Ring On many occasions # 2 behind Robinson as the greatest fighter of all time and #2 as an atg hev
Big Book of Boxing #1
Odd #2

I guess all these people and countless others have no clue what they are talking about.

And if not for the lost 4 years during the war who knows....
Thing is, Louis showed he was able to be outboxed by smaller men, and his weakness for a right hand was never ever fixed. It wasn't that he couldn't take shots, but considering the style and training of people in this era(like the Klitschko's) they would catch him every single time.

Ali would have beaten Louis, Larry Holmes would have beaten Louis an in his prime Mike Tyson was probably the hardest and fastest puncher Louis would have ever faced.

The styles Louis came up against were NOTHING compared to the styles in boxing no more than 20 years later. Styles evolve, fighters evolve, and the reason you see no one using Joe Louis' style nowadays is because they'd be knocked out. That is as it is.
Whether or not Ali is better then Louis or sits at #1 or #2 is a debate w/o a finite conclusion. The suggestion that Louis could not compete today because of his style is ridiculous no offense. That is akin to saying the reason nobody fights like Robinson is because the style wouldn't work.
Holmes could quite possibly beat Louis along with Tyson and Ali and one could add the likes of Dempsey and Lewis but I don't really agree that styles have evolved or fighters for that matter. Fighters today are manufactured with one goal in mind and boxing legacy is not it. Office chairs have evolved to with the plastic wheels and adjustments that fall apart just like most products in this throw away society. Made to fail. In large measure boxers today are a bunch of coddled wimps that fight maybe once or twice a year and imo have styles that are not near as diverse. I hear what you are saying and do not agree. Imo boxing is devolving and has been.