15 Seconds with Joe Louis

[marbleheadmaui]

The Brown Bomber is one of those guys whose skills were so sublime and subtle one must watch over and over and over again to pick up everything. Jack Blackburn was a master teacher (and a great fighter in his own right) and a Joe Louis was a tremendous student.

Here is a 21 year old Joe Louis facing a taller, longer, heavier and more experienced Max Baer, owner of one of the most destructive right hands in boxing history. Have your mouse ready to start, stop and rewind frequently

At 2:20 of the tape it is in round four. Baer had finished round three strongly, but Louis was, for the most part controlling the action.

2:20-Louis begins a retreat and as Baer throws a left hook, Louis drives his weight forward and beats him to it with a counter right but misses.

2:21-Louis takes two quick steps backwards to reset distance and Baer jabs.

2:22-Louis parries the jab with his right hand and jabs himself. Boxing 101.

2:23-Baer closes and throws a short hook which Louis smothers by stepping towards Baer. Now a key moment. Baer's body is turned as he rotates through the hook and Louis takes his right hand, puts it on the back of Baer's upper arm and shoves him while rotating his hips 90 degrees and taking a quick shuffle step to orient himself to Baer's new location. Baer is moved off balance and falls into the ropes.

2:24-Max knows what is coming but before he can get his body reset or his right hand up high enough Louis uses the Trigger Step and lands a blazing straight right hurting Baer.

2:25-Louis leans into Baer while Baer tries to grab Louis and fails

2:26 Baer, squared up along the ropes, throws a desperate hook which misses and Louis pounces. As soon as Baer moves his left hand for the hook Joe throws a short fast right uppercut (look how much leverage he gets driving hard off his toes) and then rotates back the other way with his body and crashes home a near perfect left hook and shifting his weight onto the right side of his body. Max's head snaps back.

2:27-Louis now takes a short step with his right foot and his left and that changes the angle toward Baer by maybe two inches. It is enough.

2:28-Lous almost knocks Baer's head off with a straight right and then comes back with a thunderous left hook (think Max had a chin?) and finishes with a straight right which misses. Louis is on his toes and rotating like a turbine through this. Then another key moment. After he finishes the combination Louis takes a short left step with each foot and now instead of being heads up with Baer his head is oriented at Baer's right shoulder.

2:29-Keeping the pressure on Louis now lands a short right uppercut on Max's chin which straightens him up. Max tries to escape into the space Louis has vacated by stepping to his left and rotating his position. But it is a setup.

2:30-Louis lands a crashing hook to the right side of Baer's face stepping with his left foot and rotating his entire body as he does so.

2:32-Baer retreats along the ropes and Louis shuffles back into optimal position and comes right back with what is working. The short right uppercut and the left hook. But Baer parries the left hook with his right hand as he continues retreating.

2:33-2:34-Now comes one of the most astonishingly athletic and skillful displays in heavyweight history. After Baer parries the first left hook Louis goes for the home run. He LEAPS into a second left hook and pivots his entire body almost 180 degrees. But Max Baer sees it coming and takes two short steps out of range. Here is the amazing part. Louis lands in a perfectly balanced position after missing the hook. See if you can freeze at 2:33 and catch this moment where Louis lands. He is in a deep crouch, weight evenly distributed, hands in perfect punching position and opposite Max's left shoulder. Joe feints with his right shoulder and rotates his weight onto his left foot. Baer prepares to parry the coming right with his right hand which sits at his own left shoulder. But that is not what Louis throws. Louis violently rotates back to his right, drives off his left foot and lands a breathtaking hook to the head. Then using his hips as a spring a second and a third and Baer is down.

Think about that. Louis misses with a home run punch leaving his feet and yet lands so perfectly HE is the guy who seizes the initiative. Incredible.

What a fighter.