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Hank Aaron and Muhammad Ali
Hank Aaron, one of the greatest players in baseball history, died today (January 22) at age 86.
Aaron is best known for breaking Babe Ruth’s mark of 714 career home runs. He finished his sojourn through baseball with 755 homers, a record that stood until 2007 when it was eclipsed by Barry Bonds. He still holds the MLB career records for most RBIs, most total bases, and most extra base hits while ranking third on the list for most hits and most games played and fourth in runs scored. He was a thoughtful gracious man who inspired a generation.
Decades ago, I was conducting research for the book that would become Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times. As part of this process, I interviewed many great athletes. Some, like Jim Brown, had played an important role in Ali’s life. Others had interacted with Muhammad in a less significant manner. The people I spoke with included sports legends like Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and Reggie Jackson. On September 5, 1989, I was privileged to talk with Aaron.
Aaron had broken Babe Ruth’s record in 1974, the year that Ali dethroned George Foreman to reclaim the heavyweight championship of the world. The thoughts that Aaron shared with me – one great athlete talking about another – follow:
āI was born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1934. I came up with the Braves when I was twenty. And coming from Mobile, I was very shy. I wasnāt satisfied with the way things were, but I felt like I had to do something special in baseball in order to get people to listen to me. By the time Ali came along, things were a little different but not that much. My first awareness of him was when he won the gold medal. And I saw greatness stamped all over him. How great, I didnāt know. But I was impressed by his ability and his confidence.
āBeing a gifted athlete, being one of the best in the world at what you do, is a great feeling. But sometimes itās kind of eerie because you wonder why youāre blessed with so much ability. Iād go up to the plate to face a pitcher and Iād know that, before the night was over, I was going to hit one out of the ballpark. I felt that, and Iām sure Ali felt the same way. That no matter who he got in the ring with, he was better and heād figure them out. He had all kinds of confidence. And I was the same way. The only thing that scared me was, when I was approaching Babe Ruthās record, I got a lot of threatening letters. Iām sure Ali went through the same thing with letters from people who didnāt want him to be heavyweight champion. Most of that stuff is nothing but cranks. But one of them might be for real, and you never know which one.
āI donāt think thereāll ever be another fighter like Muhammad Ali. Iām not putting anybody else down. Maybe someone could have beaten Ali in his prime, but Iām not concerned about that. Thereās just no one who could possibly be as beautiful in the ring as he was. For a guy to be that big and move the way he did; it was like music, poetry, no question about it. And for what he did outside the ring, Ali will always be remembered. When you start talking about sports, when you start talking about history; you canāt do it unless you mention Ali. Children in this country should be taught forever how he stood by his convictions and lived his life. Heās someone that black people, white people, people all across the country whatever their color, can be proud of. I know, Iām glad I had the opportunity to live in his time and bear witness to what he accomplished. God gave Ali the gift, and Ali used it right.ā
I remember very clearly reading to Ali what Hank Aaron had said about him. And Muhammad responded, “Hank Aaron said that about me? I’m honored.”
Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book ā Staredown: Another Year Inside Boxing ā was published by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, Hauser was selected for induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
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British fight fabs had plenty of options last night. Important events were staged in Manchester, in Bournemouth, and in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The locals were delighted in Manchester and Bournemouth, but fans in Belfast were left crestfallen when their hometown hero Michael Conlan, the former two-time Olympian, was on the wrong end of a vicious KO.
Conlan, who was 18-1 heading in, had a four-inch height advantage and three-inch reach advantage over Mexican spoiler Luis Alberto Lopez. The Irishman attracted late money and went to post a small favorite. But Lopez (28-2, 16 KOs) emerged victorious, successfully defending his IBF world featherweight title which he won in British soil over Josh Warrington.
Although Conlan had a rough patch in the second round, he was seemingly in a good position heading into round five when the Mexican invader brought a swift conclusion to the contest, discombobulating Conlan (pictured) with a right uppercut that prompted his trainer Adam Booth to throw in the towel. It was the second time that Conlan came up short in a bid for a world title. He challenged for the WBA version of this belt in March of last year, losing on a spectacular last round knockout to Leigh Wood in a fight that he was winning until the final 90 seconds.
Alsoā¦
In a scheduled 12-rounder for a WBC featherweight trinket, five-foot-three Liverpool buzzsaw Nick āWreckingā Ball advanced to 18-0, (11 KOs) with a 12th-round stoppage of South Africaās previously undefeated Ludumo Lamati (21-1-1, 11 KOs). Lamatiās corner tossed in the towel after Ball landed a series of hard punches in the final frame.
Lamati was on his feet when the bout was stopped but was in dire straits and was removed from the ring on a stretcher. There was no update on his condition as this story was going to press.
In a companion 12-rounder, Belfastās Anthony āApacheā Cacace (21-1, 7 KOs) successfully defended his fringe 130-pound title with a wide decision over Damian Wrzesinski (26-3-2). The judges had 118-111, 117-111, and 116-112.
Wrzesinski, a 38-year-old Pole, fought with a brace on his right knee. This was the first fight for āApacheā in his hometown in eight years. The win may have set him up for a match with Welshman Joe Cordina, the IBF junior lightweight title-holder, or Shavkat Rakhimov who lost a close decision to Cordina in a bruising tiff last month.
Manchester
Mauricio Lara didnāt bring his āAā game to England. That became apparent at the weigh-in when he failed to make weight, losing his WBA world featherweight title on the scales. By rule, only Leigh Wood could win it or it would become vacant.
This was a rematch. Fourteen weeks ago, Lara went into Woodās backyard in Nottingham and stopped him in the seventh round. Lara was behind on the cards when he felled Wood with a crunching left hook. Wood beat the count but his trainer Ben Davison tossed in the towel which struck many, especially Wood, as premature as less than 10 seconds remained in the round.
In a previous trip to England, Lara had broken hearts in Leeds, stopping native son Josh Warrington. The Mexican invader, younger than Leigh Wood by 10 years, was expected to win again, but Wood, 34, simply out-worked him. He knocked Lara down in the second round with an uppercut and methodically kept him at bay, winning by scores of 116-111 and 118-109 twice.
Co-Feature
In his first appearance since his controversial defeat to Josh Taylor in Glasgow in February of last year, Jack Catterall improved to 27-1 (15) with a wide decision over Irish-Australian southpaw Darragh Foley (22-5-1).
The Sportsman called the Catterall-Taylor fight, a split decision win for Taylor, the most controversial fight in British boxing history and Catterall became a more sympathetic figure when Taylor, after several postponements, reneged on his promise to give Catterall a rematch, opting instead for a date with Teofimo Lopez.
Although Foley was in action 10 weeks ago, scoring his signature win with a third-round stoppage of favored Robbie Davies Jr., and Catterall was making his first start in 15 months, this was a one-sided fray in Catterallās favor. He had Foley on the canvas twice en route to winning by scores of 99-88, 98-89, and 97-90.
Eddie Hearn has expressed an interest in matching Catterall with Regis Prograis assuming that Prograis gets past Arnold Barboza on June 17.
Also
Englandās Terri Harper (14-1-1), who jumped up three weight classes last year, successfully defended her WBA 154-pound diadem with a unanimous but unimpressive 10-round decision over perennial title challenger Ivana Habazin. The judges had it 98-92 and 99-93 twice.
Harper was slated to fight former pound-for-pound queen Cecilia Braekhus last Saturday in the co-feature to Taylor vs. Cameron in Dublin, but hat match fell out when Braekhus came down with a bad cold following the weight-in.
Harper is seeking a unification fight with countrywoman Natasha Jonas. Habazin, a 33-year-old Croat, fell to 21-5.
Bournemouth
In his fourth defense of his WBO world cruiserweight title, previously undefeated Lawrence Okolie was soundly defeated by former sparring partner Chris Billam.-Smith The match was contested in Billam-Smith’sĀ hometown before a raucous crowd at sold-out Vitality Stadium.
A 3/1 underdog, Billam-Smith, who was 17-1 heading in, proved clearly superior He knocked Okolie down in the fourth round and again in rounds 10 and 11 en route to winning by scores of 116-107, 115-108, and 112-112.
About that curious 112-112 card. It was turned in by U.S. judgeĀ Benjamin Rodriguez who had been working the Illinois-Wisconsin circuit. On social media, his tally is being called the worst scorecard of all time.
Did Billam-Smith’s fans leave happy? The correspondent for British Boxing News called the event āa night of breathtaking boxing action that will never be forgotten.ā
The six-foot-five Okolie may have made his last start as a cruiserweight. He aspires to fight Oleksandr Usyk.
The Sweet Science Rankings: Week of May 22nd, 2023
Hiroto Kyoguchi departs 108lbs for 112lbs so there’s a reorganisation at the bottom of the 108lbs division.Ā Fellow Japanese Junto Nakatani’s breathtaking destruction of Andrew Maloney sees him rise to #6 at 115lbs with Maloney dropping to #10; Kosei Tanaki who was also out at the weekend climbs to #9.Ā Ā Raymond Muratalla is the last mover this week, eliminatingĀ Jamaine Ortiz and debuting at #9 at 135lbs.Ā There are no further changes at lightweight where Lomachenko maintains his ranking at #3.
*Please note that when the fighterās name appears with an asterisk it represents a movement in ranking from the previous week.
Pound-for-Pound
01 ā Naoya Inoue
02 ā Oleksandr Usyk
03 ā Juan Francisco Estrada
04 ā Dmitry Bivol
05 ā Terence Crawford
06 ā Errol Spence Jnr.
07 ā Tyson Fury
08 ā Saul Alvarez
09 ā Artur Beterbiev
10 – Shakur Stevenson
105lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Knockout CP Freshmart (Thailand)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Petchmanee CP Freshmart (Thailand)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Melvin Jerusalem (Philippines)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ginjiro Shigeoka (Japan)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Wanheng Menayothin (Thailand)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Daniel Valladares (Mexico)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Yudai Shigeoka (Japan)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Oscar Collazo (USA)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Masataka Taniguchi (Japan)
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Rene Mark Cuarto (Philippines)
108lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Kenshiro Teraji (Japan)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Jonathan Gonzalez (Puerto Rico)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Masamichi Yabuki (Japan)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Hekkie Budler (South Africa)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Sivenathi Nontshinga (South Africa)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Elwin Soto (Mexico)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Daniel Matellon (Cuba)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Reggie Suganob (Philippines)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Shokichi Iwata (Japan)*
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Esteban Bermudez (Mexico)*
112lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Sunny Edwards (England)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Artem Dalakian (Ukraine)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Julio Cesar Martinez (Mexico)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Angel Ayala Lardizabal (Mexico)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā David Jimenez (Costa Rica)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Jesse Rodriguez (USA)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ricardo Sandoval (USA)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Felix Alvarado (Nicaragua)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Seigo Yuri Akui (Japan)
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Cristofer Rosales (Nicaragua)
115lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Juan Francisco Estrada (Mexico)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Roman Gonzalez (Nicaragua)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Jesse Rodriguez (USA)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Kazuto Ioka (Japan)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Joshua Franco (USA)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Junto Nakatani (Japan)*
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Fernando Martinez (Argentina)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (Thailand)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Kosei Tanaka (Japan)*
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Andrew Moloney (Australia)
118lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Emmanuel Rodriguez (Puerto Rico)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Jason Moloney (Australia)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Nonito Donaire (Philippines)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Vincent Astrolabio (Philippines)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Gary Antonio Russell (USA)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Takuma Inoue (Japan)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Alexandro Santiago (Mexico)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ryosuke Nishida (Japan)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Keita Kurihara (Japan)
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Paul Butler (England)
122lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Stephen Fulton (USA)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Marlo Tapales (Philippines)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Luis Nery (Mexico)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Murodjon Akhmadaliev (Uzbekistan)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Raāeese Aleem (USA)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Azat Hovhannisyan (Armenia)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Kevin Gonzalez (Mexico)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Takuma Inoue (Japan)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā John Riel Casimero (Philippines)
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Fillipus Nghitumbwa (Namibia)
126lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mauricio Lara (Mexico)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Brandon Figueroa (USA)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Rey Vargas (Mexico)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Luis Alberto Lopez (Mexico)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mark Magsayo (Philippines)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Leigh Wood (England)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Josh Warrington (England)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Robeisy Ramirez (Cuba)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Reiya Abe (Japan)
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Otabek Kholmatov (Uzbekistan)
130lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Joe Cordina (Wales)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Oscar Valdez (Mexico)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Hector Garcia (Dominican Republic)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā O’Shaquie Foster (USA)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (Tajikistan)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Roger Gutierrez (Venezuela)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Lamont Roach (USA)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Eduardo Ramirez (Mexico)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Kenichi Ogawa (Japan)
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Robson Conceicao (Brazil)
135lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Devin Haney (USA)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Gervonta Davis (USA)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Vasily Lomachenko (Ukraine)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Isaac Cruz (Mexico)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā William Zepeda Segura (Mexico)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Frank Martin (USA)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā George Kambosos Jnr (Australia)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Shakur Stevenson (USA)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Raymond Muratalla (USA)*
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Keyshawn Davis (USA)
140lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Josh Taylor (Scotland)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Regis Prograis (USA)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Jose Ramirez (USA)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Jose Zepeda (USA)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Jack Catterall (England)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Subriel Matias (Puerto Rico)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Arnold Barboza Jr. (USA)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Gary Antuanne Russell (USA)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Zhankosh Turarov (Kazakhstan)
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Shohjahon Ergashev (Uzbekistan)
147lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Errol Spence (USA)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Terence Crawford (USA)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Yordenis Ugas (Cuba)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Vergil Ortiz Jr. (USA)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Jaron Ennis (USA)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Eimantas Stanionis (Lithuania)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā David Avanesyan (Russia)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Cody Crowley (Canada)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Roiman Villa (Columbia)
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Alexis Rocha (USA)
154lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Jermell Charlo (USA)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Tim Tszyu (Australia)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Brian Castano (Argentina)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Brian Mendoza (USA)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Liam Smith (England)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Jesus Alejandro Ramos (USA)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Sebastian Fundora (USA)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Michel Soro (Ivory Coast)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Erickson Lubin (USA)
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Magomed Kurbanov (Russia)
160lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Jaime Munguia (Mexico)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Carlos Adames (Dominican Republic)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Janibek Alimkhanuly (Kazakhstan)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Liam Smith (England)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Erislandy Lara (USA)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Sergiy Derevyanchenko (Ukraine)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Felix Cash (England)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Esquiva Falcao (Brazil)
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Chris Eubank Jnr. (Poland)
168lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Canelo Alvarez (Mexico)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā David Benavidez (USA)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Caleb Plant (USA)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Christian Mbilli (France)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā David Morrell (Cuba)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā John Ryder (England)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Pavel Silyagin (Russia)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Vladimir Shishkin (Russia)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Carlos Gongora (Ecuador)
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Demetrius Andrade (USA)
175lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Dmitry Bivol (Russia)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Artur Beterbiev (Canada)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Joshua Buatsi (England)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Callum Smith (England)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Joe Smith Jr. (USA)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Gilberto Ramirez (Mexico)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Anthony Yarde (England)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Dan Azeez (England)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Craig Richards (England)
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Michael Eifert (Germany)
200lbs
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Jai Opetaia (Australia)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mairis Breidis (Latvia)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Lawrence Okolie (England)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Richard Riakporhe (England)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Aleksei Papin (Russia)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Badou Jack (Sweden)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Chris Billam-Smith (England)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Arsen Goulamirian (France)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Yuniel Dorticos (Cuba)
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mateusz Masternak (Poland)
Unlimited
1Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Tyson Fury (England)
2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine)
3Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Zhilei Zhang (China)
4Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Deontay Wilder (USA)
5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Anthony Joshua (England)
6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Andy Ruiz (USA)
7Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Filip Hrgovic (Croatia)
8Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Joe Joyce (England)
9Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Dillian Whyte (England)
10Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Frank Sanchez (Cuba)
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āHow To Boxā by Joe Louis: Part 6 of a 6-Part Series ā Putting It All Together
āHow To Boxā by Joe Louis: Part 6 of a 6-Part Series ā Putting It All Together
āYou got to be a killer, otherwise Iām getting too old to waste time on you.āāJack Blackburn
Much has been said concerning the Joe Louis duels with Max Schmeling. It was proof that Louis was vulnerable to right hands. It was proof that LouisĀ wasnātĀ vulnerable to right hands. It was a victory for America over the Nazis. But Schmeling wasnāt a Nazi. It was boxingās biggest fight. But it wasnāt about boxing. It was what made Louis a hero. But he was already a hero.
One of Abraham Lincolnās most successful biographers, Roy Basler, wrote that āto know the truth of history is to realize its ultimate myth and its inevitable ambiguity.ā Is there a more telling example of this truth in sports than Louis-Schmeling II? Sometimes the tale can obscure the truth. To put it another way: when was the last time you just wondered at it? Wondered at what Joe Louis did to Max Schmeling on a night when, admittedly, the world was on the brink of war and the African-American was on the road to reclaiming himself from the white power structure in the USA? When was the last time you ignored all those very important things and just marvelled at that fight, the recording of which reporter Henry McLemore called āthe most faithful recording ever made of human savageryā?
Iām going to invite you here, please, to wonder at it again.
In one moment.
First, we must take a look at JoeāsĀ bestĀ performance.
Buddy Baer
The bigger, less celebrated of the Baer brothers had his own rematch with Joe Louis at the beginning of 1942. The first fight had ended in the controversy of a DQ win for Louis and, as he always did when there was the merest hint of scepticism after a title fight, Joe arranged to meet the Giant Californian once again.
A huge man in any era, Buddy tipped the scales at 250 and scraped the ceiling at a little more than 6ā6. As noted by the St.Petersburg Times, āa fellow of Baerās size in good condition, and equipped with the usual quota of arms, legs and eyes must be conceded a chance in any bout, particularly if he has courage and a punch.ā
Buddy had both in abundance, but he was not a natural fighter. āWe have the feeling he would rather be out picking violets,ā is how the TimesĀ chose to illustrate the point. While this is a bit much we all know what he means. Louis, who would famously be fighting for free that night in support of the Navy Relief Fund, was a natural gladiator. Buddy Baer was not.
If Max Schmeling is clearly the tougher of the two opponents and Louis wreaked similar havoc on each of them, what is it that makes this Joeās greatest performance? Baerās size? Might it be suggested that herein lies the key to arguing Louis the master of all modern super-heavies as he destroys one in this encounter? Itās a reasonable point, but no, it is not that. It was my own favourite line fromĀ How to BoxĀ by Joe Louis that brought me to this conclusion.
āThere are two basic methods of attack,ā the1948 manual tells us, āeither by force or by skill. The attack by force is used only by the slugger who depends only upon hitting power. The attack by skill is used by the boxer who relies upon his cleverness in feinting, correct leading, drawing and in-fighting.ā
This is a fine division, at once elegant and incomplete, of the boxerās physical abilities versus his technical ability, his gifts as an athlete as weighed against his skill as a boxer. While Joeās destruction of Schmeling is his most devastating display, he relies often in that short fight upon his natural gifts, his speed, his power. Joe fights ugly for short, vicious stretches against Baer, too, but not before he has demonstrated for us the height of his art.
Louis and his ghostwriter, Edward J. Mallory, describe the various feints Louis employed in his championship years and most interesting among them is the left jab to the body, the lie, and then the right uppercut to the head, the truth. It is a difficult move from a technical perspective, calling upon the weight to be transferred from the left foot to the right and for the fighter to move from long distance to the inside, downstairs to up, all without getting caught. Louis pulls this move off against a fresh Baer, twenty-five seconds into the fight.
Baer came out aggressively and Louis was momentarily crowded out of the fight, driven and harried back to his own corner first by Baerās length, then his size. BuddyāsĀ physicalĀ advantages overcame JoeāsĀ technicalĀ superiority, for just a moment. They circle, and Louis takes a short step back, employing the draw, before throwing a nothing left hook. Louis notices that the challengerās tactic upon being jabbed are to dip, then make a grab and try to tie the champion up on the inside, allowing him to use his size and weight to bear down on him. A fine plan for a big man, but in fact the fight is now lost.
A few seconds later Louis is shuffling back and away from Baer once more and as Baer moves forwards Louis throws another jab. Again, Baer dips and tries to crowd but Louis has no intention of landing the jab. Instead, he holsters his left, takes a step to the outside with his left foot and even as Baer draws himself into his shell and prepares his grab, Louis uncorks his right uppercut, slipping his weight across his body as a part of the natural movement of the punch, the absolute perfection of this skill. The punch is not a finisher but note Baerās reaction when Louis jabs at him once more, moments later. Instead of trying to menace the champion with his size or a counter, he backs up directly; shy of the uppercut that the jab disguised last time around. This is the ultimate realisation of the feintāto imbue in the jab, a hammer blow at the best of times theĀ virtualĀ attributes of the uppercut. Baer has now to abandon his pre-fight plan for Joeās most important punch, that jab.
Skill has determined that his superior size is now worthless.
Paraffin to the wound seconds later as Louis pulls the trick off once more, this time after following through on the jab. A right-handed uppercut to the jawāthe hardest punch to land from a technical perspectiveāturns the trick again and now Baer is hurt. Louis plants a left hook behind the glove just above the ear and then he is ready to unleash the combinations that made him famous.
People say Joe Louis has slow feet. There is something to this, although hopefully it has been explained in the proper context inĀ Part 1āThe Foundation of Skill. Even then, however, we discuss his speed relative to those opponents who run. Well footwork is not merely a byword for a foot race. I defy anyone who takes the time to pay close enough attention to the speed at which Louis adjusts his feet now as Baer retreats across the ring to name him slow.
Out of position for a left hook as Baer is going away slightly outside his right foot, Louis shimmiesāthere is no other word for itāa quick step forwards, channelling all his power through his left leg and hips. This allows him to land that deadly, rare, straight right and behind it, even though he each time has to shimmy and hop forwards, he lands a left hook and then that rolling right cross. With each punch he is covering ground and with each punch he touches down long enough to get the torque through his hips and crack home hard punches, knockout punches. Perhaps the most startling thing about this sequence is that if you press pause at the moment these blows are landing, they look as though Louis were punching from a stationary position. His balance is perfect, his rushing attack is in no way affecting the value of his punches, yet he takes literally no time to get set. He is a cobra packing a shotgun.
āUse the weight of the body inĀ every punch,ā (my italics) advisesĀ How to BoxĀ and it is a tenet Louis is married to. My expectation upon placing it under the microscope was that I would have to issue a warning similar to the one I described when analysing Joeās straight right handāthat it bore sweet fruit when it worked but that it was to detail-specific to be really viable in the ring, and that countermeasures must be employed. To my astonishment I found that Louis threw power punches (if not always his jab) in this fashionĀ without compromising his balance on offense. It is my suspicion that this is a unique skillset above 200 lbs. and that you would have to work to find fighters who can fight like this in even the smallest divisions.
Though the fight is only a minute old, referee Frank Fullam takes his first close look at Baer as he wobbles back to Joeās short rope behind a left-right combination to the jaw and a right to the body that Louis lands after ducking into a clinch as Baer tried to throw his first punches in some seconds. Louis is made to miss in turn as Baer bores him back and away from the ropes, missing first with the right uppercut and then the left hook. These are the most difficult punches to remain composed behind, but Louis does so, remaining in punching position.
Head-to-head in a maul, Louis appears the loser as he slowly gives ground during an exchange of meaningless shots, but a split second later, he has moved out of the maul that Baer remains bowed solemnly into, and Louis begins the assault again. A bobbing top caught in two opposing tidesāhis, and the punches Joe is driving homeāBaerās size is now nothing less than a handicap in the face of the genius of Joeās box-punching.
For the first knockdown Louis slips the non-existent jab he expects when he is on his way in, jabs to the stomach and bombs a right cross over his defence. Watch carefully and you will see Baerās high guard rappelled right and down by the famous Louis follow-through before snapping back into place as Baer collapses in an enormous heap on the canvas, forty-pound weight advantage and all, the first time he has looked big since that first uppercut landed.
Itās hard to admire a man shooting fish in a barrel but take a moment to appreciate the blinds being drawn and the man Leroy Simerly (Herald-Journal) called āstrictly a sixteen-inch gunnerā in full flow.
Baer was magnanimous in defeat clutching Joeās head in his oversized paws, almost comically huge next to the man labelled in newspapers the following morning as āthe most destructive puncher the fight game has ever seen.ā
Baer figured Louis to be champion for some time to come.
āMaybe my next child will be a son and I can raise him up to do the job.ā
Three days later, Louis would pass his army physical. He would never reach the heights of the Buddy Baer fight again. It is a frightening thought, but it is possible that boxing never saw the very best of its greatest champion.
Max Schmeling
āAināt no sense foolinā around like I did last time.ā
Louis said more than once in the run up to the fight that he would end Max Schmeling in a single round. For the most part this was dismissed as hyperbole by a press which did not break ranks to predict anything earlier than a third-round knockout. Hyperbole was the furthest thing from the minds of Louis and Blackburn, however. This was a plan with its foundation built firmly upon the scientific reasoning that Schmeling had become so famous for.
When Joe Louis attended the welterweight title fight between Henry Armstrong and Barney Ross, it was not as a fan, although he was one, but as a disciple. It is possible that Armstrong was the only man in the history of the fight game capable of teaching Louis about controlled destructive violence in the ring, but the story goes that he didāand that along with handler Eddie Mead, he convinced Louis and Blackburn that a direct, rushing assault was the best strategy.
And the story had more than just a hint of truth to it. First Joe was seen at Henryās training camp and then Henry was seen at Joeās. Louis did not speak of it directly, but Blackburn was less equivocal:
āLast time Chappie fought just the way Schmeling wanted him to. This time itāll be different. Chappieās going to learn from Armstrong. Heās going to set a fast pace right from the start.ā
Max Machon, trainer to Schmeling, did not see the danger, encouraging Louis to do just that:
āHe would be as awkward as a school girl on her first pair of ice skates!ā
Schmeling, meanwhile, wasnāt paying attention or had seen a bluff where there was none:
āI think in the first round we will just feel each other out.ā
According to theĀ World Telegram, āSchmeling will make no mistake in strategy. Louis doesnāt know what the word means.ā This was the prevailing attitude at the time, but in fact a reversal of this equation was happening right under the noses of the dismissive newspapermen. Even those that sniffed out a possible tactical dimension to the Louis battle plan were disdainful of it. Perhaps they were right, and perhaps Blackburn and Mead were the masterminds behind the directness of the violence about to erupt in Yankee Stadium. But the fact is that Louis had been obsessively watching the first Schmeling fight, originally with a journalist (who could not believe that Blackburn had never shown it to the champion and had in fact discouraged him from seeing it), then with his trainer and finally alone.
Over and over again.
āI know how to fight Max now.ā
Louis was to fight Schmeling in the opposite style, as far as How to Box is concerned, to the one he would use to destroy Buddy Baer. There, he fought by skill, here it was to be by forceāspeed, power.
Louis doesnāt stalk or attempt to draw a lead from Schmeling. At the first bell, he is after him straight away and when Schmeling tries to move, Joe moves with him, still in the small steps and still behind that ramrod jab but with more urgency than is normal. The hard jab and a closet left hook are landed before Max moves out of range, but the leaping left hook he uses to drive Max before him is a new flavor of Louis, especially against an unharmed world-class opponent. Louis had reportedly shadowboxed for forty to fifty minutes before emerging from his dressing room wearing two gowns to keep his body warm. Now he was making both Schmeling and Machon foolish in their pre-fight predictions. Not only was Louis wasting absolutely no time in feeling Schmeling out, but he also bore very little resemblance to a schoolgirl on ice skates. He looked more like coiled galvanized steel brought miraculously and terrifyingly to life.
Referee Arthur Donovan would later claim that this left hook caused Maxās face to swell and changed his pallor to a āfaint bluish green.ā
The hook also carried him inside, but rather than moving for space Louis dug his heels in andĀ pushedĀ against Schmeling, denying him room, landing three hard uppercuts, pulling out and then stabbing back in with the one-two. When Schmeling puts his left glove over Joeās right, cupping his own body protectively with his free arm, Louis reverted to his old habits, making room for himself as he punched, adjusting tactically to Schmelingās increasingly desperate defensive manoeuvres.
After the German lands his only significant punch of the fightāa right hand as the champion moved awayāLouis stalked a rattled Schmeling to the far rope and drew the inevitable pressure lead, before going to work with both hands to the midsection and switching upstairs. When Schmeling tries to hide up close after another one-two, Louis pushes him back and away, giving himself room for his aggressive rushes. Here, then, was the culmination of the tactical switch as he drove Schmeling back with the uppercut then invoked the most famous fistic assault between Dempsey and Tyson, hammering Schmeling back with both fists, the German catapulting away but seemingly caught in the Bomberās horrifying gravity as he catches the rope for support with his right gloves and catapults himself right back into the kill zone. Louis is swarming all over him and Schmeling, now half turned away, is nothing more than a slab of meat and one that the champion goes to work upon in earnest, a butcher wielding two cleavers, finally landing perhaps his most famous punch, a right hand just above the kidney that fractured the transverse process of the third and fourth lumbar vertebrae, tearing the muscles surrounding it in the process. The scream that erupted from Schmeling was āhalf animal, half humanā and according to David Margolick author ofĀ Beyond Glory: Max Schmeling and Joe LouisĀ was so bloodcurdling that many patrons on that side of the ring reached for their hats as though compelled to retreat. If it occurred, this was a primal reaction but Louis, for me, was not giving the primal showing of legend.
āHe is a jungle man,ā wrote journalist Henry McLenmore. āAs completely primitive as any savage out to destroy the thing he hates. He fought instinctively and not by any man-made pattern.ā
This is not true. Louis had re-armed himself with some new tools for this fight and had shown a strategic surety the German came nowhere near matchingāSchmeling was outthought for all that he was also slaughtered. When necessary, Louis switched between pure aggression and his drawing, counterpunching style with seamless ease and although he used his physical rather than his technical brilliance to master Schmeling, I would argue that āthe hand of manā is more apparent in this performance than any other one of his fights.
āI thought in my mind, āHowās that Mr. Super-race? I was glad he was hurt,ā said Louis in response to questions about his thoughts on the punch that had broken Schmelingās back. Now heĀ didĀ cut loose, battering Max like he was a heavy bag and indeed from this point on the challenger put up about as much resistance. The final punch, when it came, had the same affect upon Schmelingās face as a baseball bat would an apple, according to theĀ Herald Tribune. The fight ended in confusion and uproar as first the towel, then Max Machon himself stormed the ring but Schmeling was as knocked out as any fighter had ever been. Louis had wiped the floor with him.
His reward, outside of the $400,000 he had just banked, was to be compared in the next few days in the press to every dangerous animal that walked the earth. Lions, tigers, bears, snakes, hawks and most of all panthers were what the champion was like and the racial climate in which he fought makes us look back and shake our heads at the casual racism.Ā Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and John F. Kennedy were all in Americaās glittering future. But I do not think it was a matter of raceāor not only of race.
It is a fact, however, that some of the pressmen that talked about Louis in these terms were black.
Louis himself, by virtue of his skill in the ring would take a hand in steering his race toward calmer waters.
Itās us.
We all look at Louis and see something primal because there is something primal within all of us. He speaks to it.
And thatās fine. Boxing needs its violence every bit as much as it needs its heroes. If this series of articles was about anything it was about stripping away that projection, that stardust, that lie and looking at the fighter underneath, because that is a beautiful thing that all too often is overlooked. Louis had one of the best jabs, one of the best skillsets, was one of the best counterpunchers, one of the bestĀ boxersĀ at any weight, everāand I hope I have shown that his supposed tactical rigidity and strategic naivety is something we have projected onto this āanimalā this ākillerā this ābomber,ā too, for all that these were not his greatest strengths. He had help and Blackburn was an important part of arguably the greatest story our sport has ever known but as Joe Louis said, āOnce that bell rings, you are on your own.
āItās just you and the other guy.ā
And I sure wouldnāt want to be the other guy.
For those of you who have taken the considerable time to read these articles on Joe Louis from the first word to the lastāthank you.
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