Jerry D

Speaking of sports, if I may, I'd like to share something I wrote many years ago. I grew up watching boxing matches with my father, and he used to take me to the Golden Gloves boxing matches that were held at Madison Square Garden, so I wrote something up comparing Joe Louis to Muhammad Ali.

In every era, there stands one boxer who not only dominates that era, but who many people think of as the greatest boxer of all time. In the heavyweight division of boxing, I think there have been two fighters who basically defined their era, and have invited speculation concerning who would have emerged as the victor if they fought one another in their prime.

Joe Louis, in many circles, is considered to be the one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time. He held the title longer than any heavyweight champion in history, and he fought some very worthy contenders, and almost always emerged victorious. In his prime, he was probably one of the greatest fighters ever, and he was, as my late father used to say the best “finisher” of all times, meaning, once he had an opponent in trouble, he would swoop in for the kill, and finish that opponent off. Joe Louis also prevailed against opponents that were better boxers than he was, and in every fight that he was in, at least in the prime of his career, he was always in peak physical and mental condition. One fight that really stood out in Joe Louis’ career was in 1941, when he fought Billy Conn, who had been light heavyweight champion, and who had superior boxing skills to Louis, who was more of a fighter than a boxer. Billy Conn came very close to defeating Joe Louis, and, in fact, he was way ahead on points in the fight, but he got cocky, and he tried to go for the knockout, but instead, he himself was knocked out by Louis. Joe Louis also faced other opponents known for their speed and boxing skills, but he had a saying: “they can run, but they can’t hide,” and for twelve years, no one was able to beat Joe Louis.

Muhammad Ali, formerly known as Cassius Clay, is also considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time, gaining that title three times, and his speed and boxing skills, especially early in his career, were unsurpassed. His fights with Joe Frazier are legendary, and he fought Frazier when he was slightly past his prime, after having lost his license during the prime of his career, because he refused to be inducted into the army due to his religious beliefs. When you see the Ali of the Sonny Liston era, it’s almost unbelievable how fast he was, and what a great boxer that he was. All throughout his career, however, Ali had one fatal flaw: he tended to be cocky with lesser opponents, and he sometimes was not in peak physical condition when he entered the ring if he didn’t take an opponent seriously, like when he lost to Leon Spinks, who was no where near the boxer that he was. Still, though, in his prime, no one could touch Muhammad Ali, and I think if he had fought Joe Louis, when they were both in their prime, it would have been a very interesting fight.

Personally, I would have given the edge to Muhammad Ali, if he fought Joe Louis, for several reasons. First, Ali’s speed and stamina early in his career would have allowed him to wear Louis out like Billy Conn did, but unlike Billy Conn, who was a light heavyweight, Ali’s larger size and superior strength in comparison to Conn might well have tipped the scales in Ali’s favor. I also think that Muhammad Ali was very adept in “reading” an opponent, and using a very well planned strategy to defeat an opponent, like when he used the “rope a dope” strategy to defeat George Foreman, who was one of the most powerful punchers in boxing history. I could see Ali peppering Louis with a series of jabs, and then “dancing away,” out of harms way, until Louis was worn out. If Ali got cocky though, as he often did in many fights, he could have well suffered the same fate that Billy Conn did, and fell victim to Louis’ deadly combinations. Early in his career, Ali didn’t really have a great “knockout punch,” because he really didn’t have to, because his boxing skills and speed were so supreme, he really didn’t have to rely on his punching power as much as he did in his later career, and Joe Louis had a lot of stamina and could take a punch and come back for more, so it’s hard to say who would have prevailed, but either way, I think it would have been a hell of a fight.