|
The son of a sharecropper, Joe Louis rose up through the ranks of amateur and professional boxing to become the world heavyweight champion, a title he held from 1937 to 1949. Louis is perhaps best known for his legendary match ups against German boxer Max Schmeling. Schmeling defeated Louis when they first fought in 1936, and in the run up to their 1938 rematch, the press imbued the bout with international political significance, portraying the match as an epic battle between Nazi ideology and American democratic ideals (even though Schmeling was never a member of the Nazi Party). When Louis defeated Schmeling by knockout in the first round, Louis became an American hero.
"Battle of the Century"
In 1938, champion Joe Louis announced that he would indeed face Schmeling for the title. The rematch became an instant international sensation. Many clamored impatiently for its happening, but others, afraid of international tensions and the possibility of Hitler taking over the championship, protested. The controversy and ballyhoo led to the event becoming the most anticipated boxing match since the rematch between Dempsey and Gene Tunney, or possibly earlier. Louis, with his poor, African-American roots was adopted by American fans as the symbol of America as a land of opportunity. In contrast, Americans perceived Schmeling and his ties to Hitler as an obvious threat to those opportunities and ideals. When the German walked to the ring at Yankee Stadium on June 22, 1938, he did so under a hail of garbage thrown from the stands. Louis came out blazing in the first round and Schmeling tried to counter-punch as he had in the first bout, but to no avail. Driven into the ropes and battered with a fusillade of short, crisp blows from every angle, Schmeling turned his back to his opponent and clutched onto the ropes, letting out a scream that even years later, many spectators could recall vividly. Schmeling would later say that he screamed because he had been hit with a blow to the kidneys. Schmeling's knees buckled under the punishment and referee Arthur Donovan pushed Louis away, beginning a count on Schmeling. Schmeling reluctantly stepped away from the ropes and Donovan allowed him to continue. A few punches later, Schmeling was knocked down again. From then on, he was helpless. He rose but fell moments later and Donovan stopped the fight.
Many years later, in 1975, Schmeling said, "Looking back, I'm almost happy I lost that fight. Just imagine if I would have come back to Germany with a victory. I had nothing to do with the Nazis, but they would have given me a medal. After the war I might have been considered a war criminal."(WIKI) |
