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Browsing Tag Joe Louis

Boxiana 0
April 11, 1981: Holmes vs Berbick

In 1981 few doubted that Larry Holmes was one of the best boxers in the world, but rarely had the holder of the most coveted prize in all ...
On April 11, 2021 / By Robert Portis
The Top Twelve 1
Top 12 All-Time Greatest Upsets In Boxing History

How does one measure an upset? Simple: by the number of chins on the floor at the end of the fight. And the power of the shockwaves felt ...
On March 28, 2021 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 1
March 27, 1942: Louis vs Simon II

It is 1942 and war rages across much of the world. While it hasn’t reached the shores of North America, the conflict and its destruction looms over everything ...
On March 27, 2021 / By Hunter Breckenridge
Lee Wylie 4
Joe Louis: Mechanical Wonder

“I could have struggled up once more, but when I get executed, people are going to have to pay more than twenty-five dollars a seat to watch it.” ...
On March 6, 2021 / By Lee Wylie
Boxiana 7
Fight City Legends: The Boston Bonecrusher

When we compare the great fighting champions of past and present, inevitably we draw a distinction between the true warrior and the mere athlete. At that point we ...
On March 3, 2021 / By Michael Carbert
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March 2, 1980: Kenty vs Espana

After decades of decline, Detroit, Michigan, attempted to reverse the years of stagnation and neglect and reassert itself in the late 70s as one of America’s great cities. A ...
On March 2, 2021 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 6
Feb. 25, 1964: Clay vs Liston I

An earthquake. The ground collapsing beneath one’s feet. All that is established and familiar giving way to things new and strange and frightening. We’re only human so don’t ...
On February 25, 2021 / By Michael Carbert
Fight City Reviews 2
The Boxing Kings

It’s a most intriguing irony that prizefighting–a brutal and exploitative enterprise baptized as “the red light district of sports” by the late Jimmy Cannon–is the most romanticized of ...
On February 13, 2021 / By Rafael García
Boxiana 0
Feb. 1, 1965: Patterson vs Chuvalo

The popularity of boxing has waxed and waned over the decades, but the 1950s saw a new source of anxiety emerge for professional prizefighting: television. With boxing featured ...
On February 1, 2021 / By Michael Carbert
Features 3
Above All Mortals

With boxing still profoundly affected by the ongoing pandemic, we will continue to periodically revisit some of our past feature articles. Today, on the anniversary of the great ...
On January 12, 2021 / By Patrick Connor
Fight City Reviews 1
The Story Of The Cincinnati Cobra

Like anyone who identifies as something of a boxing diehard, I’m familiar with the name Ezzard Charles. However, if pressed I could not tell you much more than ...
On January 11, 2021 / By Ronnie McCluskey
Boxiana 1
Jan. 9, 1942: Louis vs Baer II

It is 1942, a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and America is at war. As the country enters this new chapter in its history, one thing remains ...
On January 9, 2021 / By Michael Carbert
Boxiana 4
Coal For Christmas

If James Braddock is “The Cinderella Man,” then what do we call Arnold Cream, aka Jersey Joe Walcott? Braddock’s story of perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable ...
On December 25, 2020 / By Michael Carbert
Boxiana 4
Dec. 5, 1947: Louis vs Walcott I

Bad decisions. Robberies. Ridiculous scorecards. Maybe nothing sickens a fight fan more than judges rendering a final verdict which makes a mockery of a hard-fought contest. Sadly, such ...
On December 5, 2020 / By Michael Carbert
Boxiana 3
Nov. 30, 1956: Patterson vs Moore

In decades past, when undisputed heavyweight champions were the norm and not the exception, they inevitably created a great vacuum of power upon retiring. It was a mad scramble ...
On November 30, 2020 / By Patrick Connor
Boxiana 5
Nov. 18, 1970: Frazier vs Foster

When former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier died in 2011 it came as a shock to the boxing world. After all, he was a mere sixty-seven years of age ...
On November 18, 2020 / By Michael Carbert
Boxiana 7
Oct. 30, 1974: Ali vs Foreman

In 1974, George Foreman reigned supreme. The previous year he had astonished the sports world with his terrifying demolition of Joe Frazier, knocking Smokin’ Joe to the canvas ...
On October 30, 2020 / By Michael Carbert
Boxiana 0
Fight City Legends: The Boston Gob

In boxing history, there are the champions and there are those who fight among them. For every Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey, there were hundreds of ...
On October 26, 2020 / By Patrick Connor
Boxiana 3
Oct. 16, 1987: Tyson vs Biggs

It is 1987 and nothing and no one can stop heavyweight wrecking machine Mike Tyson. The year before he had blown away Trevor Berbick in two rounds to become ...
On October 17, 2020 / By Michael Carbert
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Oct. 5, 1936: Canzoneri vs McLarnin II

Tony Canzoneri vs Jimmy McLarnin. Two of the very best from one of boxing’s greatest decades, the 1930’s, the Depression years, the glorious time of Kid Chocolate, Barney ...
On October 5, 2020 / By Robert Portis
Boxiana 16
Sept. 28, 1976: Ali vs Norton III

In a time of endless and constant media exposure and thirty second attention spans, it is almost impossible to fully appreciate the larger-than-life fame and popularity of Muhammad ...
On September 28, 2020 / By Michael Carbert
Boxiana 4
Sept. 27, 1950: Charles vs Louis

There’s little doubt that Ezzard Charles is one of boxing’s most underrated champions. A skillful technician, he holds wins over a long list of great fighters and he ...
On September 27, 2020 / By Daniel Attias
Boxiana 6
Sept. 23, 1952: Marciano vs Walcott I

After a record breaking reign atop the big man division, the great Joe Louis had finally retired in 1948 and in the years immediately following boxing struggled to ...
On September 23, 2020 / By Michael Carbert
Boxiana 1
Sept. 21, 1985: Holmes vs Spinks I

In March of 1985, heavyweight champion Larry Holmes scored a tenth round stoppage of undefeated contender David Bey and then immediately announced that he was done. As in, ...
On September 21, 2020 / By Michael Carbert
Boxiana 8
Sept. 17, 1954: Marciano vs Charles II

On this day back in 1954, Rocky Marciano and Ezzard Charles clashed at Yankee Stadium to contest, for the second time in just three months, the heavyweight championship ...
On September 17, 2020 / By Eliott McCormick
The Top Twelve 4
Top 12 All-Time Greatest Uncrowned Champions

For most of boxing history, world title belts didn’t grow on trees, as they say, and even title shots were a rare and much sought-after commodity. Competition was ...
On September 15, 2020 / By Neil Crane
Columns 11
Happy Birthday To “The Rock”

Today is the birthday of legendary heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano and we’re always going to pay tribute to the one and only “Brockton Blockbuster,” regardless of the fact his famous ...
On September 1, 2020 / By Michael Carbert
Boxiana 0
Aug. 30, 1937: Louis vs Farr

The great Joe Louis, already something of a legend, made his first defense as heavyweight champion against Welshman Tommy Farr just nine weeks after his title-winning knockout over James ...
On August 30, 2020 / By Eliott McCormick
Boxiana 9
Aug. 25, 1930: Baer vs Campbell

At the end of the second, Frankie Campbell tells his corner, “Something feels like it broke in my head.” He’d put future heavyweight champion Max Baer down in ...
On August 25, 2020 / By David Como
Boxiana 0
Billy Conn: Risk vs Reward

“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.” — Soren Kierkegaard Over the decades we have been told time ...
On August 13, 2020 / By Douglas Cavanaugh