Joe Louis versus Max Schmeling
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The Joe Louis versus Max Schmeling fights are among boxing's most talked about fights. The fights were seen by many members of society around the world in a wider sense than that of being just a fight between two Heavyweights: Because of the social and political changes that the United States and Germany were going through during the 1930s, the fights were seen by many as a statement of political and social superiority by the winner.
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[edit] Prelude to first fight
Joe Louis was born in Alabama, but raised in Detroit. As an African American who was successful in his profession and who lived in the Northern part of the country, Louis was seen by many other Americans as a symbol of the liberated black person. As Louis ran a record of 23-0, many other blacks were being tortured and killed in the United States' Southern states by members of the Ku Klux Klan.
Max Schmeling, on the other hand, was born in Germany, and he had become the first world Heavyweight champion to win the title by a disqualification, against Jack Sharkey, who also happened to be American. Having lost the title to Sharkey by a decision in a rematch, he was thought by many boxing fans to be on the decline before he and Louis met for the first time. Schmeling was well known to American boxing fans, but Louis had built a reputation comparable to that of Mike Tyson fifty years later, and Schmeling was widely believed to be only a stepping stone in Louis' way towards the world Heavyweight title.
Adolf Hitler had become chancellor of Germany in 1933, and, although the United States and Germany were not yet, politically speaking, enemies, there was some tension building among the two countries as Hitler began promoting his anti-Jewish ideology to German citizens.
[edit] The first fight
The first fight between Louis and Schmeling happened on June 19, 1936, at the famous Yankee Stadium in New York, New York. The referee was the legendary Arthur Donovan, and the stadium's seats were sold out. The bout was scheduled for fifteen rounds.
Schmeling had studied Louis' style, and he claimed to have the key to victory on the days prior to the fight; fans thought that he was just trying to raise fan interest in the fight. Nevertheless, boxing fans still wanted to see the rising star against the famed former world champion.
Schmeling spent the first three rounds using his jab, while sneaking his right cross behind his jab. Louis was stunned by his rival's style. In the fourth round, a snapping right landed on Louis' chin, and Louis was sent to the canvas for the first time in his twenty four professional fights. As the fight progressed, stunned fans and critics alike saw as Schmeling continued to use this style effectively, and Louis apparently had no idea how to solve the fistic puzzle Schmeling was representing.
As rounds went by, Louis suffered various injuries, including injuries to one of his eyes. Louis remained busy, trying to land a punch that would give him a knockout victory, but, with eyesight trouble and Schmeling's jab constantly on his face, this possibility would prove to be impossible.
By round twelve, Schmeling was wide ahead on the judges' scorecards. Finally, he landed a right to Louis' body, followed by another right hand, this one to the jaw. Louis fell near his corner, and was counted out by Donovan. This was Louis' only knockout defeat while in his prime: he only suffered two knockout defeats through his career, and, when Rocky Marciano knocked Louis out fifteen years later, Louis was considered a faded champion and Marciano was, coincidentally, a star on the rise.
[edit] Prelude to second fight
Louis went on to become world Heavyweight champion on June 22 of 1937, knocking out James J. Braddock in eight rounds at Chicago. But he publicly announced after the fight that he refused to recognize himself as world champion until he met Schmeling again.
The United States economy had long been suffering from the so called great depression when these two combatants had their two fights. The economical problem affected the United States through the 1930s, and 1938 was not the exception. Many Americans felt in need of anything to inspire them to go on.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Hitler was gaining power as he began to invade other countries, which would later lead to World War II. The United States' government did not like the fact that Nazi Germany was winning size, power and economical status. Afraid that Hitler and the Nazis would eventually gain control of the world's economy and also kill non-Whites, The United States was considering warfare and there was much anti-German propaganda in the American media. The German media also had propagandas against any country that opposed the Nazi ideology.
Schmeling was cast as a Nazi German by Americans, a fact that would later prove false because Schmeling was anti-nazi; he used to hide Jews in his home to protect them against Nazi soldiers. Stereotyping him as a Nazi, however, would prove to be an important part of promoting the rematch.
The second Louis-Schmeling fight was seen by Americans and Nazi Germans alike, as good versus evil.
[edit] The second fight
The Louis-Schmeling rematch came on June 22, 1938, one year to the date that Louis had won the world Heavyweight title. It took place exactly in the same place the first fight had been fought at: New York's Yankee Stadium.
The second fight, because of the aforementioned reasons, also created wide interest among boxing fans. Yankee Stadium seats were, once again, sold out. As there was no television, a large number of fans in the United States, Germany and many other countries stuck by their radios to hear live fight commentary.
Hitler himself had admitted being a Schmeling fan, and he made sure that every German home get the fight's radio transmission, believing that Schmeling, because of his skin color, would prove White supremacy by beating Louis again.
The referee was, once again, Arthur Donovan.
Schmeling came out of his corner trying to utilize the same style that got him the victory in their first fight. With a straight standing look and his left hand prepared to begin jabbing, he met the roaring Louis at ring center. But Louis had arguably become a better fighter since their first meeting, and he started throwing punches from all angles, with Schmeling unable to evade most of them.
Schmeling was sent to the canvas less than one minute into the fight. He arose at the count of three. Louis went on the attack again, and Schmeling tried to duck, but he was positioned against the ropes and absorbed a lot of punishment. He went down for the second time shortly after that, but rose before Donovan could even begin to count. The fight was allowed to continue by Donovan, but Louis connected with another series of punches, and Schmeling went down for the third time, this time near the ring's center. Schmeling's cornermen threw thir corner's towel as a signal of giving up, but Donovan had waved the fight off anyway, making Louis the winner, and still world Heavyweight champion, by a knockout, two minutes and four seconds into the first round.
[edit] Aftermath
It has been said that Hitler ordered the fight to be taken off the air in Germany as soon as Schmeling fell for the first time. As a way of punishing Schmeling for what Hitler saw as a "disgrace" to Germany, he forced Schmeling to become a member of the German Army by volunteering him for paratrooper duty.
Schmeling retired from boxing shortly after the fight. He would go on to use the money earned from his fighting days investing in various businesses and he was the first man to bring the Coca Cola brand to Germany. Schmeling is viewed in Germany as one of the most popular sportsmen and is often even seen as a national hero. He was a modest and courageous sportsmen, even during his country's nazi period. He died in 2005. Schmeling was anticipating to celebrate his 100th birthday, but died shortly before.
Louis, on the other side, became a hero in the United States, becoming one of the first Black persons to be held in high esteem by most American Whites. He was seen both by Whites and Blacks across his country as a symbol of hope. He would go on and serve the United States Army during World War II, but he did not engage in battle while the war was going on. He mostly visited soldiers in Europe to provide them with motivational speeches and with boxing exhibitions. He kept defending the world Heavyweight title until 1949, making twenty five consecutive title defenses, which constitutes a world record in all of boxing's seventeen different weight divisions as far as the most defenses by a world champion. He became engaged in drugs and also made investments, but he was not as successful as Schmeling business-wise, and he lost most of the money he earned as a fighter.
Louis and Schmeling became very good friends outside the ring, and their friendship endured until Louis' death, in 1981. Louis got a job as a greeter at the Caesar's Palace hotel in Las Vegas, and Schmeling would fly to visit him every year until Louis died. Schmeling was a pallbearer at Louis' funeral.
They are both members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
