Joe Louis(1914-1981)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Joe Louis is considered by many fistic experts and fans as the greatest
Heavyweight Boxing Champion in the sport's history. Born into a poor
family, Joe Louis's mother felt the only way her son could escape
poverty was through music. She bought him a violin and sent him off
daily to lessons. On his way there, young Joe would pass by a boxing
gym. In no time, he was working out at the gym, training for a boxing
career. His amateur career started off disastrously, as he was
knocked-out down 16 times in losing the fight. However, he was
determined to continue and posted an outstanding amateur career with
only 5 defeats in 60 fights. He turned professional and quickly racked
up one of the most impressive winning streaks in boxing history. He was
nicknamed, The Brown Bomber, and became the first boxer to defeat six
heavyweight champions (Primo Carnera,
Max Baer,
Jack Sharkey,
Jimmy Braddock,
Max Schmeling, and
Jersey Joe Walcott). After winning
the championship, he held it almost 12 years to set a record, plus set
another record with 25 successful title defenses. He retired with a
60-1 record, only to make an unsuccessful and very sad comeback at the
age of 37. While champion, Joe Louis volunteered to join the U.S. Army
at the height of his career. He made two title defenses in which he
donated his entire purses to relief funds to help both the Army and the
Navy. He spent almost five years in the service and boxed hundreds of
exhibitions. However, after the war, he was hounded by the Internal
Revenue Service to pay back taxes on the purses he had donated. He
suffered terribly through this ordeal. and soon found himself broke. He
launched a "controversial" pro-wrestling career and was undefeated in
some 20 matches before retiring with a heart problem. He was helped by
his good friend Frank Sinatra and acted in
a few films, worked as a host in Las Vegas, and made numerous
appearances for boxing. He died a few years after suffering a massive
stroke. Joe Louis was buried with full-military honors, and it was said
that he was "most" proud of his European-African-Middle Eastern Medal
and his Victory Medal World War II. In or out of the ring, Joe Louis
was a Champion.
