When boxing fans discuss the best ever, Muhammad Ali is usually the first name mentioned, though there is another heavyweight whose achievements mark some of the most impressive in all of the sport.
Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, Rocky Marciano, George Foreman and so many more will go down in history as some of the best heavyweights to ever lace the gloves.
But there is one heavyweight whose reign lasted longer than any other, who made 25 title defenses in his 11 year title reign.
The man who defeated Max Scmeling, Jersey Joe Walcott, and James ‘The Cinderella Man’ Braddock.
Joe Louis still holds the record for most consecutive title defenses
Joe Louis retired in 1951 at the age of 37 years old. His record was an astounding 66-3, and he was even able to avenge one of those losses against a particularly dangerous heavyweight.
Louis won the world title in 1937 against James Braddock. Braddock is more commonly known as ‘The Cinderella Man’ as a result of his ability to bounce back from obscurity when, after 22 losses, he breathed new life into his career and worked his way up to the heavyweight championship.
Louis’ title run ran all the way up to 1948 and ended only when he retired. His retirement would not last long, though, as Louis would return in 1950 against Ezzard Charles, who handed him the second defeat of his career, and one he would not avenge.
Louis fought eight more times before facing Marciano, who handed him his third and final loss.
Joe Louis taunts Max Schmeling after winning rematch
In 1936, Louis faced Max Schmeling. At the time, Schmeling held a record of 48-7-4, and despite being a former world champion, was considered the underdog against the undefeated Louis.
Schmeling would defy the odds, however, and hand Louis his first professional defeat by twelfth round knockout.
The German fighter taunted Louis after, posing for a photograph with a newspaper which depicted his win on the front cover.
Louis would get his own back on Schmeling, though, when two years later he stopped him in the very first round, and posed with a newspaper depicting his victory shortly after.
Louis certainly made his mark in the heavyweight division and deserves to be remembered alongside the likes of Ali, whose fight against Joe Frazier was watched by 10% of the world’s population, Foreman, who bounced back from his loss to Ali with one of the best bouts of all time, and the rest of the very best the sport has given us.