Statue Erected in Alabama for Joe Louis, Boxing Great and Adolf Hitler Enemy
An eight foot bronze statue of “The Brown Bomber” Joe Louis will be unveiled Saturday in the International Boxing Hall of Famer’s hometown of LaFayette, Alabama.
Residents of the town of approximately 3,000 people managed to raise nearly $60,000 over a span of three years to pay for the sculpture to be built.
The statue of Louis, which has a base of Alabama red granite, will be situated outside of the Chambers County Courthouse in LaFayette.
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Louis (65-3-0-1, 51 KOs), who in 2005 was named the greatest heavyweight ever by the International Boxing Research Organization, was born six miles northwest of LaFayette in 1914.
“The Brown Bomber” transcended boxing and he is widely considered to be the first black man that the American public openly supported.
Louis, who volunteered to enlist in the United States Army in 1942, possessed keen footwork and agility and he was blessed with tremendous power in both of his fists.
As the boxing-obsessed character, Mendy Ripstein, empathically declared in the movie Undisputed, “Joe Louis was the best heavyweight that ever fought under the modern rules. No discussion, the best.”
In a matchup that had both athletic and political implications, Louis battled German pugilist Max “Black Uhlan of the Rhine” Schmeling (56-10-4, 40 KOs) in June 1936 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
Despite the fact that Schmeling never endorsed the Nazi regime, he was viewed by many Americans as an enemy because he happened to hail from Germany.
In a genuinely shocking upset, Schmeling ruined Louis’ unblemished mark in the ring when he achieved a 12th round knockout victory.
After Schmeling emerged victorious over Louis, the “Black Uhlan of the Rhine” became a national hero in Germany and many Nazi officials gleefully claimed that his triumph over an African-American proved the validity of Aryan superiority.
Two years after he suffered his first loss as a professional, Louis faced Schmeling in a rematch that again occurred at Yankee Stadium.
The second fight between Louis and Schmeling is fondly remembered as one of the major sports events of the 20th century.
Amidst international unrest, Americans hoped that Louis would overwhelm Schmeling and restore their national pride.
“I knew I had to get Schmeling good,” Louis recalled. “I had my own personal reasons and the whole damned country was depending on me.”
Louis ultimately avenged his lone loss when he brutalized Schmeling and earned a dynamic first round knockout to retain his title.
“The Brown Bomber” tallied an impressive 22 consecutive wins after his defeat at the hands of Schmeling.
Sadly, Louis did not experience the same success outside of the ring as he did as a prizefighter.
A series of unfortunate and unjust factors thrust Louis in extreme financial debt with the government.
Primarily to rebound monetarily, a worn Louis challenged a young brawler from Brockton named Rocky Marciano (49-0, 43 KOs) in October 1951.
Regardless of the fact that odds makers installed him as a 6-5 favorite, few boxing insiders truly believed that Louis had a chance to beat the mighty Marciano.
Predictably, Marciano reluctantly pounded Louis and won by an eighth round knockout.
“I’m sorry, Joe,” Marciano said to Louis after the bout.
“What’s the use of crying? The better man won,” Louis replied to Marciano. “I guess everything happens for the best.”
Thanks to donations made by people ranging from Schmeling to notorious organized crime boss Frank Lucas, “The Brown Bomber” was able to live a stable and comfortable existence until his death in April 1981.
An unnamed writer once characterized Louis as “a credit to his race.”
Famed New York Post sportswriter Jimmy Cannon interjected and corrected the aforementioned journalist.
“Yes, Joe Louis is a credit to his race,” wrote Cannon. “The human race.”
The citizens of LaFayette should be proud to know that a man of Joe Louis’ stature was born in their city.
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