Joe Louis faces his first real challenge in former World Heavyweight Champion, Max Baer. Baer was a happy-go-lucky character who liked to entertain the crowds with his clown-like ring antics however he also possessed lethal punching power and was arguably the most popular fighter of the early 1930's. More info below...
Max Baer, nicknamed the "Livermore Larupper", started his career in 1929. Baer racked up 24 fights in his first 13 months for a 22-2 record and had beaten some experienced fighters in the likes of Ernie Owens and Tony Fuente but nobody of any real note. Baer's first serious challenge came in July 1930 against one of California's best, Les Kennedy. Baer lost an extremely one-sided decision showcasing he was still a very raw fighter with many areas to improve on. In his next fight Baer stopped KO Christner within 2 rounds earning him another big fight this time against Frankie Campbell, a man who had beaten Baer's previous rival Les Kennedy. The outcome of this fight would end in tragedy as after just 5 rounds Baer was declared the victor by KO but not before Kennedy had received an unnecessary amount of punishment when the referee failed to step in sooner. Kennedy was carried to his corner where he fell unconscious and then taken to hospital shortly after. The doctor's declared “Campbell’s brain was knocked completely loose from his skull." and he died the following day. Although the death of Kennedy was blamed on the ref and his corner men for not intervening, Baer was still heavily effected and even contemplated leaving the sport taking a 4 month hiatus, the longest gap he had ever taken between fights. He returned in Dec 1930 but lost a 10 round decision to Ernie Schaaf after tiring in the early rounds while looking for a quick KO. Baer started off 1931 with a controversial win over tough New Zealand fighter Tom Heeney, who was incorrectly counted out after 8 seconds instead of 10 in the 3rd round. Baer went on to lose decisions to Tommy Loughran, Johnny Risko and Paulino Uzcudun before his luck picked up again. Starting in September 1931 Baer went undefeated in 13 fights over the next 3 years picking up the biggest wins of his career along the way which eventually earned him a World title shot against the lumbering Primo Carnera. Carnera was the giant World Champion who was controlled by the mob but in 1934 Baer showed the world Carnera was nothing more than a 6'6" bum knocking the World Champion down 12 times (reportedly) before the ref stopped it in the 11th. Baer's first defense of the World Heavyweight title didn't go as planned however when he lost it to Jim Braddock in 1935. Baer took Braddock for granted and came in ill-prepared losing a close 15 round decision. Baer's record following the loss was 40-8.
Joe Louis had turned pro in 1934 and was quickly making waves as a young boxer to watch. The color line which was in effect since Jack Johnson lost the world title in 1915 was still in apparent effect and the early part of Joe Louis' career was still tainted with racism however Louis' management team had put in a lot of effort to make Louis a far more acceptable "black athlete" for white America by making Louis obey a clear set of rules both inside and outside the ring such as not being seen with white woman in public, not speaking unless spoken to and never raising his voice. Prior to meeting Baer, Louis had stopped former Champion Primo Carnera in 6 rounds and made short work of King Levinsky by TKO in round 1. Louis was undefeated in 21 fights heading in against Baer with 17 by way of KO.
Joe Louis felt his win against Baer was the best performance of his entire career. The win was not without controversy however as there were multiple time keeping errors and Baer was fighting with a broken right hand. The start of the fight was delayed by 45 minutes due to poor weather but once it got underway Baer was clearly outclassed. In the third round Baer was floored for the first time in his career by 2 rights to the head and saved by the bell to end the round but he also had an extra long time to recover as the rest period between rounds 3 & 4 was 74 seconds instead of the regulation 60. Baer was knocked down again in the 4th round however this time he was not saved by the bell and instead counted out although due to a time keeping error the round should have actually ended 9 seconds earlier which would have saved Baer... Baer was humble in defeated and when asked about the time keeping errors he responded by saying, "What's the difference? I was beaten and beaten in grand fashion." Baer was also quoted with saying "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."
