Show SPEAKING A OF S 0 y ROBERT mcshane released Rele asad by western poper urion fighting man alart JOE LOUIS may not be the greatest fighter who ever stepped into the ring but theres one thing on which boxing experts agree he is the greatest fighting man of our time the greatest in history label has been pinned on just about every heavyweight champion of the past john L sullivan james J bob fitzsimmons james J jeffries jack johnson jess willard jack dempsey and gene tunney all have been granted this enthusiastic thusia honor no one can say who is truly deserving of it one thing is certain however louis has been the most active of all champions he has defended his title 19 times an almost unbelievable figure when compared to the frequent fighters of a past era johnson and dempsey each went to the post seven seven times in defense of ther title since 1934 louis a golden glove champion has had 55 professional fights of those opponents 47 were unable to go the route louis was forced to go all the way in only seven matches he was beaten once during that time when max knocked him out in 1936 quantity over quality even the most ardent louis supporter will concede that many of his challengers were far from dangerous 9 erous indeed many of them would have had to improve considerably sider ably before they could cl climb in into to the ham and egg division but joe responsible for this sorry lack of worthwhile competition he fought the best men available pretenders to the throne made up in quantity what they lacked in quality which was slightly colossal joes willingness to stand the grind of training tor for such long periods of time is perhaps the major reason for his long reign few champions in history would submit to such a routine that is why most of the other title holders fought sc seldom after reaching the top even dempsey took a three year rest between the firpo and tunney fights most fighters hate to train they dislike the road work thi the dullness of camp life the absence of bright lights and the unvarying routine louis has been extraordinary in this respect he trained as thoroughly for one fight as for another regardless gard less of his opponent louis willingness to work hard for victory will remain one of the high spots of his career he deserves his triumphs with cometh something ing like a million dollars on hand its not easy to turn away from the places where at least part of it can be spent |