Career Capsule: "The Brown Bomber" Joe Louis

Joe Louis
Date of Birth: May 13, 1914
Hails from: Chambers County, Alabama
Record: 66-3, 52 KO

Lineal Championships

• World Heavyweight (1937-49, 25 Defenses)

Record in Title Fights: 26-1, 22 KO

Ranked Opponents (Ring Magazine; Lineal Champions in Bold)

• 12/14/1934: TKO8 Lee Ramage (Ring #10, Cover Date: 01/35 - Hvy)

• 01/04/1935: W10 Patsy Perroni (Ring #6, CD: 01/35 - Hvy)

• 03/29/1935: UD10 Natie Brown (Ring #10, CD: 05/35 - Hvy)

• 06/25/1935: TKO6 Primo Carnera (Ring #4, CD: 08/35 - Hvy)

• 08/07/1935: TKO1 King Levinsky (Ring #10, CD: 10/35 - Hvy)

• 09/24/1935: KO4 Max Baer KO 4 (Ring #1, CD: 11/35 - Hvy)

• 01/17/1936: KO1 Charley Retzlaff (Ring #4, CD: 03/36 - Hvy)

• 06/19/1936: KO by 12 Max Schmeling (Ring #2, CD: 08/36 - Hvy)

• 08/18/1936: KO3 Jack Sharkey KO 3 (Ring #4, CD: 10/36 - Hvy)

• 09/22/1936: KO5 Al Ettore KO 5 (Ring #3, CD: 11/36 - Hvy)

• 01/29/1937: UD10 Bob Pastor UD 10 (Ring #5, CD: 03/37 - Hvy)

• 06/22/1937: KO8 James Braddock (World Heavyweight Champion)

• 08/30/1937: UD15 Tommy Farr UD 15 (Ring #3, CD: 10/37 - Hvy)

• 02/23/1937: KO3 Nathan Mann (Ring #3, CD: 04/38 - Hvy)

• 06/22/1938: KO1 Max Schmeling (Ring #1, CD: 08/38 - Hvy)

• 01/25/1939: KO1 John Henry Lewis (World Light Heavyweight Champion)

• 06/28/1939: TKO4 Tony Galento (Ring #3, CD: 08/39 - Hvy)

• 09/20/1939: KO11 Bob Pastor (Ring #2, CD: 11/39 - Hvy)

• 03/29/1940: TKO2 Johnny Paycheck (Ring #5, CD: 05/40 - Hvy)

• 06/20/1940: TKO8 Arturo Godoy (Ring #1, CD: 08/40 - Hvy)

• 01/31/1941: KO5 Red Burman (Ring #4, CD: 03/41 - Hvy)

• 05/23/1941: DQ7 Buddy Baer (Ring #5, CD: 07/41)

• 06/18/1941: KO13 Billy Conn KO 13 (Ring #2, CD: 08/41 – Hvy)

• 09/29/1941: TKO6 Lou Nova TKO 6 (Ring #1, CD: 11/41 - Hvy)

• 01/09/1942: KO1 Buddy Baer (Ring #4, CD: 02/42 – Hvy)

• 03/27/1942: TKO6 Abe Simon TKO 6 (Ring #6, CD: 05/42 - Hvy)

• 06/19/1946: KO8 Billy Conn (Ring #1, CD: 08/46 – Hvy)

• 09/18/1946: KO1 Tami Mauriello (Ring #1, CD: 11/46 – Hvy)

• 12/05/1947: SD15 Jersey Joe Walcott (Ring #1, CD: 01/48 – Hvy)

• 06/25/1948: KO11 Jersey Joe Walcott (Ring #1, CD: 08/48 – Hvy)

• 09/27/1950: L15 Ezzard Charles (Ring #1, CD: 11/50 – Hvy)

• 06/15/1951: KO6 Lee Savold (Ring #4, CD: 07/51 – Hvy)

• 08/01/1951: UD10 Cesar Brion (Ring #8, CD: 09/51 – Hvy)

• 10/16/1951: TKO by 8 Rocky Marciano (Ring #3, CD: 12/51 - Hvy)

Unranked Additional Hall of Famers Faced

• 08/15/1951: UD10 Jimmy Bivins

Honorarium

• Record - Consecutive Title Defenses - 25

• Record - Heavyweight Title Defenses in a Single Year - 7 (1941)

• Record - Longest Title Reign (11 Years, 10 Months)

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year - 1935

• Ring Magazine Fighter or the Year - 1936, 1938, 1939, 1941

• Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year - 1941

• Ring Magazine Hall of Fame Inaugural Class - 1954

• Ring Magazine 50th Anniversary Top 10 Events #6 (Schmeling II) and #8 (Conn I) - 1972

• Ring Magazine 50th Anniversary Top 10 Personalities #4 - 1972

• Ring Magazine Greatest Heavyweights #1 - 1975

• Big Book of Boxing Greatest Heavyweights in History #1 - 1978

• Boxing Writers Association of America Greatest Heavyweights #1 - 1978

• International Boxing Hall of Fame Inaugural Class - 1990

• Ring Magazine Greatest Heavyweights #2 - 1994

• Ring Magazine Greatest Punchers #1 - 1995

• Ring Magazine 100 Greatest Title Fights #6 - 1996 (Conn - 1941)

• International Boxing Digest All-Time Pound for Pound #22 - 1997

• International Boxing Digest All-Time Heavyweight #2 - 1997

• Ring Magazine Greatest Heavyweights #2 - 1998

• Ring Magazine Greatest of the 20th Century #2 - 1999

• Associated Press Fighters of the 20th Century #4 - 1999

• Associated Press Heavyweights of the 20th Century #2 - 1999

• ESPN Sports Century Top 50 Athletes #11 - 1999

• Ring Magazine 80 Greatest of the Last 80 Years #4 - 2002

• Ring Magazine Greatest Punchers #1 - 2003

• Ring Magazine Greatest Title Reigns #1 - 2005

• International Boxing Research Organization All-Time Heavyweights #1 - 2005

• International Boxing Research Organization All-Time Greatest Fighters #4 - 2006

• Boxing News Top Ten Fighters 1909-39 #4 - 2009

• Boxing News Top Ten All-Time Fighters 1940-69 #2 - 2009

• BoxingScene Top 25 Heavyweights All-Time #2 - 2010

• Ring Magazine Greatest Heavyweights All-Time #2 - 2017

• International Boxing Research Organization All-Time Heavyweights #2 - 2019

• International Boxing Research Organization All-Time Greatest Fighters #8 - 2019

• Ring Magazine Top 100 Boxers in the History of the Ring Rankings #2 - 2021

• Ring Magazine Greatest Punchers of the Last 100 Years #1 - 2022