Joe Louis meets Jack Dempsey on 1951 talk show - rare footage

Very interesting vid for history nuts. The host asks them various questions which are actually pretty good for the most part.

 

I just realized that Joe Louis and Rampage Jackson sound exactly the same, with the exception that Joe's significantly more humble and less rowdy. Nice Vid!

 

Nice find. You can see why those two are so revered, even beyond their fighting accomplishments.

 

This makes me wonder how much were these guys making for tv appearances.

 

At the beginning I saw it but the more I listened to it the less he sounded like Rampage to me

 

Thanks a lot for sharing - really enjoyed it.

 

Jack Dempsey picked Joey Maxim to win and Joe Louis picked Ezzard Charles to win. I also noticed how modest Joe was when asked if he could beat a prime Dempsey. Joe would've smashed him regardless of what Joe himself thought.

 

Thank you

 

Most boxers will reply in the same manner about the boxers who came before them. New boxers are always trained, or brain washed, into putting the old guys on a mantle. Or I guess boxing has too many legends for it's own good. Legends become legend.

I also thought Dempsey's delay in answering the question about the state of boxers today was interesting, like he wanted to say more. There are quotes from around that time where Dempsey is ripping into how bad the sport has become.

Another thing kind of cool is that the audience and host treat Joe with respect. Just thought it was kind of strange to see a black man being treated so well like that on TV in the 50s. I remember reading white people were afraid of Louis as they feared he would be the second coming of Jack Johnson.

 

I'd hate to cause a stir, but racial stratification wasn't as omnipresent as people today believe. Especially at the national level of society where men like Joe Louis could work and conduct business above state-level Jim Crow laws.

It is true that typical Americans feared he would become the new Jack Johnson and Joe knew this himself and adjusted his public image accordingly. That isn't to say that he was fake or that he had a secret personality like Jack Johnson's, but that he knew how to present himself in a way that addressed this exact fear.

 

Boxers were regulars on talk shows back in the day. Too bad its not that way anymore.

Theres a great video of Sandy Saddler and Willie Pep talking about their fights together on a talk show too. Tons of stuff like that actually.

 

Dempsey did say pretty critical things about the eras fighters in the classic book that came out at the time. ONe of the most pertinent was saying how boxers used the jab as a slap and not a punch, I think by and large that was true. However, even here, his body mechanics do not look evolved, the way he throws the hook is not how the eras fighters did and in my opinion, the using the body to coil before the arm even moves is an improvement over the fighters of the dempsey and pre dempsey era, they always look stiff to me. Joe was an anamoly, he was beloved by everyone, everyone. Also, interesting how shrunken jack is, he'd be in his mid fifties and he hardly looks over 6 feet and joe was always listed at 6-1 which was dempseys height in his prime.

 

Who wants to talk to Floyd Mayweather on their talk show? Let alone a regular? A lot of the dudes nowadays are jokers, completely full of themselves.

 

Thank you TS. Both were incredibly humble. Seemed like real gentleman. Fighters like mayweather and Judah could learn a thing or two from this video.

 

Chelsea Lately.

 

lol, they wouldn't invite him on TV to disrespect him. They thought about that of Louis before he became a champion. Joe had to follow some strict rules in public appearances but it paid off since he got the title shot and after a while he was loved. Those rules are probably the reasons why he always seems to pause before giving his short answers.

 

Love watching those old "The Way It Was" clips.

 

Who?