vertebrae in his back during his vicious assault. It was a truly chilling example of power punching from Louis.
Joe Louis went on to make twenty-five weight title defences, more than
any other heavyweight champion before or since, donating large
amounts of his purses to the war effort during World War Two. He is
generally regarded as either the greatest heavyweight of all time or
at the very least number two behind Muhammed Ali, and is in most
experts' top ten pound-for-pound greatest lists.
In spite of all the charity work, the donations of purses and generally being regarded as the first African American to burst through the race barriers in sport, he was hounded by the American tax authorities, the IRS, for unpaid taxes and headed in to his later life virtually broke, having to make ends meet by taking a job as a casino meeter and greeter .
Joe Louis died of a heart attack on 12th April 1981 in a hotel room in Las Vegas. He was buried at Arlington Cemetery with full military honours. A privilege only reserved for national heros.
Max Schmeling insisted on helping to pay for the funeral costs and was given the honour of being one of the Pallbearers for Louis. The legendary Sports commentator Jimmy Cannon said of Louis “He was a credit to his race, the human race.”
Max Schmeling returned to Germany and never again challenged for a world title. He served with the German Air Force as an elite Paratrooper during World War Two and was part of the airbourne invasion of Crete, which was met with stiff resistance from the Australian armed forces who were defending the island. Schmeling was wounded in action after being shot in the knee, and because of this injury he would play no further part in the war. Beacause of the devastating loss of German life in that battle, Hitler decreed that his Elite Paratroopers would never again drop in to battle from an aircraft.
After the war, Schmeling launched a comeback before finally retiring in 1948. He became firm friends with Louis who would often visit him in Germany. Max went on to be the CEO of Coca Cola in Europe and lived to the ripe old age of 99, passing away in 2005.