Max Schmeling

Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (September 28, 1905 – February 2, 2005) was a German boxer whose two Heavyweight championship fights with Joe Louis transcended boxing and became worldwide social events which will forever be linked to the rivalry between Americans and Germans before World War II.

Fighting Joe Louis

Schmeling was thought to be a "shot" fighter and in 1936, the situation in Germany had changed. Schmeling came over to New York once again to face the up-and-coming black American, Joe Louis, who was undefeated and considered unbeatable at the time. However, Schmeling had studied movies of his opponent and found a gap in his coverage. He surprised the boxing world by handing Louis his first defeat, dropping him in round four and knocking him out in the 12th. Schmeling returned to Germany via the Hindenburg to a hero's welcome, while receiving hardly any support before the fight.

Related Topics:
1936 - Germany - New York - Black - Joe Louis - Hindenburg

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Louis and his mainly black supporters were devastated by the defeat. He was so affected that when he finally won the world Heavyweight crown in 1937, he said he would not consider himself a champion until he beat Schmeling in a rematch.

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The rematch came, at Yankee Stadium on June 22, 1938, with Louis defending his crown. By then, a second world war was clearly looming on the horizon, and the fight was viewed worldwide as symbolic battle for superiority between two likely adversaries. In American pre-fight publicity, Schmeling was cast as the Nazi warrior, while Louis was being pictured as a defender of American ideals. The fight was broadcast by radio all over the United States and Europe, and after Louis dropped Schmeling for the first time in the first round Adolf Hitler ordered that the broadcast of the fight to Germany be cut off. Germans wouldn't find out what happened until later on. Louis retained the title by a technical knockout later in the first, and Hitler took this defeat as an embarrassment to his country.

Related Topics:
Yankee Stadium - June 22 - 1938 - Nazi - Europe - Adolf Hitler - Germany

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