In a career spanning 17 years and 3 months, Joe Louis fought 69 times with 66 wins and 3 losses. By his last professional fight on October 26, 1951, Louis' boxing record stood at 66-3 (52 KO wins, 2 KO losses).
Joe Louis (Brown Bomber) was an American professional boxer. He was born in LaFayette, Alabama, U.S. on May 13, 1914. Louis made his professional boxing debut at the age of 20 on July 7, 1934. He was a heavyweight world champion. He died on April 12, 1981 at the age of 66 years. Louis is a Hall of Famer.
Total Fights | 69 |
---|---|
Wins | 66 |
Losses | 3 |
Draws | 0 |
No-Contests | 0 |
KO Wins | 52 |
---|---|
Total Title Wins | 3 |
Title Defenses | 26 |
Title-Fight KO Wins | 23 |
Losses via KO | 2 |
# | Date | Age | Opponent | Result | Via |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
69 | Oct 26, 1951 | 37 | Rocky Marciano | Loss | TKO8 |
68 | Aug 15, 1951 | 37 | Jimmy Bivins | Win | UD |
67 | Aug 1, 1951 | 37 | Cesar Brion | Win | UD |
66 | Jun 15, 1951 | 37 | Lee Savold | Win | KO6 |
65 | May 2, 1951 | 36 | Omelio Agramonte | Win | UD |
64 | Feb 23, 1951 | 36 | Andy Walker | Win | TKO10 |
63 | Feb 7, 1951 | 36 | Omelio Agramonte | Win | UD |
62 | Jan 3, 1951 | 36 | Freddie Beshore | Win | TKO4 |
61 | Nov 29, 1950 | 36 | Cesar Brion | Win | UD |
60 | Sep 27, 1950 | 36 | Ezzard Charles | Loss | UD |
59 | Jun 25, 1948 | 34 | Jersey Joe Walcott | Win | KO11 |
58 | Dec 5, 1947 | 33 | Jersey Joe Walcott | Win | SD |
57 | Sep 18, 1946 | 32 | Tami Mauriello | Win | KO1 |
56 | Jun 19, 1946 | 32 | Billy Conn | Win | KO8 |
55 | Nov 14, 1944 | 30 | Johnny Davis | Win | TKO1 |
54 | Mar 27, 1942 | 27 | Abe Simon | Win | TKO6 |
53 | Jan 9, 1942 | 27 | Buddy Baer | Win | KO1 |
52 | Sep 29, 1941 | 27 | Lou Nova | Win | TKO6 |
51 | Jun 18, 1941 | 27 | Billy Conn | Win | KO13 |
50 | May 23, 1941 | 27 | Buddy Baer | Win | DQ |
49 | Apr 8, 1941 | 26 | Tony Musto | Win | TKO9 |
48 | Mar 21, 1941 | 26 | Abe Simon | Win | TKO13 |
47 | Feb 17, 1941 | 26 | Gus Dorazio | Win | KO2 |
46 | Jan 31, 1941 | 26 | Red Burman | Win | KO5 |
45 | Dec 16, 1940 | 26 | Al McCoy | Win | RTD5 |
44 | Jun 20, 1940 | 26 | Arturo Godoy | Win | TKO8 |
43 | Mar 29, 1940 | 25 | Johnny Paychek | Win | TKO2 |
42 | Feb 9, 1940 | 25 | Arturo Godoy | Win | SD |
41 | Sep 20, 1939 | 25 | Bob Pastor | Win | KO11 |
40 | Jun 28, 1939 | 25 | Tony Galento | Win | TKO4 |
39 | Apr 17, 1939 | 24 | Jack Roper | Win | KO1 |
38 | Jan 25, 1939 | 24 | John Henry Lewis | Win | KO1 |
37 | Jun 22, 1938 | 24 | Max Schmeling | Win | KO1 |
36 | Apr 4, 1938 | 23 | Harry Thomas | Win | KO5 |
35 | Feb 23, 1938 | 23 | Nathan Mann | Win | KO3 |
34 | Aug 30, 1937 | 23 | Tommy Farr | Win | UD |
33 | Jun 22, 1937 | 23 | James J. Braddock | Win | KO8 |
32 | Feb 17, 1937 | 22 | Natie Brown | Win | KO4 |
31 | Jan 29, 1937 | 22 | Bob Pastor | Win | UD |
30 | Jan 11, 1937 | 22 | Steve Ketchel | Win | KO2 |
29 | Dec 14, 1936 | 22 | Eddie Simms | Win | TKO1 |
28 | Oct 9, 1936 | 22 | Jorge Brescia | Win | KO3 |
27 | Sep 22, 1936 | 22 | Al Ettore | Win | KO5 |
26 | Aug 18, 1936 | 22 | Jack Sharkey | Win | KO3 |
25 | Jun 19, 1936 | 22 | Max Schmeling | Loss | KO12 |
24 | Jan 17, 1936 | 21 | Charley Retzlaff | Win | KO1 |
23 | Dec 13, 1935 | 21 | Paulino Uzcudun | Win | TKO4 |
22 | Sep 24, 1935 | 21 | Max Baer | Win | KO4 |
21 | Aug 7, 1935 | 21 | King Levinsky | Win | TKO1 |
20 | Jun 25, 1935 | 21 | Primo Carnera | Win | TKO6 |
19 | Apr 22, 1935 | 20 | Biff Bennett | Win | KO1 |
18 | Apr 12, 1935 | 20 | Roy Lazer | Win | KO3 |
17 | Mar 29, 1935 | 20 | Natie Brown | Win | UD |
16 | Mar 8, 1935 | 20 | Don Barry | Win | TKO3 |
15 | Feb 21, 1935 | 20 | Lee Ramage | Win | TKO2 |
14 | Jan 11, 1935 | 20 | Hans Birkie | Win | TKO10 |
13 | Jan 4, 1935 | 20 | Patsy Perroni | Win | PTS |
12 | Dec 14, 1934 | 20 | Lee Ramage | Win | TKO8 |
11 | Nov 30, 1934 | 20 | Charley Massera | Win | KO3 |
10 | Nov 14, 1934 | 20 | Stanley Poreda | Win | KO1 |
9 | Oct 31, 1934 | 20 | Jack O'Dowd | Win | KO2 |
8 | Oct 24, 1934 | 20 | Art Sykes | Win | KO8 |
7 | Sep 26, 1934 | 20 | Adolph Wiater | Win | PTS |
6 | Sep 11, 1934 | 20 | Al Delaney | Win | TKO4 |
5 | Aug 27, 1934 | 20 | Buck Everett | Win | KO2 |
4 | Aug 13, 1934 | 20 | Jack Kranz | Win | UD |
3 | Jul 30, 1934 | 20 | Larry Udell | Win | TKO2 |
2 | Jul 12, 1934 | 20 | Willie Davies | Win | TKO3 |
1 | Jul 7, 1934 | 20 | Jack Kracken | Win | KO1 |
Featured Opponents
Joe Louis' professional boxing career spanned more than 17 years — from 1934 to 1951.
Louis made his debut against Jack Kracken at the age of 20 on July 7, 1934, defeating Kracken via 1st round KO. He went on to win 23 more consecutive fights after the debut, which included 19 wins via stoppage.
Louis had his first world title fight at the age of 23 on June 22, 1937 after 32 professional fights, against James J. Braddock for the heavyweight NBA, NYSAC, and The Ring titles. He defeated Braddock via 8th round KO to become the heavyweight champion of the world.
Louis won one world title at heavyweight. For all the details about Louis' world title wins and defenses refer to "Joe Louis World Titles".
Some of Louis' best fights and notable victories include wins over Primo Carnera, Max Schmeling, Max Baer, Billy Conn, James J. Braddock, Jack Sharkey, and Jersey Joe Walcott.
Joe Louis had a total of three losses in his professional boxing career — one of them in a title bout and two in non-title bouts. He suffered his first loss against Max Schmeling via 12th round KO on June 19, 1936, which ended his 24-fight win streak. He was stopped two times and lost once via decision. For more details about these defeats, refer to "All of Joe Louis' losses".
His last professional fight was a non-title bout against fellow American boxer Rocky Marciano at 37 years of age, on October 26, 1951. Louis lost the fight via 8th round TKO.
Louis retired from professional boxing with a record of 66-3, which included 52 knockout wins and 2 losses via knockout, and 1 title win. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in 1990.
Joe Louis fought a total of 69 times during his professional career. He was among the very best of his generation and is one of the pound-for-pound best boxers of all time. These nine fights are the highlight of his career.
The first remarkable big fight in Joe Louis' career. A 21-year old Louis (19-0, 15 KO) faced Primo Carnera on June 25, 1935. Carnera was 28 years old with a record of 82-7. Carnera was on a four-fight win streak with 66 KO wins, and was the taller of the two by 10 cms and also had a 23 cm reach advantage over Louis.
Louis defeated Carnera via 6th round TKO.
A 21-year old Joe Louis (21-0, 17 KO) faced Max Baer, who was 26 years old with a record of 40-8. Baer was on a one-fight losing streak, and was the taller of the two by 1 cm and also had a 13 cm reach advantage over Louis.
Louis defeated Baer via 4th round KO.
A 22-year old Joe Louis (24-1, 20 KO) faced Jack Sharkey, who was 33 years old with a record of 38-13-3. Sharkey was on a one-fight win streak with 13 KO wins. Louis was the taller of the two by 5 cms and also had a 10 cm reach advantage.
Louis defeated Sharkey via 3rd round KO.
A 23-year old Joe Louis (31-1, 26 KO) faced James J. Braddock, who was 32 years old with a record of 51-25-7. Braddock was on a six-fight win streak with 27 KO wins. Both the boxers were of the same height but Louis had a 2 cm reach advantage over Braddock.
Louis defeated Braddock via 8th round KO to win the NBA, NYSAC, and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles.
In a rematch, a 24-year old Joe Louis (35-1, 29 KO) faced Max Schmeling, who was now 32 years old with a record of 52-7-4 in a heavyweight title defense fight. Schmeling was on a seven-fight win streak with 36 KO wins. Louis was the taller of the two by 3 cms but both had the same reach.
Louis defeated Schmeling via 1st round KO to retain the NBA, NYSAC, and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles.
A 27-year old Joe Louis (49-1, 41 KO) faced Billy Conn, who was 23 years old with a record of 59-9-1 in a heavyweight title defense fight. Conn was on a 19-fight win streak with 13 KO wins. Louis was the taller of the two by 1 cm and also had a 9 cm reach advantage.
Louis defeated Conn via 13th round KO to retain the NBA, NYSAC, and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles.
In a rematch, a 32-year old Joe Louis (54-1, 46 KO) faced Billy Conn, who was now 28 years old with a record of 62-10-1 in a heavyweight title defense fight. Conn was on a three-fight win streak with 13 KO wins. Louis was the taller of the two by 1 cm and also had a 9 cm reach advantage.
Louis defeated Conn via 8th round KO to retain the NBA, NYSAC, and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles.
A 33-year old Joe Louis (56-1, 48 KO) faced Jersey Joe Walcott, who was 33 years old with a record of 44-11-2 in a heavyweight title defense fight. Walcott was on a three-fight win streak with 27 KO wins. Louis was the taller of the two by 5 cms and also had a 5 cm reach advantage.
Louis defeated Walcott via 15 round split-decision to retain the NBA, NYSAC, and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles.
In an immediate rematch, a 34-year old Joe Louis (57-1, 48 KO) faced Jersey Joe Walcott, who was now 34 years old with a record of 44-12-2 in a heavyweight title defense fight. Walcott had lost to Louis in their last fight. Louis was the taller of the two by 5 cms and also had a 5 cm reach advantage.
Louis defeated Walcott via 11th round KO to retain the NBA, NYSAC, and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles.
Some of Louis' best wins were against Primo Carnera, Max Schmeling, Max Baer, Billy Conn, James J. Braddock, Jack Sharkey, and Jersey Joe Walcott.
Louis knocked out 52 of his 69 opponents. By his last fight, his KO ratio was at 75.4%. Of his total 66 wins, 52 of them were via KO (78.8%).
Louis had 3 losses. Rocky Marciano, Ezzard Charles, and Max Schmeling are the three boxers who have beaten Louis.