On October 26, 1951, Rocky Marciano knocked out the Brown Bomber - Joe Louis. Referee Ruby Goldstein declared a technical knockout in the eighth round of the scheduled ten.
The clash between the two is at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The battle between two of the most legendary heavyweight boxers finds Rocky Marciano with 49 wins and zero losses, while his rival Lewis has 66 wins and three losses
The strange thing is that Lewis had already retired from professional boxing in 1948, when he defeated “Jersey“ Joe Walcott and made his last title defense. “The Brown Bomber“ is the most beloved boxer, despite years of severe segregation in the States. Lewis is 35 years old and has 59 fights behind him. But financial problems with “Uncle Sam“ make Lewis forget his retirement years and come back.
Initially, the fans greet this decision with “HOORAY“, but later they will regret it. It turns out that while he was in the army, his manager “forgot“ to pay taxes and now the only option is a return between the ropes.
Joe immediately faces the then champion Ezzard Charles, but the nearly 30 months of rest have their say and Lewis loses. Meetings with opponents who are of average caliber follow, and the income generated from them barely covers the costs of organizing them.
This leads to the idea that Joe should try for the title again, but only if he gets past the new hot name in the heavyweight division - Rocky Marciano. Everything happens extremely quickly - both agree to the terms and the date is set - October 26, 1951
Marciano never hid that Joe Louis was his childhood hero. The money Rocky would have made was very decent, but many historians claim that Marciano secretly hoped that this fight would not take place. It is not easy when your idols become your enemies.
And Joe Louis was still one of the two American heroes at that time. In the years before and after World War II, two things were absolutely “sure” - Franklin Roosevelt would always be the president of the United States and Joe Louis would always be the heavyweight champion. The audience was simply not ready to see this Joe Louis.
So the day of the fight comes. “Madison Square Garden“ is packed to the brim. Everyone is ready for the battle between youth and experience. 27-year-old Rocky vs. 37-year-old Joe Louis. Young vs. old. A scenario as old as time.
What follows is difficult to watch. The national hero has clearly aged another 5 years the night before, because there is no trace of his former dancing in the ring. Young Marciano is tearing Louis apart. Despite his shorter stature and 11 kilograms less, Rocky keeps throwing punches, and as Louis would later say: “I saw every swing he made, but I couldn“t move“.
Nevertheless, “The Brown Bomber“ gathers strength and wins the 5th round. The last of his career. Two more parts follow, in which Marciano totally dominates. And so comes the 8th round, when Louis is knocked down after a treacherous left hook. The former great manages to get to his feet, but Marciano finishes it all with two more left hooks, followed by a freezing right hand that almost throws Louis out of the ring.
The referee doesn't even bother to count to 10. Everything is more than clear.
After the spotlights go out, Rocky goes to his idol's locker room and says to him through tears:
“Sorry, Joe“. And Louis's response speaks for itself:
“There's no point in crying. The better man won. Apparently, that's how it was meant to be“.
Louis, who has earned nearly $4.5 million throughout his career, takes a check for $300,000. His ultimate goal is accomplished. The former champion pays the government and goes to Las Vegas, where he lives off his autographs and photos with him.
The passing of the baton is a fact. A tale in the style of “The King is dead, long live the King“. Rocky Marciano wins the world title after 5 matches and becomes the new darling of boxing.