A Boxing Memory: Joe Louis vs Johnny Davis

A Boxing Memory: Joe Louis vs Johnny Davis

By Steve Hunt

On December 3rd, Derek Chisora entered the ring for his heavyweight title challenge to Tyson Fury with virtually no chance of winning. We had seen the fight twice before and the result had never really been in doubt on those previous occasions. Nothing had changed in the intervening years to suggest the odds had tipped in Chisora’s favour. It was a cynical mismatch sold to an audience more interested in Sweet Caroline than sweet left hooks.

But heavyweight mismatches are nothing new. All the great champions have entered the ring at one time or another in fights where it was hard to imagine they could lose. One of the most fascinating of these encounters was nearly eighty years ago in a fight that was never really meant to be a proper fight in the first place.

Joe Louis was considered almost unbeatable when, as heavyweight champion of the world, he joined the United States Army in 1942. He defended his title twice at the beginning of the year, with stoppage wins over Buddy Baer in January and Abe Simon in March. Louis donated his entire purses from both fights to the Army and Navy Relief funds. The sum was a total of more than $83,000. If he had never laced up the gloves again, he would already have been ranked among the greatest heavyweight champions of all time.

But with World War Two raging in Europe, his career was put on hold. Louis had been the most active of all heavyweight champions, but for the remainder of the war, his ring action would be restricted to boxing exhibitions. In his biography of Louis, Randy Roberts wrote that “during almost four years in uniform, Louis boxed ninety-three exhibitions in the United States, England, France, Italy, North Africa, and the Aleutian Islands. Almost two million soldiers witnessed the champion box during the war.”

There was, however, one exception among those many public sparring sessions.

In November 1944, Louis staged an eight-city tour, with an exhibition to be held at each stop. The tour would take him to Detroit, Baltimore, Hartford, Washington, Buffalo, Elizabeth, Camden, and Chicago. All was well and going according to plan until the intervention of the chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, General John J. Phelan. The commissioner was adamant that under his jurisdiction there would be no exhibitions in New York. Any bout would have to be scored, with a decision announced at the conclusion. In addition, the much larger gloves worn in the other exhibitions would not be satisfactory. Regulation 6oz gloves would have to be worn.

The champion’s ring appearance in New York state was scheduled for Tuesday 14^th November. It was a hectic schedule, with Louis having completed an exhibition the previous evening in Washington, before moving onto New Jersey the following day for another. Thanks to Phelan’s ruling, Joe now faced the prospect of a four-round contest where if he went gently on his opponent, he ran the risk of a decision going against him. Highly unlikely, but why take chances when you are the heavyweight champion of the world.

The original opponent was due to be Detroit heavyweight novice, O’Dell Riley. Had the twenty-four-year-old Riley been in the opposite corner, he would have entered the contest with a record of 7-3-2. However, on 11^th November it was reported that a change had been made.

The man who would now face the heavyweight champion of the world in a four-round contest in 6oz gloves would be native New Yorker, Johnny Davis. The twenty-three-year-old stood six feet tall and weighed 195 lbs.

Local matchmaker, Billy Mitchie didn’t think the paying public would care about the substitution.

“The fans are going for one reason, to see for themselves what two years of G.I. life has done to Louis and the chances to retain the crown. Joe could be boxing ‘Skitzie’ Fitzgerald here Tuesday and draw plenty of fans.”

Mitchie was right about that as over 7000 fans attended the Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, NY to see the Bomber in action. A look at the respective combatants’ records would give a clue as to the likely outcome of the contest. Louis was 53-1, his sole defeat to Max Schmeling having been avenged with a savage first-round knockout. He’d made twenty-one defences of the world heavyweight title. Davis was 3-3. His nicely alternating record of win, loss, win, loss, win, loss was in grave danger of being ruined. His last three opponents had been the same guy, Roosevelt Thomas. He also had two victories over a New Jersey heavyweight by the name of Johnny White. These may be adequate credentials for an exhibition dance partner with pillow-like gloves, but not for a four-round contest against the most fearsome puncher in the division who wants to leave no room for doubt.

The referee for the contest would be Billy Cavanaugh. The two appointed judges were Frank Forbes and Johnny Sturges, who had to know that no scoring would likely be required.

The fight was over in fifty-three seconds. One local paper reported that Louis knocked out Davis, “with the first punch from his lethal right hand.” They went on to say that “the Brooklyn boy didn’t touch the champion or make a menacing gesture during the brief battle.” Davis was unconscious for three minutes.

After this brief excursion into big-time boxing, Johnny Davis returned to obscurity. He boxed on for another two years, ending his career with a record of 5-20.

For Sgt Joe Louis it was back to more exhibitions and life as a G.I. until the war ended. Despite his quick win over Davis, questions remained over how the years away from the competitive ring would affect him once he was able to make a full-time return to prizefighting. After the three-round exhibition tour date in Washington, Louis expressed his own doubts.

“Boy, I mean when you’re a fighter, you have to fight. I know I need a lot of work, maybe six months in the woods. My legs ain’t what they used to be. After a bout in Baltimore last week, they actually pained me. That’s a sure sign I’m getting old. I sure hope the war ends soon, or I won’t ever be able to get in shape again.”

Joe’s fears were well-founded. He was never again the same Bomber that ripped through, then dominated, the heavyweight division in the late 1930s. His next fight was a title defence rematch against Billy Conn in June 1946 at Yankee Stadium. Neither man was the same athlete that they had been for their first epic battle in 1941, but Louis had enough to secure an eighth-round stoppage win. He fought on until 1951 and another thirteen fights, long after he should have called it a day.

Back on a Tuesday evening in November 1944, in Buffalo, New York, Johnny Davis briefly shared a ring and the spotlight with the great Bomber. When Davis finally regained consciousness, Louis walked over to him, patted him on the back, and then left the ring. There’s never been another like Joe Louis.