He had just captured the world heavyweight championship, knocking out James Braddock in the 8th round, but 22-year-old Joe Louis’ mind was already on his next big bout. It was 1937 and everything was about race–black, white, Asian, Aryan, Jewish. In exactly one year, the Brown Bomber would in effect represent his country against Max Schmeling, a German boxer who had beaten him in ’36. That victorious rematch, more than the title fight that got him there, marked Louis’ transformation from “credit to his race” to national symbol.
– Cost of a ringside seat to the Louis-Braddock fight: $27.50.
– Number of people who saw the bout at Comiskey Park: 45,000. Number of those who were governors of U.S. states: 8. Number of people who saw Mike Tyson nibble Evander Holyfield’s ear in 1997: 1.8 million.
– Percentage of pro boxers who have sustained a brain injury: 90.
– Number of women registered with USA Boxing, the sport’s amateur governing body, since it began admitting them in 1993: 2,000.
