Louis V. Schmeling I & II
“I walked down Seventh Avenue and saw grown men weeping like children, and women sitting in the curbs with their head in their hands. All across the country that night when the news came that Joe was knocked out, people cried.”
-Langston Hughes
1936 Joe Louis, an early black American hero
but his being knocked out in the 12th put him back to zero
Germany’s Max Schmeling
One of the best fights he’s ever had,
he noticed a weakness when Louis drops his hand, after his jab
Joe’s only knockdown and knockout in his career
2 years later he’d get another crack at it, to make them cheer
1938 Yankee Stadium; The suspense was first,
Joe told them he wanted to end it in the 1st
To let it go on longer, could be costlier
Schmeling wants pride for Father Germany after annexing Austria
First round - Louis had corrected his mistakes and trained harder; hit him with a flurry
Schmelling went down in a hurry
Three times he was dropped before the fight was stopped
Joe was again on top
Was the second fight bigger than the first? Well, that depends
Joe had his revenge,
& Germany could no longer use Schmeling’s aura, as propaganda ends
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