It was built into a battle of two ideologies. Joe Louis was the heavyweight champion from 1937-1941. In one corner was Schmeling, representing Hitler (though Schmeling wasn't a Nazi) and ...

The white champion didn't take up Johnson's offer, and in Chicago's Comiskey Park on June 22, 1937, Louis knocked out Braddock in the eighth round — to become Heavyweight Champion of the World.

Joe Louis Jr. "By winning, he became white America's first black hero." Louis was heavyweight champion of the world in an era when the heavyweight champion was, in the minds of many, the greatest ...