Yeagermeister
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 47,629
- Reaction score
- 117
Boxing legend Max Schmeling dies at 99
BERLIN (AP) — German boxing legend Max Schmeling, one of the greatest heavyweight fighters of all time, has died at age 99.
Max Schmeling, shown here in 1936, was the first European heavyweight world champion.
AP file photo
The former world champion, one of Germany's biggest sports idols, died Wednesday, according to his foundation in Hamburg. No cause of death was given.
Schmeling's extraordinary career will be remembered for his fights with American great Joe Louis, which produced a lasting bond between the two boxers despite the politically charged atmosphere surrounding the bouts.
Born Sept. 28, 1905, of humble origins in a small town in the state of Brandenburg, Schmeling first got interested in boxing after seeing a film about the sport.
He became the first German — and European — heavyweight world champion when he beat Jack Sharkey in New York on June 12, 1930, after the American was disqualified for a fourth-round low blow.
But it was his two fights against Louis that set off a propaganda war between the **** regime and the United States on the eve of World War II.
Schmeling lost his title to Sharkey two years later on a disputed decision, but came back to knock out the previously unbeaten Louis in the 12th round on June 19, 1936, which the **** regime trumpeted as a sign of "Aryan supremacy."
Schmeling came into the fight as a 10-1 underdog, and his victory is considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
But, in a rematch at New York's Yankee Stadium in June 1938, Louis knocked Schmeling out in the first round to retain the world title.
BERLIN (AP) — German boxing legend Max Schmeling, one of the greatest heavyweight fighters of all time, has died at age 99.
Max Schmeling, shown here in 1936, was the first European heavyweight world champion.
AP file photo
The former world champion, one of Germany's biggest sports idols, died Wednesday, according to his foundation in Hamburg. No cause of death was given.
Schmeling's extraordinary career will be remembered for his fights with American great Joe Louis, which produced a lasting bond between the two boxers despite the politically charged atmosphere surrounding the bouts.
Born Sept. 28, 1905, of humble origins in a small town in the state of Brandenburg, Schmeling first got interested in boxing after seeing a film about the sport.
He became the first German — and European — heavyweight world champion when he beat Jack Sharkey in New York on June 12, 1930, after the American was disqualified for a fourth-round low blow.
But it was his two fights against Louis that set off a propaganda war between the **** regime and the United States on the eve of World War II.
Schmeling lost his title to Sharkey two years later on a disputed decision, but came back to knock out the previously unbeaten Louis in the 12th round on June 19, 1936, which the **** regime trumpeted as a sign of "Aryan supremacy."
Schmeling came into the fight as a 10-1 underdog, and his victory is considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
But, in a rematch at New York's Yankee Stadium in June 1938, Louis knocked Schmeling out in the first round to retain the world title.
