Editing Joe Louis (section)

===Early years===
Louis's amateur performances attracted the interest of professional promoters, and he was soon represented by a black Detroit-area bookmaker named [[John Roxborough (boxing manager)|John Roxborough]]. As Louis explained in his autobiography, Roxborough convinced the young fighter that white managers would have no real interest in seeing a black boxer work his way up to title contention:

<blockquote>[Roxborough] told me about the fate of most black fighters, ones with white managers, who wound up burned-out and broke before they reached their prime. The white managers were not interested in the men they were handling but in the money they could make from them. They didn't take the proper time to see that their fighters had a proper training, that they lived comfortably, or ate well, or had some pocket change. Mr. Roxborough was talking about Black Power before it became popular.<ref name="Great Black Heroes" /><ref name="pbsrox">{{Cite web |title=American Experience: John Roxborough and Julian Black |website=[[PBS]] |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/fight/peopleevents/p_managers.html |access-date=August 23, 2020}}</ref></blockquote>

Roxborough knew a Chicago area boxing promoter named Julian Black who already had a stable of mediocre boxers against which Louis could hone his craft, this time in the heavyweight division. After becoming part of the management team, Black hired fellow Chicago native Jack "Chappy" Blackburn as Louis's trainer. Louis's initial professional fights were all in the Chicago area, his professional debut coming on July 4, 1934, against [[Jack Kracken]] in the Bacon Casino on Chicago's south side.<ref name="Great Black Heroes" /> Louis earned $59 for knocking out Kracken in the first round. $59 in 1934 is equivalent to $1,148.60 in 2020 dollars.<ref name="Great Black Heroes" /> Louis won all 12 of his professional fights that year, 10 by knockout.<ref name="Great Black Heroes" />

In September 1934, while promoting a Detroit-area "coming home" bout for Louis against Canadian Alex Borchuk, Roxborough was pressured by members of the Michigan State Boxing Commission to have Louis sign with white management. Roxborough refused and continued advancing Louis's career with bouts against heavyweight contenders Art Sykes and Stanley Poreda.

While training for a fight against Lee Ramage, Louis noticed a young female secretary for the black newspaper at the gym. After Ramage was defeated, the secretary, Marva Trotter, was invited to the celebration party at Chicago's Grand Hotel. Trotter later became Louis's first wife in 1935.<ref name="Great Black Heroes" />

During this time, Louis also met [[Truman Gibson]], the man who would become his personal lawyer.<ref name="Great Black Heroes" /> As a young associate at a law firm hired by Julian Black, Gibson was charged with personally entertaining Louis during the pendency of business deals.

====Title contention====
Although Louis's management was finding him bouts against legitimate heavyweight contenders, no path to the title was forthcoming. While professional boxing was not officially segregated, many white Americans did not like the prospect of a black champion.<ref name="deardorff">{{Cite news |last=Deardorff, II |first=Don |date=October 1, 1995 |title=Joe Louis became both a black hero and a national symbol to whites after overcoming racism in the media |work=St. Louis Journalism Review |url=http://www.articlearchives.com/society-social-assistance-lifestyle/ethnicity-race-racism/1285818-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160226224232/http://www.articlearchives.com/society-social-assistance-lifestyle/ethnicity-race-racism/1285818-1.html |archive-date=February 26, 2016}}</ref> In 1908, during an era of severe anti-black repression, [[Jack Johnson (boxer)|Jack Johnson]] became the first black heavyweight champion. Johnson's flamboyant lifestyle and marriage to a white woman engendered an enormous backlash that greatly limited opportunities of black fighters in the heavyweight division. Black boxers were denied championship bouts, and there were few heavyweight black contenders at the time, though there were African Americans who fought for titles in other weight divisions, and a few notable black champions, such as [[Tiger Flowers]]. Louis and his handlers would counter the legacy of Johnson by emphasizing the Brown Bomber's modesty and sportsmanship.<ref name=deardorff/><ref>[[#Erenberg|Erenberg]], p. 33.</ref> Biographer Gerald Astor stated that "Joe Louis' early boxing career was stalked by the specter of Jack Johnson".<ref name=deardorff/><ref>[[#Astor|Astor]], p. 47.</ref>

If Louis were to rise to national prominence among such cultural attitudes, a change in management would be necessary. In 1935, boxing promoter [[Mike Jacobs (boxing)|Mike Jacobs]] sought out Louis's handlers. After Louis's narrow defeat of Natie Brown on March 29, 1935, Jacobs and the Louis team met at the Frog Club, a black nightclub, and negotiated a three-year exclusive boxing promotion deal.<ref>[[#Vitale|Vitale]], pp. 91–92.</ref> The contract, however, did not keep Roxborough and Black from attempting to cash in as Louis's managers; when Louis turned 21 on May 13, 1935, Roxborough and Black each signed Louis to an onerous long-term contract that collectively dedicated half of Louis's future income to the pair.<ref name="pbsrox" />

Black and Roxborough continued to carefully and deliberately shape Louis's media image. Mindful of the tremendous public backlash Johnson had suffered for his unapologetic attitude and flamboyant lifestyle, they drafted "Seven Commandments" for Louis's personal conduct. These included:

<blockquote>
* Never have his picture taken with a white woman
* Never gloat over a fallen opponent
* Never engage in fixed fights
* Live and fight clean<ref name="espn">{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Larry |title='Brown Bomber' was a hero to all |url=https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00016109.html |access-date=April 27, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Edmonds |first=Anthony O. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8iSImJVDkb8C&q=%22joe+louis%22+biography&pg=PA8 |title=Muhammed Ali: A Biography |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated |year=2005 |isbn=978-0313330926 |location=Westport, Connecticut |pages=8–9}}</ref>
</blockquote>

As a result, Louis was generally portrayed in the white media as a modest, clean-living person, which facilitated his burgeoning celebrity status.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Edmonds |first=Anthony O. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8iSImJVDkb8C&q=%22joe+louis%22+biography&pg=PA8 |title=Muhammed Ali: A Biography |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated |year=2005 |isbn=978-0313330926 |location=Westport, Connecticut |page=9}}</ref>

With the backing of a major promotion, Louis fought thirteen times in 1935. The bout that helped put him in the media spotlight occurred on June 25, when Louis knocked out 6'6", 265-pound former world heavyweight champion [[Primo Carnera]] in six rounds. Foreshadowing the Louis–Schmeling rivalry to come, the Carnera bout featured a political dimension. Louis's victory over Carnera, who symbolized [[Benito Mussolini]]'s regime in the popular eye, was seen as a victory for the international community, particularly among African Americans, who were sympathetic to [[Ethiopia]], which was attempting to maintain its independence by [[Abyssinia Crisis|fending off an invasion by fascist Italy]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KrWDw-_devcC&q=%22joe+louis%22&pg=PA680 |title=The Reader's Companion to American History |publisher=Houghton-Mifflin |year=1991 |isbn=978-0395513729 |editor-last=Eric Foner |location=Boston |page=680 |editor2-last=John A. Garraty }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>[[#Bak|Bak]], p. 60.</ref> America's white press began promoting Louis's image in the context of the era's racism; nicknames they created included the "Mahogany Mauler", "Chocolate Chopper", "Coffee-Colored KO King", "Safari Sandman", and one that stuck: "The Brown Bomber".<ref>, which is variously attributed to either Detroit boxing manager Scotty Monteith or to ''[[Detroit Free Press]]'' writer Charles Ward. [[#Bak|Bak]], pp. 81–82.</ref>

Helping the white press to overcome its reluctance to feature a black contender was that in the mid-1930s boxing desperately needed a marketable hero. Since the retirement of [[Jack Dempsey]] in 1929, the sport had devolved into a sordid mixture of poor athletes, gambling, fixed fights, thrown matches, and control of the sport by organized crime.<ref name=deardorff/> ''[[New York Times]]'' Columnist Edward Van Ness wrote, "Louis ... is a boon to boxing. Just as Dempsey led the sport out of the doldrums ... so is Louis leading the boxing game out of a slump".<ref name=deardorff/> Likewise, biographer [[Bill Libby]] asserted that "The sports world was hungry for a great champion when Louis arrived in New York in 1935".<ref name=deardorff/><ref name="Libbyp61">[[#Libby|Libby]], p. 61.</ref>

While the mainstream press was beginning to embrace Louis, many still opposed the prospect of another black heavyweight champion. In September 1935, on the eve of Louis's fight with former titleholder [[Max Baer (boxer)|Max Baer]], [[The Washington Post|''Washington Post'']] sportswriter [[Shirley Povich]] wrote about some Americans' hopes for the white contender, "They say Baer will surpass himself in the knowledge that he is the lone white hope for the defense of Nordic superiority in the prize ring".<ref name="deardorff" /> However, the hopes of white supremacists would soon be dashed.

Although Baer had been knocked down only once before in his professional career (by [[Frankie Campbell]]), Louis dominated the former champion, knocking him out in the fourth round. Unknowingly, Baer suffered from a unique disadvantage in the fight: earlier that evening, Louis had married Marva Trotter at a friend's apartment and was eager to end the fight in order to consummate the relationship.<ref>[[#Bak|Bak]], p. 94.</ref> Later that year, Louis also knocked out [[Paulino Uzcudun]], who had never been knocked down before.

====Louis vs. Schmeling====
{{Main|Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling}}
[[File:Joe Louis - Max Schmeling - 1936.jpg|thumb|[[Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling]] in 1936]]
By this time, Louis was ranked as the No. 1 contender in the heavyweight division<ref>{{Cite web |last=MacIntosh |first=Stoker |title=Joe Louis Barrow: Boxing Day Tribute |website=[[Bleacher Report]] |url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/96920-joe-louis-barrow-boxing-day-tribute |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612022722/http://bleacherreport.com/articles/96920-joe-louis-barrow-boxing-day-tribute |archive-date=June 12, 2009 |access-date=January 5, 2009}}</ref> and had won the [[Associated Press Athlete of the Year|Associated Press' "Athlete of the Year"]] award for 1935.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/7a3c4f3cebd563cd25f1da21d4503485 |publisher=Associated Press |date=December 27, 2018 |title=AP Male Athlete of the Year}}</ref> What was considered to be a final tune-up bout before an eventual title shot was scheduled for June 1936 against [[Max Schmeling]]. Although a former world heavyweight champion, Schmeling, who had been knocked out by [[Max Baer (boxer)|Max Baer]], Louis had handily beaten, was not considered a threat to Louis, then with a professional record of 27–0.<ref name=hbo/> Schmeling had won his title on a technicality when [[Jack Sharkey]] was disqualified after giving Schmeling a low blow in 1930. Schmeling was also 30 years old at the time of the Louis bout and allegedly past his prime.<ref name=hbo/> Louis's training retreat was located at [[Lakewood, New Jersey]], where he was first able to practice the game of [[golf]], later to become a lifelong passion.<ref>[[#Myler|Myler]], p. 89.</ref> Noted entertainer [[Ed Sullivan]] had initially sparked Louis's interest in the sport by giving an instructional book to Joe's wife Marva.<ref name="golf">{{Cite web |last=Lerner, Rich |date=November 12, 2007 |title=The Brown Bomber's Green Legacy |url=http://www.thegolfchannel.com/15100/24372/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117071252/http://www.thegolfchannel.com/15100/24372/ |archive-date=November 17, 2007 |publisher=The Golf Channel}}</ref> Louis spent significant time on the golf course rather than training for the match.<ref name=pbsrox/><ref>[[#Vitale|Vitale]], p. 16.</ref>

Conversely, Schmeling prepared intently for the bout. He had thoroughly studied Louis's style and believed he had found a weakness.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The American Experience |website=[[PBS]] |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/fight/peopleevents/e_fights.html |access-date=April 23, 2009}}</ref> By exploiting Louis's habit of dropping his left hand after a jab, Schmeling handed Louis his first professional loss by knocking him out in round 12 at [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]] on June 19, 1936.<ref>[[#Vitale|Vitale]], p. 14.</ref>  The event would lead to the [[#Louis vs. Schmeling II|historic rematch of the two]], in one of the world's most famous sporting events.