[awhicks]

Schmeling was a classy fighter, and man, who has never gotten the credit he deserves. He lost the rematch to Sharkey by a bad decision and was cheated out of a shot at the title after his defeat of Louis. He would certainly have beaten Braddock and become the first man to regain the title. His destruction at the hands of Baer can be attributed to two things. First, as one has noted, Baer took the fight seriously. Baer had Foreman-like power and could be devastating when he was serious. Secondly, by Schmeling's admission, he just could not get anything together in that fight. Max hung in there bravely and took some tremendous shots from the hardpunching Baer before succumbing.

Schmeling was a man of character and showed courage in standing up to Hitler and in his rebuilding of his life after WWII. Schmeling's autobiography is available on Amazon.com and I'd highly recommend it.