Joe Louis: American Hero .... Betrayed

[H2O Man]

On Saturday, February 23, at 8 pm est, HBO will be airing an intense documentary on the great heavyweight champion, Joe Louis. (It will be followed by the heavyweight title fight.)

The film will show what Joe Louis gave to the United States, and the disgraceful manner in which Uncle Sam repaid the favor.

Most boxing fans recognize Louis as being among the top five heavyweight champions of all time; a strong case can be made for putting him and Ali at the very top. The film clips of his fights alone will make this documentary worth watching. If you are a sports fan -- especially a boxing fan -- it is always impressive to watch this intensely talented athlete.

Perhaps more important is the the intense story that this special will tell. I hope that DUers will be watching this one.

[fishwax]

1. Wish I had HBO -- I'll have to catch it on DVD

thanks for the heads-up!

[MrScorpio]

2. I thought that it was a great show about my Great Uncle Joe

I enjoyed it

[H2O Man]

3. It was outstanding.

No 90 minute documentary can tell the whole truth about the life of Joe Louis. But this was really good. It tells parts of that story which are important, and which should not be forgotten.

There were some incidents from the military which involved Louis's friend Walker Smith (better jnown as Sugar Ray Robinson) that I hoped would be included. Ray was not as patient or good-tempered as Joe. He was lucky that Louis was there to keep Ray's actions on the track to progress, rather than having Ray end up in big trouble.