Say It Ain't So, Joe

Last week, on a luxurious estate near Kalamazoo, Mich., Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis finally got down to training. His return fight with Jersey Joe Walcott was only 8 1/2 weeks away. He looked puffy around the jowls, had obviously enjoyed good living recently, and obviously would have to grunt off a lot of excess pounds.

How much did he weigh? About 225, Joe said. That was 27 lbs. over his fighting weight in his prime; but skeptical newsmen thought he was even more overweight than that. When they asked to see him on the scales, they were told that there were no scales in camp. The surprising thing about it all was the betting odds. They were still a prohibitive 1 to 3 on Louis.

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