Joe Louis defeated Max Schmeling in their 1938 rematch at Yankee Stadium. The fight took place on June 22, 1938, for the undisputed heavyweight championship.
Their first meeting, in 1936, ended with Schmeling scoring a major upset by knocking Louis out in the twelfth round. The rematch carried unusual political symbolism because Nazi Germany presented Schmeling as proof of supposed racial superiority, while Louis had become an American sporting hero.
Louis attacked immediately and dropped Schmeling three times in the first round. Schmeling’s corner threw in the towel, and Louis won by technical knockout after only 2 minutes and 4 seconds. The victory avenged Louis’s only professional defeat at that point and confirmed him as champion.
A common mix-up is confusing this bout with their 1936 meeting: Schmeling won the first fight, but Louis decisively won the rematch. Louis was known as “The Brown Bomber,” while Schmeling was “The Black Uhlan of the Rhine.”