Have Joe Louis and John Henry Lewis ever fought each other?

Yes. Joe Louis and John Henry Lewis met once on January 25, 1939, and Joe Louis won by KO in round 1.

Who has the better record, Louis or Lewis?

Joe Louis is 66-3 and John Henry Lewis is 101-11-5. Joe Louis has the higher win percentage.

Who has more knockouts, Louis or Lewis?

Joe Louis has 52 knockout wins and John Henry Lewis has 58. John Henry Lewis has more.

Do Louis and Lewis have any common opponents?

Joe Louis and John Henry Lewis share 10 common opponents: Red Burman, James J. Braddock and Al Ettore (and 7 others). Joe Louis fared better against 2 of them.

Who is bigger, Louis or Lewis?

Joe Louis is the taller fighter at 187 cm, 7 cm above the other. Joe Louis also has the longer reach, by 13 cm.

How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Louis and Lewis?

This comparison is drawn from 72 bouts tracked for Joe Louis and 117 bouts tracked for John Henry Lewis. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Joe Louis vs John Henry Lewis — Records, Stats & Common Opponents

🇺🇸HEAVYWEIGHT

John Henry Lewis

Joe Louis (66-3) and John Henry Lewis (101-11-5) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met once. They share 10 common opponents.

Louis

Wins52 KO · 79%

Losses

Draws72 tracked bouts

Lewis

101

Wins58 KO · 57%

Losses

Draws117 tracked bouts

Head to Head

Louis leads 1–0

Joe Louis and John Henry Lewis have met 1 time; Louis leads 1–0.
Met	1939Jan 25	Series
Joe LouisFighter A	WWon	1–0W–L
John Henry LewisFighter B	LLost	0–1W–L
Result	KOR1Lewis vs Louis	1Meeting

Lewis vs Louis · Jan 25, 1939

The Numbers

Louis 5 · Lewis 3 of 8 measurable rows

LouisEdge = longer wingLewis

Record: 66-3 (edge)101-11-5
Win %0–100%: 95.7% (edge)
88.5%
Wins by knockoutmax 58: 52
58 (edge)
KO rate0–100%: 78.79% (edge)
57.43%
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)^†0–100%: 79% (edge)
56%
Times stopped^†max 3: 3
1 (edge)
Title reignsmax 3: 3 (edge)
2
Bouts per year^‡max 11.7: 2.5
11.7 (edge)
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 117: 72
117

† Counted from bouts Kill The Body has ingested, not a career total. · ‡ Across each fighter's tracked career span. · Bars are scaled per row — percentages on 0–100, counts against the larger of the two. Every figure is also printed as text.

Tale of the Tape

Height+3″: Joe Louis: 6′2″ (edge); John Henry Lewis: 5′11″
Reach+5″: Joe Louis: 76″ (edge); John Henry Lewis: 71″
Agenot comparable: Joe Louis: Died aged 66; John Henry Lewis: Died aged 59
Stance: Joe Louis: Orthodox; John Henry Lewis: Orthodox

Joe Louis left, John Henry Lewis right, as everywhere on this page. Age is stated, not scored — neither age nor stance carries an edge.

Heavyweight against Light Heavyweight. The two are listed in different weight classes, so the tape measures them as they stand rather than as a matchup.

How They Win

Tracked bouts only

Joe Louis67 wins · from 72 tracked bouts

53 by KO/TKO 79%13 on the cards 19%1 by another method or unrecorded 1%

John Henry Lewis101 wins · from 117 tracked bouts

57 by KO/TKO 56%44 on the cards 44%

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Joe Louis 72, John Henry Lewis 117 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

10 shared

10 shared · Louis better on 2 · even on 810 shared · Joe Louis better on 2 · even on 8

LouisJoe Louis

Opponent

LewisJohn Henry Lewis

Joe Louis
Win, KO 5
1941Jan 1941
BurmanRed BurmanUnited StatesEvenEven — 1–0 both
John Henry Lewis
Win, TKO 2
1936Oct 1936
Joe Louis
Win, KO 8
1937Jun 1937
BraddockJames J. BraddockUnited States 52–26–7 · MiddleweightLouis betterJoe Louis better — 1–0 to 1–1
John Henry Lewis
1–1 against
Loss, PTS
1934Nov 1934
Win, PTS
1932Sep 1932
Joe Louis
Win, KO 5
1936Sep 1936
EttoreAl EttoreUnited StatesLouis betterJoe Louis better — 1–0 to 2–1
John Henry Lewis
2–1 against
Win, UD
1937Jun 1937
Win, MD
1937Feb 1937
Loss, SD
1937Jan 1937
Joe Louis
Win, UD
1934Aug 1934
KranzJack KranzEvenEven — 1–0 both
John Henry Lewis
Win, KO 3
1937May 1937
Joe Louis
Win, PTS
1935Jan 1935
PerroniPatsy PerroniEvenEven — 1–0 both
John Henry Lewis
Win, UD
1937May 1937
Joe Louis
Win, TKO 3
1935Mar 1935
BarryDon BarryEvenEven — Joe Louis 1–0, John Henry Lewis 1–0–1
John Henry Lewis
1–0–1 against
Win, TKO 5
1937Apr 1937
Draw, PTS
1934Oct 1934
Joe Louis
Win, TKO
1935Jan 1935
BirkieHans BirkieEvenEven — 1–0 both
John Henry Lewis
Win, UD
1937Mar 1937
Joe Louis
Win, KO 8
1934Oct 1934
SykesArt SykesUnited StatesEvenEven — 1–0 both
John Henry Lewis
Win, KO 6
1937Jan 1937
Joe Louis
Win, TKO 1
1936Dec 1936
SimmsEddie SimmsEvenEven — 1–0 both
John Henry Lewis
Win, PTS
1936Mar 1936
Joe Louis
Win, KO 3
1934Nov 1934
MasseraCharley MasseraEvenEven — 1–0 both
John Henry Lewis
Win, PTS
1936May 1936

Both sides are set at the same size on purpose. Kill The Body does not score a second-round knockout above a split decision — the edge counts losses first and wins as the tiebreak, and the rest is yours to argue. Shared opponents are matched on fighter identity, not on name, so two different fighters with the same name never merge into one row.

Current Form

Oldest left · newest right

Joe Louis had won one in a row before losing by stoppage to Freddie Mack. Louis last boxed on Sep 25, 1963.WLLWL

Bivins Aug 1951Marciano Oct 1951Bodell Apr 1962Bodell Jul 1962Mack Sep 19632.5 tracked bouts per year

John Henry Lewis had won four in a row before losing by stoppage to Joe Louis. Lewis last boxed on Jan 25, 1939.WWWWL

Ray May 1938Ceccarelli Aug 1938Adamick Sep 1938Gainer Oct 1938Louis Jan 193911.7 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them

Have Joe Louis and John Henry Lewis ever fought each other?: Yes. Joe Louis and John Henry Lewis met once on January 25, 1939, and Joe Louis won by KO in round 1.
Who has the better record, Louis or Lewis?: Joe Louis is 66-3 and John Henry Lewis is 101-11-5. Joe Louis has the higher win percentage.
Who has more knockouts, Louis or Lewis?: Joe Louis has 52 knockout wins and John Henry Lewis has 58. John Henry Lewis has more.
Do Louis and Lewis have any common opponents?: Joe Louis and John Henry Lewis share 10 common opponents: Red Burman, James J. Braddock and Al Ettore (and 7 others). Joe Louis fared better against 2 of them.
Who is bigger, Louis or Lewis?: Joe Louis is the taller fighter at 187 cm, 7 cm above the other. Joe Louis also has the longer reach, by 13 cm.
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Louis and Lewis?: This comparison is drawn from 72 bouts tracked for Joe Louis and 117 bouts tracked for John Henry Lewis. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

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Joe Louis vs John Henry Lewis — record, stats and common opponents compared

Joe Louis

John Henry Lewis