"We wuz robbed, we wuz robbed" Joe Jacobs, Max Schmeling's trainer/manager running about the ring with arms flailing, responding to one of the worst decisions in heavyweight title fight history.

Was the Schmeling-Sharkey 1932 rematch decision an American conspiracy?

Of course there can be no real proof to such an accusation, but the bad decision has some interesting caveats associated with it:

• by 1932 the National Socialists (Nazis) had gained a plurality in the Reichstag and were already promoting Aryan supremacy through sport. (Of course this reached its apex in the 1936 Olympics, and would be debunked by one Jesse Owens.)
• there was already panicked talk in the fight community that the Germans (Nazis) might try to hold the heavyweight title hostage, by squeezing out American challengers.
• there was (and always has been) a strong Jewish-American influence in the fight game (fighters/promoters/managers) and subsequently in 1936 prominent American Jews would try to organize a boycott to stop a Braddock-Schmeling title fight, a fight Schmeling had earned by knocking out Joe Louis.
• and finally Max Schmeling’s boring style may have also added to the decision. Schmeling was an accomplished boxer, but most American fans were waiting for the next 'Dempsey' to appear and Schmeling wasn't delivering the desired action; gate receipts were declining and many believed an American champion (Sharkey) would prove a better draw. (It is more likely that the Great Depression was the real cause of the drop in attendance.)

Did such factors affect the judges score cards? We will never know, but it did prove to be one of the worst decisions ever.

In 1937 Uncle Mike Jacobs, fight promoter and American Jew would effectively squeeze Max Schmeling out of a title shot with James J. Braddock (the one he earned by defeating Louis), some say by offering champion Braddock 10% of his (Jacobs') take for any Joe Louis defense for the next ten years (in case Braddock should lose to Louis,) if Braddock would bypass Schmeling and fight Louis instead. Braddock took the deal, Louis took his title, and Schmeling was squeezed out.

Joe Jacobs was an American Jew but not surprisingly Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels allowed Max Schmeling to retain his Jewish-American manager/trainer, believing that acquiring the heavyweight championship was more important to the Nazi cause than persecuting any one particular Jew.

If you have any doubt of the Nazis' intent to use the heavyweight title as propaganda the photo below will change your mind. That's Schmeling in the robe, Joe Jacobs is not in the picture.