Early career

In his professional debut, Baer knocked out Tiny Abbott, 1:54 into the first round on September 23, 1934, in Eureka, California. A boxer of some repute, the towering 6' 8" Abbott had twice faced Baer's brother Max, and though it was Baer's first time in the ring, the more experienced Abbott was nearing the end of his career. Baer had a long winning streak following his debut fight until he met Babe Hunt. On January 10, 1935, Baer was defeated in a four-round bout, losing on points to Hunt at Boston's Rickard Recreation Center.^[2] The loss was Baer's first in thirteen straight fights, twelve of which Baer won by knockout. Though Hunt had a bad second round, he came back strongly in the third and fourth to win by unanimous decision.^[6]

He completed a technical knockout of Jack O'Dowd at 2:10 into the second round at Detroit's Olympia Stadium on January 4, 1935. On a ticket that included Joe Louis, the total audience reached 15,853. The crowd witnessed a performance from Baer, who outweighed his opponent by 29 pounds, less than his typical advantage. In an odd victory, O'Dowd, who seemed to lack the will to fight, was down five times in the first round, in a few instances without actually being hit.^[7][8] Though O'Dowd had faced the great Joe Louis the previous year, he showed no desire to mix with Baer and appeared thoroughly outmatched. ^{[citation needed]}

Frank Connolly, a former Golden Gloves champion, fell to Baer on March 20, 1935, in a convincing first-round knockout at the Oakland Auditorium before a substantial early-career crowd of 9,500. The final blow was a right hook that started low and came up with enormous power to knock out Connolly, who weighed 245, only a pound heavier than Baer.^[9]

Baer defeated Al Delaney on July 18, 1935, in a four-round knockout at Buffalo's Offerman Stadium. In a complete victory, Baer had Delaney down five times before the referee counted him out 34 seconds into the fourth round from a right behind the ear.^[10] In the opening round, Baer was knocked to his knees by a strong left, but he recovered, and had his own way for the rest of the match.^[11]

Match with Ford Smith

On the ticket of the Max Baer-Joe Louis match, he had one of his most lucrative bouts on September 4, 1935, when he lost a six-round wind-up match to Ford Smith in New York before an immense crowd of 90,000 fans at Yankee Stadium.^[12] Baer tried to overpower Smith in the early rounds with his punching ability, but Smith moved, blocked, and weathered the storm. In later rounds, Baer was less effective with intermittent looping blows that Smith countered with sharp, short punches to the body. Baer was tired in the last round, and though he had an advantage in reach and weight, he did little damage in his final rally, having lost speed and precision in his blows. The more experienced Smith took four of the six rounds.^[13][14] According to one source, his purse for the match, which was the most heavily attended in New York history, was $42,000. Louis, who won the title match against brother Max, had a purse of $200,000.^[1][2]

At this early stage of his career, Baer suffered a rare loss on April 22, 1936, dropping a six-round decision to Frenchman Andre Lenglet at Oakland's Municipal Auditorium. Baer looked strong in the first and had a brief rally in the fifth but lost his chance when Lenglet snapped back with a defense. One reporter, who wrote that Lenglet won each round by a large margin, noted that Baer failed to score with a telling blow throughout the match. Lenglet scored well with short left jabs to the face, and followups to the midriff and his frequent changes of pace confused Baer's ability to use his strong right.^[15]

In an important match on May 24, 1937, Baer outpointed Jack London, later the holder of the Commonwealth Boxing Council's Heavyweight title from 1944 to 1945. Baer won on points in a ten-round decision at Swansea, England, and though he had a significant advantage in height of nearly eight inches, he had only twenty pounds in weight over the sturdy London boxer.^[16][2] Two weeks earlier, Baer had defeated Jim Wilde at Harringay Arena in a fourth-round technical knockout. With dominance and punching power, he had Wilde down three times in the first round and for a count of eight in the third. After being knocked to the canvas for a count of five in the opening of the fourth, the referee called the match. British rules required ending a bout after five knockdowns.^[17][18]

Match with top contender Abe Simon

He brought a stop to seasoned Jewish heavyweight Abe Simon before 25,000 fans, on August 30, 1937, scoring a technical knockout at Yankee Stadium in 2:38 of the third round. Though Simon punished Baer severely in the first and had him hanging from the ropes with a two-fisted attack, Baer rallied in the second with sharp left jabs and a stinging right cross and had Simon down and then staggering in the third when the referee called the fight. Both fighters had exceptional weight and reach and though Baer had a two-inch advantage in height, Simon, a giant himself, actually outweighed Baer by seven pounds.^[19][20]

Painful loss to Gunar Barlund

Baer lost to gifted Finnish boxer Gunnar Barlund on March 4, 1938, before 8,565 fans in a seventh-round technical knockout at Madison Square Garden. Baer had a forty-pound weight advantage over Barlund, and 5+1⁄2-inch advantage in height, but lacked stamina and heart as the fight progressed. Baer performed well in the first, cutting Barlund's forehead and nose with stinging left jabs and an occasional right, while Barlund lost points for low blows. In the second, however, Gunnar reached Baer with a few punches and then getting his range, took the second, third, and fourth. Baer maintained an edge in the fifth, and though both showed fatigue, Gunnar took the sixth, scoring at least ten straight rights and lefts without a return. In the seventh, Barlund drove Baer into the ropes with a heavy barrage. He followed him across the ring when Baer retreated and continued his attack, Baer seeming to give up, dropping his hands to his sides during the attack, and after coming from a clinch signaling the referee to end the fight. The referee asked Baer, apparently hurt, if he wished to continue, and decided to stop the fight, 1:36 into the seventh. Baer made no excuses for his performances but believed his layoff from the ring had affected his timing and ability to connect punches, particularly his right. Barlund successfully circled away from Baer's hard overhand right.^[21][22]

Three wins; Savold, Mann, and Blackshear

He defeated Lee Savold in an important match on October 30, 1939, in an eight-round newspaper decision before 3,500 in Des Moine, Iowa. After a brief exchange, Baer had his opponent down for a count of eight in the first round from a right uppercut, and though Savold battled hard in the remaining rounds, he struggled to connect blows after his rough first round.^[23][24] Most reporters gave five rounds to Baer with only two to Savold in the hotly contested match.^[25]

He defeated Nathan Mann on May 3, 1940, before 5000, in a seventh-round technical knockout at New York's Madison Square Garden.^[2] In the match, Baer took the first four rounds, but Mann took the next four with cutting hooks to the head and body. A savage right hook in the opening of the seventh severely cut Mann's eye, causing his handlers to end the fight.^[26]

Winning in a three-round technical knockout before 4,000 fans, he defeated accomplished boxer Harold Blackshear, who maintained a winning record and a 50% knockout percentage, on December 17, 1940, at Oakland's Auditorium. Baer had the advantages of roughly five inches in reach, 5.5 inches in height, and 49 pounds in weight, as well as his superior punching ability. He toyed with Blackshear for the first two-and-a-half rounds, before commencing a clubbing and brutal assault in the third that led to the end of the charity bout. Many at ringside considered the bout a mismatch. Although he pocketed $2,500 for the contest, Baer had faced stronger opposition in the recent past, as Blackshear had dropped his last two fights, suffering a loss and a strong knockout.^[27]

Loss to Eddie Blunt in Oakland

Baer lost to Eddie Blunt on January 15, 1941, at the Auditorium in Oakland in a ten-round points decision. Though Baer was a 3-1 favorite in the early betting, Blunt won eight of the ten rounds. Despite a weight disadvantage of twenty-four pounds, Blunt kept Baer off balance with long lefts and stiff uppercuts throughout the match, and by the fifth had cut Baer's eyes, after which Baer kept losing ground. The fifth through seventh rounds were hard fought with both boxers fighting toe to toe.^[28] Though Baer attempted a rally in the tenth, it was far too late to make up the points differential, though he managed to win the round. In the words of one reporter, "Baer took one of the most beautiful shellackings of his erratic career".^[29] Baer required stitches above both eyes, and it was evident he would need a break before his next fight.^[30]

In a ramp up to a heavyweight title match, he defeated colorful contender Tony Galento before 8,500 fans on April 8, 1941, in a seventh-round technical knockout in Washington, D.C., when Galento had to discontinue the bout due to a broken hand. Galento took the first round backing Baer into the ropes with a few hard rights, but the second was even, and Baer took the remaining rounds. Baer used his superior reach in the remaining rounds to keep Galento from boring in, and in the fourth, he staggered Galento with a hard right to the mouth. Another solid blow in the sixth caused Galento to lose his mouthpiece, and there were some hard punches, but the match featured no knockdowns. The win was a solid one for Baer.^[31][2] Baer succeeded in connecting with solid lefts to Galento's head and both lefts and rights to his body.^[32]

Official Record

All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.

Unofficial record

Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions in the win/loss/draw column.