He was born Joseph Louis Barrow in the Buckalew Mountain region of Alabama, near Lafayette in Chambers County, in 1914. Louis moved to Detroit as a small boy. At age 16 he joined the boxing club and began training for amateur bouts.

His amateur career began in Fall 1932. In his first bout against Johnny Miler, he was knocked down seven times in the first two rounds but completed the three-round match. He subsequently won his next three fights by knockout and earned the Detroit light heavyweight Golden Gloves championship in 1932. His amateur record stood at 50 wins in 59 matches before transitioning to professional boxing in 1934.

In his first professional fight, on July 4, 1934, in Chicago, Louis knocked out Jack Kracken in the first round, earning $59. In September of 1935, in Yankee Stadium; before 90,000 people, Louis restored boxing to its heyday of the million-dollar-gate, and earned $240,000, in beating Max Bare.

After defeating a number of other challengers, he was given a title fight with Jim Braddock on June 22, 1937. He knocked out Braddock in the eighth round and began the long championship reign that was to see him defending his crown as often as six times in six months.

Joe Louis held the world heavyweight boxing championship longer (12 years), and defended it more often (25 times), than anyone else. He rescued boxing from the "hands of scandals", such as fighting a crooked (fixed) bout, bragging, or boasting, and he decided that it was best to 'fight clean and live clean'. He made it easier for blacks to break into major league Sports, and did much to improve relations between the races.

One of Louis' greatest fights was his 1941 thirteenth-round-knockout of Billy Conn. After winning a disputed decision over Joe Walcott in 1947, Louis knocked out the Jersey challenger six months later, and then went into retirement. Joe Louis died April 12, 1981, at the age of 67.