When Joe Louis was “The Next Big Thing” he ran into the clever Max Schmelling and was knocked out in 12th Round. Two years later, after becoming Heavyweight Champion of the World, he avenged his upset loss with one of the most devastating performances of his career by not letting Schmelling finish the 1st Round. In 1937, Louis fought Bob Pastor and won unanimous decision. In his eighth defense, Louis once again fought Pastor and this time around he stopped him in the 12th Round. Louis did this trick with four other fighters where he had problems the first time around and then crushing them in rematches.
Joe Louis is often included in discussions about who the greatest boxers were. More often than not, his supporters point to his record 25 defenses and his one punch knockout power. However, from my vantage point, it was his talent for making bad performances an afterthought by erasing previous mistakes with dominating performances in the rematch.
The lesson taught here by Joe Louis is that if you have an opportunity for a re-do, make sure you erase any prove the last performance was an aberration. If you’re given a second chance, you better run with it and take full advantage of the opportunity.
On Wednesday night, I was at a club doing a 10min set and I had one of my worst performances there in years. To make matters worse, I was showcasing for the new manager to get weekend bookings. Even though I didn’t bomb, I felt that I was the weakest act of the night and that is never a good feeling. Even before I left the club last night, I was already looking forward to my next spot at a different club tonight. I knew that the best remedy for a bad set is more stage time. More stage time means an opportunity for redemption.
The difference between
the two nights is striking. Last night,
the crowd was offended by Box Set.
Tonight, the crowd gave me the biggest laugh for the same joke. Last night, I failed. Tonight, I redeemed
myself. Last night, I didn't win the audience over. Tonight, I knocked them out. Tonight, I pulled a Joe Louis
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