The Champions of the World

The Champions of the World

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter could-a been the champion of the world.  Joe "The Brown Bomber" Louis was the champion of the world.  Separated by about 30 years, both of these African American boxers were greats in their times.   Joe Louis holds a more victorious story by actually having the opportunity to win the title champion of the world.  Louis was the heavyweight champion in from 1937 to 1949.  His victory was a big deal to the African American community, shown in Maya Angelou’s chapter of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings called “Champion of the World.”  Angelou writes of a scene of people packing into “the Store” to listen to the radio calling of Joe Louis’s fight for the title.  Later in the story Louis win the fight and is declared “champion of the world.”  When I read this, I was instantly reminded of Bob Dylan’s song, “Hurricane.”  This ballad is about the story African American boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter.  In 1966, he was arrested while making his strong go at the title of middleweight boxing champion of the world.  He was wrongly arrested and convicted of a triple murder before he could win his title like Joe Louis had won.  Because of his skin color he was wrongfully convicted and not able to demonstrate his skills in boxing and make a difference in his community.