JOE LEWIS
Additional Photos Collected

Q: What movie are you most proud of and if you had total control over a project to star in, who would you cast and why?
Joe Lewis: I am not really proud of any of my films. I never had a script or a director I could work with.
They were all action directors and knew nothing about working with actors.
I would like to work in a project with someone like Robert De Niro or Jack Nicholson where I would play someone close to him, such as a brother.
I would prefer never to do martial art movies. In the beginning, my acting coaches told me to never do martial art movies.
That was one of the reasons I turned Bruce Lee down.

Q: Can you tell the forum what exactly happened the time you demonstrated Martial Arts on Muhammad Ali?
Joe Lewis: Muhammad Ali was getting ready to fight the wrestler, Inoki, from Japan.
He was at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles doing a press conference in the boxing ring.
I simply asked him what he would do if a wrestler did a fake punch at his head and shot for his leg to take him to the ground.
He told me to step in the ring and demonstrate. The press pushed me between the ropes, and I found myself face to face with Ali.
We were both in street clothes, and he had his hands up shuffling side to side using lateral footwork movements against me.
I did a shoulder fake, which he reacted to, and shot for his leg. The instance I hooked his leg, I froze. I was too embarrassed to dump him on his butt.
He bent forward and wrapped his arms around my waist, and I heard everybody in the place laugh.
I picked him up, did a fireman's carry takedown, dumping him on his back, and pinned him on the mat.
Everybody grabbed me and pulled me off quickly. I jumped up, telling everybody we were just playing.
Ali stood up next to me and put his arm around my shoulder. At the time, I was only about 180 pounds because I was pursuing acting not fighting, and my weight was really down.
Ali's first comment to me was, "You lifted weights when you were younger, didn't you?" I'm sure he could tell I was extremely strong and hard as a brick.
Then we did the same movement again, and I pinned him again a second time in a row.
That's when he showed me how he was going to fight Inoki with his back constantly against the ropes.

A Father and Coach can only appreciate…..Pictured is Steve Snyder's son, Deven, directly after his first Kickbox fight at the 2008 IKF World Classic.
Immediately after his devastating loss, Mr. Joe Lewis sat down and talked to him one-on-one for about 45-minutes.
Nobody interrupted or listened in on the conversation so Steve was unable to repeat what was said.
What he does know is the Legend, Greatest Fighter of All Time, and Steve's mentor was there for his son / student to mentor him at a well-needed time in his martial arts career.
This is a side of Mr. Lewis not many see regularly, but we all know exists. Fathers know exactly how much this meant.
Written by Steve Snyder...

Joe and IKF Florida Representative Sean Wohl (1990's)

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