I actually spoke to Joe over the phone in 1991 when the first Tyson/Hoylfield fight was taking place.we spoke about 7-10 minutes about the exhibition fight with him and Bill Wallace,the Tyson- Hoylfield upcoming fight,& a little of his fight systems.we didn't say anything about Bruce Lee & I think he mightve been glad of that.a real treat.by the way,I seen Chuck Norris just down the street from there in 1989 when he promoted his book in Harvard Square Boston.R.I.P to Joe.

@XSoCal Hi XSoCal! Wow a reply years later! It was in Lumberton North Carolina at the dojo I was training at. My instructor booked him for a 2 day seminar. I had been in martial arts maybe 2 years at the time and was completely star struck. I've been in martial arts now nearly 30 years, and attending his seminar and meeting him remains one of my favorite memories. He was probably around 50 at the time, and still built like a tank and would come at you like a bull when we were training. Grappling and hitting him was like hitting a brick wall, no lie. But he was so nice and kind once the training stopped! I have a nice professional photo with him, and I'm looking at his autograph on the wall as I type this. I got to meet him and train with him several times over the years and was heartbroken when I heard he died. He was an outstanding guy.

@XSoCal That's an awesome story man! I think I was actually a green belt at the time too, and was maybe 15. I bet he cleaned your clock too. :) Little did I know that about 10 years later, I'd end up training in Shorin-Ryu as well, which is what I still train in today. I would have killed to meet Benny the Jet too! He's one I still hope to meet one day. I was definitely lucky to meet and train with Mr. Lewis quite a few times over the course of some years. I did about 8 years training out of Lumberton. Lewis was a North Carolina boy himself and his hometown wasn't far from Lumberton so my instructor didn't have too much trouble booking him for seminars, and heck sometimes he'd even stop by for an hour or two. Bill Wallace was another I got to meet a few times. Even he spoke highly of Joe Lewis. Dale "Sunshine" Frye was another great fighter I had the privilege to not only meet, but sparr with regularly, and get the wind knocked out of me MANY times. He was good friends with my instructor. Years later I look back on those times and still smile. Out of all of them though, training with Joe Lewis will always be the highlight!

@XSoCal Thanks for sharing the story! It's great to meet a fellow martial artist. I'm still a young man at 42, but my days of hard core tournament fighting are pretty much over too. I had hand surgery in 2005 for a crushed knuckle, and hip surgery in 2018. Wear and tear from doing this for years. Luckily not a hip replacement, and I'd say it's better than it has been in YEARS. I have full range of motion again and can move like I'm 19 again. But if I'm not careful I'll end up with one! Like you, I wouldn't change a thing about my experiences though. I still practice though and will until I drop!

@XSoCal Nice to meet you Dennis! I'll definitely hit you up over email. Thanks so much for sharing your stories about Joe Lewis too!

Chuck Norris beat him 3times but didn´t follow him in full contact fighting. Bill Wallace was also great. I wouldn´t call him the greatest though.

@@Katzenhase you dont know Joe. he just did that intentionally

@@laxer123 What did he do intentionally?

Anderson C It had to be in 2012.Joe Lewis passed away august 31st 2012.

I was there, my first karate tournament I was a student of Byong Yu, it was at Cal State College Hayward California a special challenge match I was devastated my instructor lost but it was a fair fight . Joe gave Mr Yu a bloody nose, and offered him his towel to wipe up the blood. He really was an extremely gifted martial artist and so explosive and strong. The older I get the more great people we lose. I was blessed to witness greatness that day.

@@JoseGonzalez-gg6rs Last I heard he's retired down along the Delaware coast somewhere.

@@JoseGonzalez-gg6rs Your welcome, they were good times that I will never forget.

@XSoCal I bet Joe Lewis would have had no chance against Chuck Norris in the 90´s because Norris was a black belt in Brazilian Jui Jitsu, the most effective martial art.

@@Katzenhase, Joe Lewis was a wrestler before he went into Karate and other martial arts. Jiu Jitsu is a very effective martial art, but it is not the best. It’s practitioners had some success with it during the nineties, because most people didn’t know about it and had no idea how to defend against it. However, that changed and nowadays one cannot dominate just by practicing Jiu Jitsu. You need to be well rounded in several systems in order to be successful.

@@IlianNachev Yeah, it´s better. But todays champions would have lost against Rickson Gracie in his prime. Rickson was a beast and to this day the best fighter ever in BJJ.

@@Katzenhase not true, the Japanese karateka beat all the jujitsu Gracie Brothers in MMA fights.

@@josef-peterroemer6235 But not Rickson Gracie, arguably the best of all the Gracie´s.