- Arthur Pine: Johnson says he'll make us a million dollars.
- 'Chappie' Blackburn: And what else?
- Arthur Pine: Something one of the boys said - that we gotta remember Joe's a colored fighter. And as a colored fighter, he's got two strikes against him already.
- 'Chappie' Blackburn: What did Jacobs say?
- Julian Black: Jacobs says he'll make Joe champion.
- 'Chappie' Blackburn: Can he do it without the Garden? Well, which one do we go with, Chappie?
- Joe Louis: We'll go with the man who will make us champion... Chappie.
- [first lines]
- Newspaper man: Tad, you missed the greatest fight of the year. This Marciano's another Dempsy. Louis is through for real now. He should've quit while he was ahead. What are you doing here? I thought you were goin' home. Well, Rocky almost knocked him out of the ring. The kid's got a punch like a ten-ton truck! He'll be the next champ for sure. Well, I'd better go write my story.
- Tad McGeehan: Lou... I'll write the story.
- Newspaper man: But you didn't see the fight.
- Tad McGeehan: I'll write the real story.
- Nick - Announcer: Congratulation, Joe.
- Joe Louis: Thanks, Nick. We got lucky.
- Nick - Announcer: You're the heavyweight champion of the world.
- Joe Louis: Not yet, I'm not.
- 'Chappie' Blackburn: What'd you mean?
- Joe Louis: Not until I beat Schmeling.
- Joe Louis: Are you a Detroit girl?
- Marva Louis: No. I live in Chicago. I'm just here for a visit.
- Joe Louis: Whereabout in Chicago?
- Marva Louis: I'm in the book.
- 'Chappie' Blackburn: Well, one thing I can say about Chappie, he never makes the same mistake twice. Look, nobody got killed. You just to step back a little. That's all. What we gotta do now is start afresh, make up for that time we just lost.
- Marva Louis: So you all got set back a little. Now you got to make up for lost time. Lost. You don't know the meaning of the word. Look at him. Nobody got killed, you say. How do you know? Were you in the ring? Was it your face on the floor? It was my husband. He belongs to me.
- 'Chappie' Blackburn: Hey Joe, you been carrying that bag in the same hand all the time?
- Joe Louis: Yes, Mr. Blackburn.
- 'Chappie' Blackburn: Come back here. Move it to the other hand. A bag can pull you off-balance. Use two hands. Let the bag work for both hands. A bag is something heavy enough to exercise you.
- Joe Louis: Yes, sir.
- Julian Black: And if you're smart, you'll do what he tells you - in the ring and out.
- Mrs. Barrows: What happened, son?
- Joe Louis: He beat me, Ma.
- Mrs. Barrows: Did you do your best?
- Joe Louis: I didn't do my best before the fight.
- [narrating the Lois Vs. Carnera fight]
- Tad McGeehan: Joe found out what they meant by the saying, 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall.' Primo was big and he was game, but Joe got to him by the sixth and it was all over.
- [Joe Lois is losing against Max Schmeling]
- Joe Louis: What am I doing wrong, Chappie?
- 'Chappie' Blackburn: You already done it.
- [last lines]
- Tad McGeehan: And so tonight I saw the last fight in the career of one of the greatest fighters of all time. There are none among us who will not write finesse to the end of an era; those of us who have come the full road with Joe Louis. From an open faced cabin in an Alabama cotton patch, from the early days in Detroit, through the years when no man by Schmeling ever stood over him for the long count. Those who watched him grow a hesitant boy into a manhood he made rich with his great goodwill and deep humility. Those among us who saw in his rise a bright and permanent hope for all kids who start on backstreets. Those who love him and those who consider him a credit to the human race. Joe lost his wife, lost his title, lost his beloved Chappie. But out of it all, he found himself. And from me who knows him better than most, I can see a beginning, not an end. And from all of us tonight, champ, good luck.