Later in 1929, "Strib" made his first European tour where he lost by a foul to a future world heavyweight champion Primo Carnera in London and a month later defeated him in Paris in a rematch. Later in 1930, he made a second European tour, and this time defeated the champions of Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Belgium. Back in the United States while nursing a broken left hand, he defeated the heavyweight champion of Norway. "Strib" missed his one great chance to become heavyweight champion of the world when he lost to Max Schmeling on July 3, 1931, in Cleveland, on a technical knockout in the last 14 seconds of the 15th round. The battle was a rout before it was half over; the only round Young Stribling might've won was the 4th. According to one ringside observer, Stuart Bell, "Strib" might've landed only 30 good punches in the 15 round fight. It was the first major fight to be broadcast live over national radio. When the fight ended, "Strib" went to shake hands with Schmeling who, although swarmed by photographers, insisted on being photographed with "Strib." During the spring of 1932, "Strib" went on a boxing tour to Australia, accompanied by his wife and children, and in the fall they sailed to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he defeated the heavyweight champion of that country before a record crowd of 15,000. Early in 1933 "Strib" returned to Paris to beat, again, the champion of Belgium in a rematch. One night in Atlanta, "Strib" rose from his ringside seat and threw in the towel to stop a young boxer's brutal beating by an experienced opponent. The news reporter who witnessed the incident later wrote, "To me, this one incident did more to reveal the true character and instinct of Young Stribling than anything else—the instinct of a Christian gentleman who abhorred brutality whether at his expense or the expense of a foe."