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The Great Depression of the 1930’s caused widespread poverty, but the popular culture of the time did not reflect this. People wanted to escape from this harsh time so movies, dancing and sports became very popular. Radios broadcasted boxing matches and boxers became stars. The heavyweight champion James J. Braddock aka “Cinderella Man,” gained popularity. James Braddock gained fame by winning many fights and proving everyone wrong when they said he was too old and couldn’t win.
James Braddock took his father’s lessons to heart when he practiced fighting in the old schoolyard before he reached his teenage years. He practiced for several years to be an amateur fighter. When Braddock first started boxing he avoided professional competitions for two years. Instead, they froze the title, which means Braddock earned money touring the country giving public appearances and boxing exhibitions. In 1926, he entered the professional boxing circuit in the light heavyweight division. Braddock started out well, knocking out opponent after opponent in the first few rounds.
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In May of 1926 he knocked out Phil Weisberger, Jack O’ Day, and Willie Daily. A few fights later, he defeated Tony Griffiths; this was a big deal because Tony Griffiths beat all the light heavyweights at the time. Then in October of 1928 Braddock took out Pete Latzo in the tenth round and broke his opponent’s jaw. Braddock did very well until the year of 1929 when all his luck began to change. James Braddock fought Tommy Loughran for the name of the light heavyweight champion, but he lost in a 15 round decision. After that fight things went downhill, he had lost and fought a total of 16 out of 22 fights which led to a broken right
After being defeated early on in his career, Joe got a job working at Ford, but soon quit when his amateur boxing career took off. After being trained for a while his coaches encouraged him to pair up with a more experienced, connected coach so Joe found George Slayton who was manager of the Detroit Athletic Club. Under his direction, Joe made it to Detroit's Golden Gloves competition in 1933, but was defeated by Max Merak, a Notre Dam football star. Three months after winning his next decisive victory, the National AAU light-weight championship in St. Louis, Joe went pro. In his 54 amateur fights, Joe had won fourty-three by knock-out, seven by decision and lost four by decision.
“The 1910 Jeffries-Johnson Fight and Its Impact” was by far my favorite reading from the text this semester, which is the main reason for my choosing of this topic. Throughout this article, I found it to be incredibly intriguing how detailed it was on the struggles that Johnson went through. Discussing the difficult experiences he had as a rising black athlete and then to end up with a white woman who, to many, could or could not have been considered a prostitute. All of the events during Johnson’s life make him such an amazing person and a very interesting athlete to learn more about.
Joe Louis Barrow or the “Brown Bomber” was born on May 13th in 1914. His father was a cotton picker from Alabama and he lived a very poor life for most of his childhood. In 1924 his family moved to Detroit Michigan where he first became involved in boxing. Joe’s mother would give Joe money for violin lessons but instead of learning violin, Joe used that money to buy a locker in the local boxing gym. 10 years after Joe moved to Detroit he won the Golden Gloves in lightweight boxing. Following this, Joe became pro and won twelve fights in his first year. Joe continued to win fights to big names and ex-champions in heavy weight like Primo Carnera and Max Baer.
From then on he was a boxer all his life. He started winning awards and trophies when he was eleven years old. Oscar De La Hoya never went to college, he finished high school and focused all his energy on his boxing. As an amateur, De La Hoya spent the early mornings running through the streets of East Los Angeles to train. Oscar De La Hoya, also known as " Golden Boy", first captured America's hearts by becoming the only American boxer to win an Olympic Gold Medal at the 1992 summer games.
Remnick does not shy away from discussing the shadowy history of the boxing world (no pun intended). It's well known boxing has been affiliated with the 'mob,' but perhaps what is lesser known is Clay's absolute refusal to be in any way associated with the Mafia.
...eaven for many blacks as their performances proved they are no different from their white counterparts. Not only did they rally white troops from their athletic performances, they were able to do so from their voices and personal life. They began to voice their displeasure through various media outlets. Their public outcry to end social injustice and race based discrimination came started to become a popular topic of discussion all over the country. They took a stand and were rewarded for their actions as race based discrimination is abolished and blacks have the same status as whites. Black athletes are becoming more and more recognizable all over the world as some become the faces of their sports. Sports came as a form of entertainment for many, but for black athletes it ended up being the most treasured source to reconstructing their race’s lives in America.
Before Braddock could reach major general in the British army he had to work his way up there. In 1710 when Braddock was 15, he joined the Coldstream Guards of Britain. Over the years he moved
“No, you rip those boys right off him. You can’t always defend yourself. You’ll have to be willing to fight for things you love.”
This was a time when blacks were being discriminated against, the military was segregated, blacks were not allowed to play Major League Baseball. When he started boxing early in the 1930's hero worship was not achievable in any professional sports, there were none that were able to command the attention away from whites, however that would all change. Joe Louis began his boxing career at the Brewster Recreation Center. In his first amateur bout, Louis was knocked down 7 times, but he rapidly improved over the years, he captured the 1934 National AAU Lightweight Crown and turned to the professional level later in that same year. Louis won his first 27 fights, 23 of them by knockout, beating people of fame like Primo Carnera and Max Baer. His first defeat was against Max Scheming at Yankee Stadium, he was knocked out in the 12th round. This was Louis greatest defeat, and the start of his greatest challenge.
Going through the biography of Roddy Piper, it can be known how famous he was in the world of wrestling. Before plunging into wrestling as a career, Roddy used to be a boxer and a novice at wrestling. As far as boxing is concerned, he was so expert in it that he managed to win the Golden Gloves Boxing Championship. He is even a pro in Judo and own a Black Belt.
To solve this problem, he would often steal in order to look good enough to attend school. By the time James reached 16 years old, he was arrested, and served 3 years in prison. While in prison he started a gospel group and earned the title “Music Box” (Brenchley, 2003, DVD). James tried to find his place in life, his interest was boxing, and his idol was Bo Jack the boxer. He did some semi-pro boxing in his days, and played baseball.
Muhammad Ali was a man made to box. He had a great career before him since he made his first professional fight under President Eisenhower presidency. His Professional Career was really impressive. His had a great balance and was able to move his hands and feet in great speed and coordination. Ali was said to dance in the ring while destroying his opponents. Ali started fighting at a very short age, and his first teacher was Joe Martin (Hauser 18). Through hard work and discipline, he became a professional fighter and eventually the Heavyweight champion of the world. Although he lost the title twice, he regained it three times, putting him in the history books. His boxing career was put to an end when he started suffering from Parkinson's disease. This was the end of his boxing, but his greatness will never die.
When prominent boxers of the 20th century are discussed, many heavyweight champions are mentioned. Names like Floyd Patterson, Sonny Liston and Joe Frazier always find their way to the front of the conversation. But it is Muhammad Ali, a three-time heavyweight champion and political activist, who always seems to find the forefront of it all. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942, Ali came into the ring after his bike was stolen at the age of twelve. He brought up his anger to Officer Joe Elsby Martin Sr. who suggested he start boxing. Ali quickly became a star after winning a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics. At 6’3”, Ali demonstrated extraordinary speed and accuracy and he quickly became a contender for the heavyweight title.
Born on December 28, 1943, Keith grew up in Somerset, UK, where he was the son of a repairman for the electricity board. He had a very cheerful childhood during which he learned about his mothers great passion for cooking. As a result of being born into working class parents, it was a bit difficult to get him into school, but his parents had to make some sacrifices and managed to pay for him to attend a local public school. Throughout the school years Floyd was both popular and a good rugby player, but at age 16, the lack of money forced him to leave....
Muhammad Ali started off as Cassius Clay of Louisville who goes to a local store in search of merchandise and leaves his bike sitting unchained outside of the store. When he comes back the bike is gone and Clay is furious. He hunts for the nearest police officer in hopes of getting his bike back somehow, but the police officer could not help him and Clays vow to beat up the culprit (Ezra 7). Clay ironically took up boxing several months after the ruling of the Brown v. Board of Education court case. The story of Clay meeting Joe Martin is one of the defining moments in the man that would become Ali’s boxing career (Ezra 7). Without that moment in history you can validly argue that Muhammad Ali might have never became the legend that we know today.