Boxer James Braddock: biography, photo

James Braddock is a famous boxer of the last century. Full name is James Walter Braddock, but the fans called him Jim Braddock. Legendary American boxer, world champion in heavyweight. The swing of the hands of a professional boxer reached two meters. A truly powerful boxer, James Braddock. The photos illustrating the article only partially demonstrate its strength and vitality.

The birthplace of the boxer

James is a descendant of Irish settlers. He was born in the Clinton area (Manhattan), which was famous for its high crime rate. The area is located between 34 and 59 streets on one side and 8 avenues and the Hudson River on the other. Clinton - the criminal center of New York, which because of the complex situation was deservedly called "Hell's Kitchen". For a long time, Germans and Irish emigrants settled in this area, usually poor people or middle-class people.

Modern Clinton is now built up with a huge number of theaters, elite restaurants and rich apartment buildings. But in the time of James Braddock, life in this area was a real hell, in every sense of the word. Perhaps, it is this environment that prompted the future professional to become strong and indestructible in order to stay alive and protect their loved ones. One of the nicknames of the legendary boxer is Cinderella.

Braddock James: Biography

Jim was born on June 7, 1905, in a poor large family. Parents are Joseph and Elizabeth Braddock. The father of the boxer worked as a loader and moonlighted as a security guard. The money that my father earned was never enough: they were useless crumbs, which were paid irregularly. In such circumstances, Jim had no choice but to go and earn his own. At the age of 14, Braddock went to his first job to help his parents. The first post of the future boxer is a courier in the world-famous "Western Union".

Thanks to his older brother, Joe James felt how much he was attracted to boxing fights. At first Joe was his coach, and after a while - as a manager.

The first unprofessional fight of James took place in the 29th year of the last century. James decided to act under an assumed name - Jimmy Ryan. After some time, the boxer acted under the name James Jay Braddock.

Start a career and an amazing introduction

In just three years, young Braddock turned from an amateur into a professional boxer. The manager of the boxer, after the brother of Joe, was A. Barnet. His career depends on the talent career, so the better the manager copes with his work, the faster his career advances.

The manager of boxer Harry Galfand was Joe Gould. Joe once came to the gym in which his boxer's training took place. Galfand was sparred with Braddock, and Gould admired the skill of the young boxer. Deciding not to lose a moment, Joe signed a contract with James, which implied a long-term cooperation. Joe believed in a talented boxer and realized that he met a rough diamond. Thanks to the well-coordinated work of the remarkable manager and talented boxer for a short time behind the sportsman's back, there were 30 professional victories, of which 21 were knocked out.

The championship battle with Tommy Laugran

After James J. Braddock defeated D. Slattery, P. Lutzo and T. Griffithson, he was able to enter the ring with Tommy Laugran to fight for the light heavyweight title. The Boxer raised his professional bar to an unprecedented height, but did not allow himself to relax. July 18, 1939 the battle took place, which lasted all 15 rounds. At the end of the battle, according to scoring, the judges awarded Tommy Laughran a victory and was sent to the "moral knockout" of Braddock.

Recession

After the defeat in the battle with Tommy Laugran, Braddock's career swiftly rolled down. It seemed that he had lost all faith in himself, his professional skills, his invincibility and was defeated in battle after battle. A significant role was played by the financial situation in the country due to the Great Depression. Boxer manager Joe Gould, who helped climb James to the top, found himself a spare athlete. The only joy for Braddock at that time was his lover May, who agreed to become his wife, despite a difficult period in the life of the boxer.

James Braddock tried to feed his family, taking part in a variety of sparring, but this did not bring proper results. The fighting brought defeat one after another. During a fight with Abe Feldman, Jim breaks his hand and decides to leave the box. Disappointed with himself, Braddock follows in the footsteps of his father and gets a job as a loader, and then receives unemployment benefits.

Return to the ring

When did he become famous as boxer James Braddock? Biography tells us that Joe Gould did not stop believing in him as a boxer, so he did not break his contract with him during the difficult period of his life. Gould suggests James as a professional boxer wherever possible, but no one believes that Braddock is capable of anything. Jim himself lost all hope of returning to the ring again.

But Gould's attempts to promote Braddock were crowned with success. He was able to negotiate a fight with John Griffon. It took James two days to prepare for this fight. And in the third round, Jim sends the opponent into a knockout. A few months later, Joe Gould agreed on a fight with John Lewis, whom Braddock wins on points. In March 1935, the boxer enters the ring with Art Laski, and this time the luck smiles to the professional athlete.

Champion's fight with Max Baer

Thanks to the grandiose victories of Braddock, Joe Gould was able to agree on a fight with Max Baer for the world heavyweight title. The fight lasted seven rounds. Baer could not even imagine that Jim would be able to hold out for many long rounds. As a result of the game, Baer lost, and Braddock received the deserved long-awaited victory and became the new world champion in the heavyweight division. After this fight, James Braddock was called "The Pride of the Irish."

Leaving the professional boxing

After numerous victories, Braddock decides to give part of the money to the state. Thanks to this act, the popularity of the boxer grows at an incredible rate. It is spoken not only by boxing fans and athletes, but also by the public and by statesmen. It's strange, but after winning the title Braddock refuses to participate in professional fights, and enters into sparring only with his coach.

In 1936 Braddock had to defend his title in battle with the German boxer Max Schmeling, but the meeting did not take place. Instead, there was a fight with Joe Louis. In the eighth round, Louis sent Braddock to a knockout. And two years later, a battle with Tommy Farro took place. Braddock won and said goodbye to professional boxing. Subsequently, James goes into the army. After the service, Braddock sells military supplies, then goes to the union of engineers and then financially participates in the construction of the Verrazanno bridge.

The legendary boxer died at the age of 69, in 1974.

The film "Knockdown"

James Braddock is a boxer, about whom the biographical film "Knockdown" was shot. The director of the picture is Ron Howard, the main role was played by Russell Crowe. The film went out in 2005 and raised more than a hundred million dollars at the box office. The plot tells about the life of Braddock, affecting not only professional, but also personal life. The film received many international awards and awards.