![]() In the end, the judges gave Braddock the title with a unanimous decision. Baer admitted afterwards that he had underestimated Braddock as "a chump."ĭuring the fight, a dogged Braddock took a few heavy hits from the powerful younger champion (30 years vs 26 years for Baer), but Braddock kept coming, wearing down Baer, who seemed perplexed by Braddock's ability to take a punch. Instead, on June 13, 1935, at Madison Square Garden Bowl, Braddock won the heavyweight championship of the world as the 10-to-1 underdog in one of the most stunning upsets in boxing history. After defeating another highly regarded heavyweight contender, Art Lasky, whose nose he broke during the bout on March 22, 1935, Braddock was given a title fight against the World Heavyweight Champion, Max Baer.Ĭonsidered little more than a journeyman fighter, Braddock was hand-picked by Baer's handlers because he was seen as an easy payday for the champion. He won in one of the most important fights of his career. ![]() Braddock then fought John Henry Lewis, a future light heavyweight champion. Although Braddock was intended simply as a stepping stone in Griffin's career, he knocked out the "Ozark Cyclone" in the third round. Wikipedia notes: In 1934, Braddock was given a fight with the highly touted John "Corn" Griffin. Other news, sports and various advertisements of the day throughout. Coverage on the heavyweight boxing championship fight in which James Braddock pulled out a stunning upset against Max Baer. This 14 page newspaper has one column headlines on page 9: "Braddock's Purse Less Than $20,000", "Baer Is Better Off Without The Title" and more with two related photos (see photos). After seeing the fight between Wepner and Muhammad Ali in 1985, Stallone was inspired to write his Rocky script.THE BETHLEHEM GLOBE-TIMES, Pennsylvania, June 15, 1935 Stallone said that his fictional character was loosely based on Chuck Wepner. Braddock, Stallone’s fictional character Rocky Balboa also was 30 years old when he fought for the title. The film included a lot of elements that made Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky movies a success. In his film, Ron Howard did a good job of capturing the way things were in America as the country tried to recovery from the Great Depression. For you who have not seen the movie, I highly recommend it. Russell Crowe portrayed Braddock in the movie, while Paul Giamatti won an Academy Award for his roll as Braddock’s manager Joe Gould. ![]() But in one of the biggest boxing upsets of all-time, Braddock outlasted Baer and claimed the victory. ![]() Going into the fight, few people gave Braddock much of a chance at winning the fight. Braddock was tagged with the Cinderella Man title by newspaper reporter Damon Runyon, who chronicled the boxer’s fairy-tail-like rise from a poor fighter in New Jersey to the heavyweight boxing title of the world.īraddock was a rough, hard-punching boxer, who was a bit past his prime when he stepped into the ring with Baer. The story was captured well in the 2005 Ron Howard film titled Cinderella Man. Braddock won a 15-round decision against heavily-favored and defending champion Max Baer to capture the heavyweight boxing title. ![]() It was 86 years ago today – J– that James J. ![]()
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