Braddock- He Made the Impossible, Possible Read The New York Times’ round-by-round recap of the fight. Watch footage of the Braddock-Baer fight. We did it.’”īraddock was declared winner by unanimous decision, becoming heavyweight champion of the world. Braddock looked down and quietly said, ‘We did it. Gould jumped into the ring, grabbed both of Braddock’s legs and lifted him into the air. Braddock, Max Baer, and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History.” “Then the bell sounded. “With five seconds left in the fight, Braddock landed two rights to Baer’s head,” writes Jeremy Schaap, author of “Cinderella Man: James J. “But the crowd was on its toes right up to the final bell on the chance that Baer might somehow suddenly land the dread blow which would cut down the striving underdog.”īraddock, who was renowned for his strong chin, avoided any damaging blows. “As an exhibition of good boxing, the match lacked intrinsic excitement,” wrote Time. Though the hard-working Braddock could do little damage to Baer, he won round after round on the scorecard until Baer became more focused by that time, however, the champion needed a knockout to win the fight. I woke up in a cold sweat.” Boxing Contentīaer didn’t take his challenger seriously in the opening rounds, “smirking at Braddock as if he were some huge private joke,” described Time. “I'm scared stiff I'll kill Braddock,” he told reporters. The powerful Baer, who earlier in his career had killed an opponent, worried that he might do the same to Braddock.
Despite his momentum, the aging Braddock was a heavy underdog, with odds ranging from 8-1 to over 10-1. Braddock’s luck changed when he offered a bout against John “Corn” Griffin on the undercard of a title fight between Primo Carnera and Max Baer on June 14, 1934, at the Madison Square Garden Bowl in Queens.īraddock was expected to serve as a little more than a punching dummy for the up-and-coming Griffin fight promoter Jimmy Johnston remarked to Gould, “Don’t blame me if Griffin kills that old Irishman.” But after a rough first round, Braddock stunned Griffin with a third-round knockout.Īfter back-to-back upsets of John Henry Lewis and Art Lasky, which earned him the nickname “Cinderella Man,” Braddock found himself back at the Madison Square Garden Bowl 364 days after beating Griffin, this time fighting for the heavyweight championship against Baer. Joe Gould, Braddock’s manager, tirelessly continued to promote Braddock, blaming his losses on his broken hand.
In desperate need of money to feed his family, he retired from boxing in 1933 and took a job as a longshoreman in New Jersey. He lost a narrow decision in the fight at Yankee Stadium, and two months later lost most of his savings when the stock market crashed.īraddock’s career nosedived, as he lost 16 of his next 26 fights and suffered multiple fractures in his feared right hand. Braddock’s Inspiring Comebackīoxer James Braddock rose to prominence in the late 1920s and earned a bout for the light heavyweight title against champion Tommy Loughran on July 18, 1929.
On June 13, 1935, James Braddock, just a year after coming out of retirement, won a unanimous decision against heavyweight champion Max Baer in one of boxing’s greatest upsets.
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