Читать книгу Jacobs Beach. The Mob, the Garden and the Golden Age of Boxing онлайн

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When King gave breathless birth to his valedictory over the sacred ring in Madison Square Garden—one of hundreds for which he will be remembered when he is eventually laid to rest by gout or universal schadenfreude—the roped square was on its way to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in quiet Canastota. Rebuilt and revered, it resides as a reminder of the skulduggery and high times that took place in what for most of the twentieth century was the most revered arena in sport.

Nobody can be sure how many fighters stepped through the ropes of the most famous Garden ring over the course of eighty-two years. We can be certain, though, that the last title fight there was on Saturday, June 9, 2007, when Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico stopped Zab Judah of Brooklyn in the eleventh of twelve scheduled rounds to retain his World Boxing Association welterweight belt in front of 20,658 fans, most of them New York Puerto Rican supporters of the champion. It was the biggest crowd the venue had seen for a championship bout outside the heavyweight division.