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

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Madden was near the heartbeat of the sick beast Boxing throughout the Depression. At one point, he controlled the bantamweight and light heavyweight titleholders, as well as four of the five heavyweight champions between 1930 and 1937. Max Baer was the only fighter to hold out against him, publicly at least. It was always rumored Madden had a piece of him too, through Duffy and an underworld tough called George “Big Frenchy” DeMange. Gould was now on the inside, with a so-so heavyweight and connections to all the people who controlled the title.

Owney, it is said, also owned a slice of Braddock. And you won't see that in the schlock movie Cinderella Man, which depicts Braddock as an innocent victim of his times and calling, oblivious to the deals Gould was doing with the psychopath Madden.

Braddock's story was a good one. Devastated by the Wall Street Crash, he famously rose from the breadline and occasional work on the Jersey docks and, against all the odds, got a shot at the awesome puncher Baer.