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

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Yussel wanted Braddock for his man, and Schmeling even came to America to sign a contract to fight the champ. But Gould wanted no part of Schmeling; he wanted Louis for the champion. This seemed odd from a boxing perspective. Why would Braddock want to test against himself the murderous punching of Louis rather than the less threatening work of the aged Schmeling? The answer, of course, was Gould and Braddock couldn't lose against Louis. They had 10 percent of him, whatever the result.

While Schmeling posed for pictures and spent time at the Garden, hustling up interest in a nonevent, Braddock and Louis were in training for their title fight. In May, a federal judge named (believe it or not) Guy L. Fake ruled the Garden could not force Braddock to fight Schmeling.

Meanwhile, although he was the centerpiece of the sport and generated the interest that kept fight writers busy, Joe Louis struggled to convince some of them he could bounce back from the Schmeling defeat. He was fat and lazy, according to many of these sages, and disposable. They were fine to his face, of course, but patronizing—and they would not kiss his big black ass, even for another two-buck bribe from the promoters.