Читать книгу Sporting Blood. Tales from the Dark Side of Boxing онлайн

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Two years later, however, he was an exile to himself. As champion, Johnson earned more than the racist cartoons and rotogravures his notoriety generated. No matter how loathed he was by a public that viewed his personal excesses as a blatant disregard for the retrograde moral order of the ironically named Progressive Era, Johnson was an exemplar of sporting supremacy in an age when the heavyweight championship could still be viewed in near-mythical terms. That status, left behind in Havana, could no longer help him in exile. A few days after being stopped by Willard, a dejected Johnson boarded a steamship bound both for Europe and for several unsettled years of a life that had long since spiraled out of control.

When Johnson arrived in London in May 1915, he was not met with the fanfare that had greeted him on previous trips. Without the distinction of being heavyweight champion, Jackson was already on his way to has-been status. His revue, Seconds Out, played to waning box-office receipts, and his personal life, which is what ultimately led to his prosecution in America, prompted mass revulsion. In addition, his quicksilver moods—he was sued for assault at one point—soured everyone around him. In January 1916, Johnson was ordered to leave England under the Aliens Restriction Act. With World War I raging across the Continent, he ultimately decided that neutral Spain would be his safest option.