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

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On July 20, 1920, Johnson met US agents at the Los Angeles border, where crowds had gathered on both sides to see the former heavyweight champion of the world relinquish the last thing he had of value: his freedom. Always ready for a publicity op, Johnson, in a ratty suit, paused dramatically before crossing so that photographers could capture the moment. And then, Jack Johnson, for years a Janus-like symbol of both hatred and pride, stepped over the border and, once again, into the unknown.

He came a long way to see his nemesis, Esteban de Jesús, in his dying days, out to Río Piedras and to a converted milk factory where the malarial sunlight filtered in through grimy windows overlooking sickbed after sickbed. Now wraithlike, 90 pounds, and seeking solace from a future afterlife, de Jesús had been an addict, a killer, a convict, one of the top lightweights in the world, and, for a little while at least, a national hero, the first man ever to beat Roberto Durán.