One book, "Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man," by Jim Hague, suggests that his parents came to the United States directly from Ireland. Most of what is written about the fighter details his struggles in and out of the ring during the Great Depression. Their birthplace has long been obscured by the fighter's miraculous achievement. He was the largest of the seven children born to Joseph Braddock and Elizabeth O'Toole. He entered this world weighing a robust 17 pounds, perhaps a sign of his destiny. I liked who he was and what he did after he was a champion."Īs with many tales, the true story is arguably more compelling than the celluloid version.īraddock was born on June 7, 1905. I liked who he was when he was a champion. "I wanted his legacy respected," said Crowe, while promoting the movie. The inspiring tale of Braddock, who came off public assistance to win the world championship, is depicted in the film "Cinderella Man." Braddock's essential decency while overcoming crushing poverty underpins the movie, directed by Ron Howard and starring Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger and this year's Oscar-nominated Paul Giamatti. Braddock demonstrated that in life, as well as the boxing ring. He then cashed in, earning an unprecedented $24m (£12.4m) in a title fight with Evander Holyfield which he lost in three rounds.It has been said that one of the traits the Irish brought to these shores was that of survival. The world then watched in disbelief as Douglas took Tyson apart with his left jab. Since becoming the youngest man to be champion, when he knocked out Trevor Berbick in 1986, Tyson had looked unbeatable.īut Douglas's mother had died shortly before the fight was announced and he trained with a new fury. But lurid tales of the drunken champion crashing his Bentley, brawling in the street and apparently experiencing a deteriorating relationship with promoter Don King did not stop Tyson being the hot favourite to win the fight.ĭouglas had nothing in his record to suggest he would give Tyson a beating that would go down as the greatest upset in the history of the world heavyweight title.
Tyson's marriage to Robin Givens was unravelling fast after the actress appeared on television to speak of the torment of trying to live with her husband. Mike Tyson had begun to run off the rails by the time he defended his world heavyweight title in Tokyo against the little-considered Buster Douglas, pictured below, in February 1990. Braddock lost but Louis went on to make 25 title defences and the Cinderella Man was made for life. Two years later, Braddock was given a huge incentive to defend his title against Joe Louis, with a contract guaranteeing him 10% of all Louis's earnings from future title fights. When the bout took place, an inspired Braddock was too fit for his opponent and the New York crowd were shocked to see Baer out-pointed. For him, the Baer fight offered a way out of poverty.īraddock, or the Cinderella Man as he would famously become known, trained like a demon for the fight while Baer drank and fornicated. A fiercely proud man who had made his living as a dock labourer, he was ashamed to have been reduced to drawing social welfare when the depression hit.
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