I guess we should probably start out in Lafayette, Alabama on May 13, 1914 where I was born to the son of an Alabama sharecropper, great grandson of a slave, and the great - great grandson of a white slave owner. When I was nine years old my family and I moved to Detroit in 1924. Detroit was where I first became interested in boxing. Having grown up in the old south, I had acquired the instinct and anger of a true fighter. I took on a strong liking to the sport and decided I was going to try boxing out. I trained non stop for the next ten years without any glamour or fame. I had a "vision" and I wasn't about to let it slip away. I won the Golden Gloves as a light heavyweight which would spark my professional career as a boxer. Within the first year of turning professional I won all twelve of my first bouts. As soon as I reached the pro's I new it would be a steep climb up the heavyweight ladder.
After I won more and more bouts my reputation as a boxer was growing, until finally I got my big chance. On June of 1935, I fought Primo Carnera, the former heavyweight champion, before a Yankee Stadium crowd of
On June 22,1938 I finally got my chance to take on Max Schmeling again. This time around I knocked him out in the 1st round and captured the admiration of countless Americans. I gained a moral victory for myself and for my country, and simultaneously struck a damaging blow to Hitler and his Nazi beliefs. During my 12 year reign as a heavyweight champion I defended my title many times including the infamous match between that loud mouth Billy Conn. In 1942 I joined the Army and worked as a physical education teacher. It would be 4 long years before I would return to the ring again. What happened next was something no one expected, I retired from professional boxing as still the heavyweight champion. But it wouldn't be long before I would return. I owed the IRS millions of dollars and I didn't have a single cent to pay them. I guess you could say I was forced back into the ring. In 1950 I attempted to recapture my title once again against Ezzard Charles. I was handed a loss by points after many rounds. But I couldn't give up I had to give it one more shot to see if I still had it in me. In 1951 I tried again
All papers and essays are for research and reference purposes only!
Copyright 2002-2009
Direct Essays , LLC. All Rights Reserved. DMCA Webmasters make $$$$