Our theory that heavyweight champions—the real ones, not the Witherspoons, Pages, and Moorers—catch and reflect the spirit of our times, symbols like Dempsey and Louis, Marciano and Ali, seems borne out once again by the second coming of George Foreman. I saw the icon emerging in his stand-up fight with Holyfield. Here is the reformed mugger recycled for the ’90s, between fights the humble preacher in Houston, the millionaire huckster for Meineke mufflers on television, one minute the clown prince of jumbo-hamburger consumption, the next moment preaching the prowess of middle age once you bring yourself to believe that all things are possible. He’s a blown-up Jimmy Carter with a chopping right hand, a ’90s-style faith, and enough Madison Avenue savvy to keep those millions rolling in even if he doesn’t hang in there long enough to wait for the springing of Mike Tyson.
If every great fight is a morality play, we have a beauty coming up if forty-six-year-old, gold-plated George can manage to climb through the ropes against Iron Mike, with all the feminists crying, “Rapist!” and “Sexual harasser!” and all the young bloods claiming Tyson was framed or at least unfairly overpunished.
From born-agains to “date-rape” victims to inner-city violence, all the provocative issues of the final decade of the twentieth century will be reflected and hotly debated if we get Old George the Good and Young Mike the Bad into that zillion-dollar ring.
If every major heavyweight title fight holds up a mirror to our society, this mirror would cover the side of the World Trade Center, framed in twenty-two-carat gold. Praise the Lord and hike the prices on those commercials. This is the ’90s, when our old new heavyweight champion laughs at us: “In God and Meineke I trust, helping the poor, selling Mr. Nice Guy, getting banged up around the eyes, but never too blind to find my way to the bank.”
If it happens, get ready for religious fervor and big-profit redemption versus inner-city anger, pent up after doing five years hard time in presidential-hopeful Dan Quayle’s home state, where Family Values seem to have superseded the Bill of Rights.
Acknowledgments
I AM INDEBTED to Nick Beck, a man of letters who knows his boxing—a dear friend of the late Cus D’Amato and Jimmy Jacobs, Mike Tyson’s original mentors—who volunteered to read through some 150 fight pieces and suggested the Contents that gave form to this work.
While Nick provided this service as a labor of love, it was invaluable, unselfish, and thoroughly professional. How can I thank him: a long nostalgic lunch at Musso & Frank’s on Hollywood Boulevard for starters, to discuss everything from the Scott Fitzgerald comeback of the century to the impending release of Mike Tyson and his impact on the sorry state of the heavyweight division.
And my thanks to Elizabeth Marlowe, who fused high-tech efficiency to dedication in her paper chase through elusive files and lost folders to bring these pieces to their present form, along with invaluable editorial suggestions that supplemented Nick Beck’s expert selections from an overload of material.
Brookside, Quioque, New York
February 1995
Index
A | B | C | D | E
F | G | H | I | J
K | L | M | N | O
P | Q | R | S | T
U | V | W | Y | Z
Abrams, Al, 83
Abramson, Jesse, 80, 83, 155
Across the River and into the Trees (Hemingway), 26, 27
Algren, Nelson, 11, 187
Ali, Muhammad, 9, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 41, 42, 45, 94, 100, 136-138, 162, 166, 187-192, 242; compared to Jack Johnson, 45-46, 145; overview of career, 143-157; in Zaire, 169-182
American Medical Association, 159-168 passim
Angott, Sammy, 119
Antuofermo, Vito, 188
Arcel, Ray, 88, 161
Armstrong, Henry, 129, 193
Arthur, Johnny, 106
Arum, Bob, 99
Atlas, Teddy, 246
Attell, Abe, 54
Baer, Max, 49, 73, 74, 90, 191
Baker, Bob, 105
Baldwin, James, 9
Basilio, Carmen, 95, 101, 102, 103, 122, 126, 127
“Battler, The” (Hemingway), 30
Beard, symbol of, 135
Beckett, Joe, 106
Beery, Wallace, 222
Bell, Tommy, 120, 126
Bellows, George, 88
Benitez, Wilfred, 183, 184
Benton, George, 231, 235
Bey, David, 244
Biggs, Tyrell, 206
Bivins, Jimmy, 82
Black Muslims. See Islam.
Blount, George, 66
Boal, Sam, 28
Bobick, Duane, 94, 196
Body and Soul, 222
Bogart, Humphrey, 17, 34
Booker, Eddie, 82
Booth, Irving, 162
Bowe, Riddick, 242, 244, 245
Boxing: abolition versus reform, 32-34, 74-75, 140-142, 158-168; in Africa, 169-182; in America, 42-44 (see also specific items); in ancient Crete, 35; in ancient Greece, 35; in ancient Rome, 35-36; in Australia, 45; and brain damage, 159-168 passim; and celibacy, 91, 132; compared to chess, 140, 159, 188; corruption of, 71-74, 99, 124-129, 185-186; in England, 10-11, 36-42, 105-111 passim, 164; and history, 35-37, 139; and Jews, 50-52, 53-63, 139; Latins in, 168; and literature, 9-11, 187; and need for commissioner, 159-160, 167; and race, 37-52, 139, 196-206; salary issues, 140, 141, 201; and state of mind, 89-90; and television, 94-100, 165
Boxing Illustrated, 241
Braddock, Jim, 49, 51
Brando, Marlon, 188, 202
Bratton, Johnny, 95, 103, 126, 127, 140
Braxton, Dwight, 219
Breit, Harvey, 24, 27
Brinkley, David, 140, 150
Broadus, Doc, 223
Brown, Bundini. See Brown, Drew.
Brown, Drew, 152, 169, 171, 180, 191
Brown, Frankie, 111
Brown, Freddy, 187
Brown, James, 179
Brown, Joe, 95
Brown, Pat, 140, 142
Brown, Phil, 199
Bruce, Betty, 18
Bruce, Toby, 18-31 passim
Bruno, Frank, 206
Bucceroni, Dan, 124
Burley, Charley, 82
Burns, Tommy, 44
Byrd, Al, 162
Byron, George (Lord), 10, 36
Cain, Kid, 32
Callahan, Mushy, 21
Cannon, Jimmy, 49, 80, 84, 102
Canzoneri, Tony, 84
Carbo, Frankie, 98, 127
Carlos, John, 224
Carnera, Primo, 49, 126, 132-133
Carpentier, Georges, 47, 91
Carter, Jimmy, 95
Casa Cayo Jueso, 19
Cashel Byron’s Profession (Shaw), 48
Cayton, Bill, 221
Chamberlain, Neville, 51
Champ, The, 222
Chaplin, Charlie, 26, 27, 33
Chaplin, George, 200
Charles, Ezzard, 77, 81, 84, 87, 88, 131, 245
Chase, Jack, 82
Choynski, Joe, 164
Chuvalo, George, 196, 225
City Lights, 26, 27
Clancy, Gil, 161, 228
Classen, Willie, 162, 167
Clay, Cassius. See Ali, Muhammad.
Clay, Rudolph Valentino, 138, 150
Cobb, Tex, 163, 167
Cochrane, Red, 120
Cockell, Don, 105-111
Cohn, Roy, 139
Columbo, Allie, 82
Comiskey, Pat, 72
Conn, Billy, 34, 77, 84-86, 90,
93, 148, 191
Conn, Jackie, 84
Conrad, Hal, 100
Cooney, Gerry, 196-206
Cooney, Tommy, 199, 201
Cooney, Tony, 199
Cooper, Henry, 149
Corbett, Jim, 164
Corbett, Young, III, 129
Cosell, Howard, 46, 184, 203
Cribb, Tom, 10, 39-41, 107
Cuba, 24-30
Cuevas, Pipino, 184
D’Amato, Cus, 77, 136, 161,
220, 238, 240
Davey, Chuck, 97, 99
Davis, Eddie, 200, 219
Davis, Howard, 99
Death in the Afternoon (Hemingway), 30
DeJesus, Esteban, 183
Delaney, Ronnie, 103
DeMarco, Tony, 95, 101-104, 122
Dempsey, Jack, 47-48, 207, 210, 242
Denby, Bennett, 163
Disenchanted, The (Schulberg), 23-26
Dokes, Michael, 243
Donoghue, Roger, 73, 188
Dorsey, Marcus, 162
Douglas, Buster, 243, 244
Douglas, Kirk, 217
Doyle, Arthur Conan, 11, 187
Dumas, Charley, 229
Dundee, Angelo, 143, 149, 152, 180, 187, 191
Dundee, Gus, 72
Dundee, Johnny, 54
Duran, Roberto, 9, 182-186
Durando, Ernie, 97
Durelle, Yvon, 95, 96
Dutch, Sam, 131
Duva, Lou, 231
Eastman, Max, 21
Egan, Pierce, 114
Elijah Muhammad, 153, 156
Ellis, Jimmy, 97, 189
Esquire, 241
Ever Hammer, 54
Farr, Tommy, 106
Faulkner, William, 77-78
Fields, Jackie, 62, 73, 129
Fifth Column and the First Forty-nine Stories, The (Hemingway), 19
“Fifty Grand” (Hemingway), 30
Figg, James, 167
Film, 17, 24, 71-75, 80; Body and Soul, 222; The Champ, 222; City Lights, 26, 27; The Great White Hope, 44, 209; The Harder They Fall, 71-74, 222; The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, 134; Rocky, 194, 195, 209; On the Waterfront, 27, 188, 202-203
Finnegan, Mickey, 55
Firpo, Luis, 207, 210
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, 24, 238, 240; The Last Tycoon, 25; Tender Is the Night, 25; This Side of Paradise, 25
Flaherty, Vince, 83
Flanagan brothers, 97
Fleischer, Nat, 83
Foreman, George, 222-231, 232-237, 246; religion of, 228-231; in Zaire, 169-182
Foster, Bob, 215
Fox, Billy, 124, 127, 140, 142
Franklin, Aretha, 179
Frazier, Joe, 34, 37, 41, 221, 225
Fullmer, Gene, 95, 121
Futch, Eddie, 220
Galento, Tony, 132
Gavilan, Kid, 95, 98, 101, 102, 124-129, 185
Givens, Robin, 221
Godfrey, George, 73
Goebbels, Joseph, 50-51, 85
Goering, Hermann, 52
Goldman, Charley, 113
Goldstein, Abe, 54
Goldstein, Ruby, 62
Gonsalves, Johnny, 119
Gonzalez, Henry B., 168
Gould, Joe, 49, 50
Graham, Billy, 84, 95, 102, 126
Graham, Frank, 81, 83
Great White Hope, 37-52 passim, 196-206
Great White Hope, The, 44, 209
Greb, Harry, 20, 74, 132
Green Hills of Africa (Hemingway), 30
Griffith, Emile, 97, 140
Gully, John, 10
Gunther, John, 174
Hagler, Marvin, 159, 188, 207-212
Halliday, Manley, 24
Hamill, Pete, 11
Harder They Fall, The (Schulberg), 17, 33, 71-74, 141, 185, 204; film versus book, 71-74
Hazlitt, William, 10-11, 187
Hearns, Thomas, 159, 161, 184, 193-195, 207-212
Heavyweight championships, 76-93, 188-192, 241-245
Hecht, Ben, 9
Hemingway, Ernest, 9, 17-31, 135, 187; Across the River and into the Trees, 26, 27; “The Battler,” 30; Death in the Afternoon, 30; The Fifth Column and the First Forty- nine Stories, 19; “Fifty Grand,” 30; Green Hills of Africa, 30; A Moveable Feast, 26; The Old Man and the Sea, 27; “The Undefeated,” 30
Hemingway, Mary, 17
Henry, Clarence, 124
Hickman, Thomas, 10
Hoffman, Abbie, 156
Hogue, Shorty, 82
Holmes, Larry, 161, 163, 167, 187-192, 197, 198, 213-215, 216-218, 243
Holyfield, Evander, 221, 222-231 passim, 232-237, 242-245
Homer, 10, 35, 78, 88, 187
Houck, Leo, 20
Hunsaker, Tunney, 147
Hurley, Jack, 106
Inside Africa, 174
International Boxing Club, 98, 129
Islam, 153-157, 170
Jack, Beau, 140, 141
Jackson, Hurricane, 91
Jackson, John, 10, 236
Jackson, Mushky, 88
Jackson, Peter, 74
Jacobs, Jim, 206, 221, 238, 239
Jacobs, Joe, 88
Jacobs, Mike, 49, 51
James, Etta, 179
Janiro, Tony, 126
Jeanette, Joe, 82
Jeffries, Jim, 44-47, 191, 223
Jews: and boxing, 50-52, 53-63; and Nazis, 50-52
Johansson, Ingemar, 90-93, 131, 196
Johnson, Jack, 44-47, 136, 145, 191, 242
Jones, Doug, 138, 139, 147
Jones, Tiger, 97, 100, 121
Journal of the American Medical Association, 160, 162
Kazan, Elia, 80
Kazin, Alfred, 21
Kearns, Jack, 48
Ketchel, Stanley, 20
Key West, Florida, 17-23
Kilrain, Jake, 164
Kilroy, Billy, 203
Kilroy, Gene, 171
Kim, Duk Koo, 162, 167
King, Carl, 202
King, Don, 99, 179, 216, 221, 227, 240
King, Ferman, 73
Knox, Ernie, 141
LaBarba, Fidel, 62, 73
LaMotta, Jake, 95, 100, 110, 120, 127
Lampkin, Ray, 183
Lancet, 162
Landis, Kenesaw Mountain, 166
Langford, Sam, 82
Lardner, Ring, 9
Larkin, Tippy, 202
Las Vegas, Nevada, 130, 165, 212, 242
Last Tycoon, The (Fitzgerald), 25
LaStarza, Roland, 82, 106
Latzo, Pete, 21
Lawrence, Vincent, 24
Lee, Harry, 236
Leiner, Benjamin. See Leonard, Benny.
Leonard, Benny, 21, 53-63
Lewis, Butch, 202
Lewis, Joe E., 101-104
Liebling, A. J., 11
Lisker, Blackie, 184
Lisker, Jerry, 213
Liston, Sonny, 9, 34, 130-142 passim, 225
Lombardo, Johnny, 102
London, Brian, 77, 187
London, Jack, 9, 21, 34, 45, 47, 191, 232
London Star, 109
Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, The, 134
Lopez, Angel, 127
Lopez, Yaqui, 219
Lopinson, Nat, 124
Los Angeles Examiner, 83
Louis, Joe, 34, 48-52, 77, 84, 85, 87, 90, 93, 101-102, 136, 145, 148, 191, 242
Lyle, Ron, 197, 227
Lytell, Bert, 82
McBride, Archie, 91, 92, 93, 198
MacDonald, Jim, 200
McEnroe, John, 217
McKeogh, Danny, 66, 68, 69, 70
McLarnin, Jimmy, 62, 129
McLuhan, Marshall, 99
McMurray, Bill, 172
McNeeley, Tom, 93
McVey, Sam, 82
Mace, Jem, 107
Machen, Eddie, 138
Mailer, Norman, 9, 11, 37, 140, 184, 187
Makeba, Miriam, 179
Malcolm X, 153-154, 170
Mancini, Ray, 162
Mankiewicz, Herman, 24
Marciano, Rocky, 73, 77-83, 84, 88, 90, 105-111, 112-118, 168, 187, 191, 196, 242
Markson, Harry, 99, 103
Marshall, Lloyd, 82
Matches: Ali-Foreman, 169-182, 241; Ali-Frazier, 241;Ali-Holmes, 187-192; Cooney-Holmes, 197-198; Cribb-Molineaux, 39-42, 164; Dempsey-Firpo, 207, 210; Dempsey-Tunney, 85, 113; Foreman-Holyfield, 222-231, 232-237;
Foreman-Peralta, 181; Gavilan-Saxton, 124-129; Hagler-Hearns, 207-212; Holmes-Cobb, 167; Holmes-Spinks, 213-215; Holyfield-Bowe, 242-245; Humphries-Mendoza, 164; Jeffries-Corbett, 85; Johansson-Patterson, 90-93; Johnson-Jeffries, 44-47; Leonard-Duran, 182-186; Leonard-Hagler, 211-212; Leonard-Hearns, 193-195; Liston-Patterson, 130-142; Louis-Conn, 84-86, 113, 241; Louis-Schmeling, 49-52, 85; Marciano-Cockell, 105-111; Moore-Durelle, 96; Moore-Marciano, 78-83, 112-118; Norris-Davey, 99; Saxton-Basilio, 103; Saxton-DeMarco, 101, 103; Spinks-Cooney, 204-206; Tyson-Holmes, 216-218; Tyson-Spinks, 219-221. See also specific boxers.
Mathis, Buster, 189
Matthews, Harry, 82, 106
Mauriello, Tami, 107
Maxim, Joey, 121
Mayer, Edwin Justus, 24
Mederos, Julio, 92
Media. See Reporters.
Mendoza, Daniel, 10, 38, 107, 236, 244
Mercado, Bernard, 189
Miceli, Joe, 97
Milton, John, 11
Mims, Holly, 97
Mina, Jim, 124
Mintz, Jake, 87, 88
Mitchell, Billy, 61
Mitchell, Charley, 164
Mitchell, Pinkey, 20-21, 25
Mitchell, Richie, 21, 56, 57, 60, 61
Miteff, Alex, 91
Mizener, Arthur, 24
Mobutu Sese Seku, 173-182 passim
Molineaux, Tom, 10, 39-41, 144
Monzon, Carlos, 211
Moore, Archie, 77, 78-83, 95, 96, 105, 112-118, 137, 187
Moorer, Michael, 246
Moran, Pal, 54
Moreno, Rosina, 18
Moreno, Toro, 74
Mosconi, Willie, 159
Moveable Feast, A (Hemingway), 26
Muhammad, Herbert, 190
Muhammad Ali. See Ali, Muhammad.
Nardiello, Vincent, 117
Neate, Bill, 10
New York, 165
New York Herald-Tribune, 155, 185
New York Post, 241
New York State Athletic Commission, 160
New York Times, 24, 32, 33
Newman, Rock, 245
Norris, James D., 82, 98, 99, 129
Norton, Ken, 196, 217, 225
Oates, Joyce Carol, 11, 187
O’Brien, Jack, 215
Old Man and the Sea, The (Hemingway), 27
Olson, Bobo, 95, 121, 126
Oma, Lee, 73, 107
On the Waterfront, 27, 188, 202-203
O’Neal, Tatum, 217