FIVE years ago, at the end of a book signing, I was given a plastic bag containing boxing books and magazines. It was a busy time and the bag was buried under other things in a room in my house. It was lost and last week I found it and found a true boxing classic. It was a book I had never heard of.

The book is called by Neil Scott and with an introduction by Frank Sinatra. It was published in 1947. I don’t know where to start. The photos are amazing, the words are magical, and Sinatra is brilliant.

The first photo in the book is a close-up of the pair of gloves worn by Louis in this photo, where he is leaning forward; in the book, the main subject of the photographs are gloves, slightly blurred and venerable. Scott writes of two “destructive fists” and advises the reader to “Notice the ease of their position.” And he’s right, all great fighters hold their hands in such relaxed and casual poses – it’s a compact thing that catches the eye when you look closely at it.

The next two photos (don’t worry, I won’t describe every page of the book that doesn’t have numbers) show two women from Joe’s family. Octavia Hays Barrow, his great-grandmother, and Virginia Hays Barrow, the boxer’s grandmother. The women are stunning. Scott again, first about Octavia, then about Virginia: “Like other of the Master’s ancestors, she has dominant Indian features… Note her sensitive, knowledgeable face and striking basic North American Indian build.” The photos are a triumph. There are also bold, early and revealing photos of many of Louis’ relatives on Alabama farms and the warning: “Negro life in Alabama is still the same.” This is not an ordinary picture story.

There was a distraction from a photo showing President Roosevelt meeting Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Ethiopia. This is the beginning of Louis’ war years: “The civilized world sat idly by while nearly naked Ethiopians defended themselves with spears, sticks and stones against the mustard gas, tanks, machine guns and dive bombers of Mussolini’s mechanized Roman legions.” This all paints a picture of Joe, the hero; then Hitler and Franco appear in front of the first boxing photo.

The photo is venerable, unhappy, and shows Louis on the floor opposite “Hitler’s official sports representative, Max Schmeling.” Then there’s a photo I’ve never seen before, showing Louis on his knees, gloved, holding the middle rope, and his eyes staring at something on the canvas. “Millions of hearts loved Joe that night.”

And then Joe starts ruining everyone, his face is joyful and his dressing room is filled with smiling faces. Joe smiles at the camera and raises his right fist in the photo after knocking out Jim Braddock to become the heavyweight champion of the world. He looks very newborn – no whining, just a lively kid.

Schmeling’s revenge is a continuation of the war against fascism. There are brutal photos. “Schmeling literally screamed with rage and pain.” At the end is a photo of Schmeling being held by the referee: “Der Fuehrer’s player needed a lot of protection that night.”

In the fight with Tony Galento – two contrasting photos of the knockdowns each of them suffered – the words fully capture Louis’ ferocity that night. “Sometimes it seemed like he was going to tear the stocky Italian to pieces.” Galento is shown being beaten, and the last photo of the fight shows Galento, his face glued together with stitches and plasters, holding his wife’s considerable breasts as she sits on his lap. “Tony is comforted by Mrs. Galento, to whom he was still the most wonderful little boy in the world.”

Arturo Godoy’s facial damage is ridiculous. The photo is from the rematch; Louis beat him mercilessly when the first fight was already in the distance. Godoy argues at the end after the break and tries to attack Louis; blood-soaked rage is captured. During the first fight, Godoy kissed and ruffled Joe’s hair. Louis was mean and these photos perfectly show that side of the great man.

There are many photos of men falling to the ground, their limp bodies, and other men on the canvas, their faces covered in blood. In the background, Louis often looks around and goes to the corner.

There are also military photos of Joe on horseback, Joe with the Eskimos, Joe the doctor with hundreds of participants, Joe in Italy, Joe in a muddy ditch at training camp. And then, in the final pages, Joe the activist. The author Neil Scott was black. There is a photo of Louis and Scott with a man named Isaac Woodard, “who was blinded after being beaten by police in South Carolina the day after he was discharged from the army.”

Woodard was on a bus, got off, attacked, blinded, and then found guilty of assault. Louis was co-chair of the Isaac Woodard Benefits Committee. In the photo, Issac is helped up the stairs, with his murky glasses covering his eyes. Joe is not smiling in this photo. The Woodard incident was pivotal in the up-to-date history of civil rights in America. Joe Louis was involved.

The last word belongs to Ancient Blue Eyes. Here is Sinatra talking about his idol and friend: “We too can be proud, because in such a dramatic way he embodies one of the ideals we hold dear – that a man’s character and abilities do not result solely from the color of his skin or the nature of his religious beliefs.” What hidden beauty lies in this little book.

Thomas Hearns won numerous world titles in various weight classes, and during his exhilarating and even captivating career in the ring, Tommy appeared in many forms and styles. Early in his career as an almost freakishly towering 147-pounder, Hearns was in full “Hitman” mode, his deadly fists destroying most of the 32 welterweights he encountered. Back then, Hearns, in his delayed teens and early 20s, destroyed good guys like Bruce Finch, Bruce Curry, Saensak Muangsurin, Angel Espada and, of course, winning his first world title, Pipino Cuevas.

Then, after losing an epic battle with Sugar Ray Leonard, a great match in which Hearns showed the world his lovely boxing skills and power, Tommy went into “Motor City Cobra” mode. Great performances by The Sweet Science saw Hearns claim victory over Wilfred Benitez, Murray Sutherland and Luigi Minchillo.

Struggling with hand problems at the time, Hearns underwent surgery and returned armed with the (remember the renowned Ring magazine cover where Hearns was dressed in a murderous gangster outfit) “Hitman” in the summer of 1984 and annihilated another great/legend Roberto Duran in two spine-chilling rounds for arguably the best KO. Hearns then roared against another all-time great, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, in a Hitman and Slugger-style matchup. What followed was the greatest opening round in boxing history and one of the greatest fights ever.

Hearns returned to score another spine-chilling KO worthy of his intimidating nickname, the icing on James Shuler’s cake, while Tommy picked up back-to-back victories against top fighters such as Dennis Andries and Juan Domingo Roldan. Before disaster struck in the fight against “The Blade”, Iran Barkley. Critics insisted that Hearns was done, both as Hitman and as Cobra. Tommy knew better, and after showing another of his great qualities, heart, by defeating James Kinchen in a grueling battle, Hearns finally got Leonard in the rematch he had been waiting for for eight years.

Perhaps in this fight the boxing world Hearns showed and combined his two boxing styles better than ever. Leonard struggled again against Hearns’ boxing and suffered from his power. The verdict didn’t fool anyone, least of all Sugar Ray himself, who said after the war (and still claims) that he and Tommy were now “one.”

Following a vintage “Cobra” performance against favorite Virgil Hill in 1991, this points victory earned Hearns his sixth world title in five weight classes. Hearns should have called it a career. His lethal mix of power, skill and ring IQ has now waned. Hearns thrived largely on his heart and his unquestionable, everlasting love and dedication to his sport, fighting until, surprisingly, he was 47 years elderly.

Today Thomas Hearns turns 66. A living legend, despite his modesty, Hearns has a genuine love for his fans; fans who saw him do his thing. His two things. We tend to think of Hearns as a fearsome hitter, and for good reason. But Hearns was a tidy boxer when he wanted to be, and he showed it by beating the likes of Leonard, Benitez, Hill and others.

Today, if he were fighting, boxing or punching at his best, Hearns would hold his own in most of the weight classes he fought in the 1980s and 1990s. We have good welterweights today, just like we have good welterweights, super middleweights and featherlight heavyweights. It’s fascinating to think how top-ranked Hearns would fare against the likes of Terence Crawford, Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (the best in today’s, shall we say, less than talent-rich 160-pound division), Canelo Alvarez, Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol .

As great as he was, in both incarnations of the Hearns fan, you could be excused for saying that Tommy could handle them all.

Elated birthday Master!

Thomas Hearns, one of the unique, unforgettable Four Kings.

AFTER losing to Joe Louis for the world heavyweight title in 1937, Tommy Farr lost his next four fights, all by decision, to James J. Braddock, Max Baer, ​​Lou Nova and Red Burman. Tommy is rightly remembered for his stand against Louis and was revered in the south Wales valleys where he was a boxing hero.

Farr won his next four fights, but in 1940, at the age of 26, with World War raging, Tommy’s career ceased to matter. He started as a professional in 1926, when at the age of 12 he won his first competition at Tonypandy, his birthplace, when, as “Kid Farr”, he overtook Jack Jones from nearby Clydach Vale.

In the 1930s, Tommy was one of the toughest fighters, winning the Welsh lithe heavyweight and heavyweight titles, followed by the British and Imperial heavyweight titles. He boxed in every weight, from flyweight to heavyweight, and the fight with Louis, when he was 23 and had participated in 150 fights, was the highlight of his career. That’s why it was a surprise when in 1950, after 10 years of absence from the ring, he announced that he would return at the age of 36. In those days, 36 was not the age to enter a boxing ring. most fighters retired before the age of 30.

In the United States, Farr’s ancient rival, Joe Louis, retired from the ring himself. He held the world heavyweight title for 11 years and defended it 25 times, the first of which was against Farr. Louis also announced his return to the ring and, like Farr, announced this in August 1950. Joe had tax problems and had to fight again to settle his debts.

TOmmy, on the other hand, wanted to come back because he didn’t rate the current crop of heavyweights, and he still enjoyed the game. Farr regained his license without difficulty and then announced that he would fight under the bill for promoter Albert Davies at Pontypridd in early September. The competition was then postponed three weeks to September 27.

Interestingly, Joe Louis was also supposed to return to the ring that same evening. He was selected to fight current champion Ezzard Charles in a 15-round world heavyweight title bout at Yankee Stadium in Recent York. No other fight would have been enough for Joe, who was one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time, and many thought he would defeat Ezzard without much difficulty.

Tommy’s return was a bit quieter as he faced Jan Klein, an infamous Dutchman with a spotty history. Twenty thousand people turned out outdoors in the rain to watch Tommy flatten Klein in six rounds at Ynysangharad Park in Pontypridd. A few hours later in Recent York, 22,000 fans watched as father time via Ezzard Charles beat the substantial man for 15 rounds.

Many cried when the decision was announced, and Joe should have left the ring for good afterwards. However, like Tommy, Louis continued his activities throughout 1951 and both men suffered brutal knockouts that same year.

In March 1951, Frank Bell, from Barnoldswick, Lancashire, needed just two rounds to demolish Farr in a competition held at the Rhondda Transport Company garage in Porth. This unlikely place was the sorrowful place where Tommy was beaten. For Joe, his defeat was a much more public matter. Rocky Marciano murdered him in eight rounds at Madison Square Garden.

Marciano was on his way to the top at the time and was the hottest figure in boxing. His victory over Louis reminds me a bit of Ali’s death at the hands of Larry Holmes and was equally sorrowful. Louis never fought again, but Tommy continued to fight until 1953, losing his last fight to Don Cockell, who in turn was punched by Rocky Marciano just two years later.