Back in 1951, briefly home from boarding school, I went to a bar with a phony draft card, ordered a beer and watched Rocky Marciano knock out my idol Joe Louis through the ropes and out of boxing for ever. Joe was old — 35 or maybe 37 and was trying for a comeback as he was broke — and as he sat on his stool after having been counted out, he looked a lot older. Rocky crossed over from his corner, bent down to speak to Joe, and began to cry. Joe was his idol, too. (Rocky went on to become world champ and retired undefeated after 49 fights, only to die in an aeroplane accident.) That was then. Pugilists respected each other, and no one was more respected than Joe Louis, the first ‘negro’ to be idolised by white boxing aficionados.
While he was champion of the world for 12 long years, Joe never once talked down an opponent.
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