James J Braddock

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James. J. Braddock James J. Braddock, born as James Walter Braddock on June 7th, 1905, to Irish immigrant parents Joseph Braddock and Elizabeth O'Toole Braddock in a tiny apartment in Hells Kitchen in New York City on West 48th Street .From about the year 1919 to 1923, Jim Braddock worked a series of jobs such as a messenger boy for Western Union, a printer's devil, a teamster and an errand boy in a silk mill. It was around this time that Jimmy discovered his passion for boxing. Jimmy's earliest experience with fisticuffs occurred in the streets at a young age. After he moved to North Bergen, New Jersey as a schoolboy, his fighting ways continued until someone suggested he should use his violent habits in boxing. At the age of sixteen, Jimmy began his amateur career. After winning the New Jersey State championships in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, he eventually turned professional at twenty years of age. His manager, Joe Gould suggested that Jimmy change his name, from James Walter Braddock to "James J. Braddock", for stage purposes. The "J" initial was to imitate the frequently used middle initial of early heavyweight boxing champions such as James J. Corbett and James J. Jeffries. Joe Gould guided his new charge into his first professional match against Al Settle at Union City, New Jersey, in 1926. The fight went the scheduled four rounds and, because official boxing decisions were illegal in New Jersey and other states at the time, the fight was officially listed as a "no-decision". It was a dim start for Gould's new light heavyweight fighter, but Jimmy quickly showed promise in the next several months, he knocked out his next eleven opponents, eight of which happened in the first round. By the end of the year he was fighting regularly in New York City, where the big money opponents and

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