35 “Went to the relief office. Gave me twelve eighty. I need thirteen sixty
more. To pay the bill. Get them back.” Girding himself, he slowly looked up. “It pains me to ask . . . so much . . . but I sure would be grateful . . .”
Jim took off his hat and stretched it out, like the pan-handlers on the street below. Cerasini, 2005: 102
He does not care about this embarrassing action, what he has on his mind only he can feed his family. He does not care about of the judgements from the managers;
he also does not care of what people think or say about him. He just does it as his function as husband and father who loves family so much, then he will do
anything for them. Not because his wife and children ask him to do so, but more than that, he realizes his job as a husband to Mae and as a father to Jay, Howard
and Rose Mary. That is why steady and never gives up are the only choice that he had toward his own and family’s life.
5. Confident
From around the year 1919 to 1923, James J. Braddock does many jobs, such as a messenger boy for Western Union, a printers devil, a teamster and an
errand boy in a silk mill. At fourteen, he started working a series of unskilled jobs. Along the way,
his older brother Joe had started to box and made it all the way from an amateur welter-weight championship to a professional rating. One day, he
and Jimmy got into a brotherly argument. The fists started flying, and to everyone’s astonishment, including Jim himself, the skinny younger
brother held his own against the older, more experienced fists. Cerasini, 2005: 16
It is during this time that Jimmy discovered his passion for boxing. Then James spends a few years honing his boxing skill as a confident successful amateur
fighter throughout New Jersey.
36 Finally, on the night of November 27, 1923, at the age of seventeen, he’d
climbed through the ropes in Grantwood, New jersey, using the alias Jimmy Ryan. The alias was necessary for two reasons. His brother Joe had
already put a Braddock on the card that night, and Jimmy had been paid to enter the bout—a grand total of three dollars. Jim Braddock wanted the
chance to prove himself, but he knew a professional match on his record would derail his ability to fight as an amateur. Thus, to prevent the New
Jersey state amateur boxingauthoities from finding out, he’d used the “Ryan” moniker. Cerasini, 2005: 17
In 1926, James enters the professional boxing circuit in the light heavyweight division. During the first year, James does many competitions; by
giving knock out to his opponents in the early rounds of most his fights. No need long time for him to be a top light heavyweight. And it makes him to think of
moving into the heavyweight class. But he finds a problem, it is he rarely weighted over 180 pounds even he stands over six feet and two inches. But with
his trim physique, the powerful right hand is not match for his opponents who has weighted close to 220 pounds. This is only the beginning of James J. Braddock’s
journey in boxing. November 30, 1928 becomes one of his big match, and it is held on
Madison Square Garden. His enemy is Gerald “Tuffy” Griffiths, the “Terror from out West”. At this match, many people are underestimated him. It is because
Tuffy had winning record more than fifty consecutive wins. His last is a stunning first-round knockout. Everybody in the Madison Square Garden thinks James will
become another Tuffy’s KO. They say James was a sacrificial lamb. But surprisingly James wins the match. All promoters, all sportwriters, and everyone
are shocked at the moment then give an explosion of insane screaming. “And from the great State of New Jersey, by technical knockout, tonight’s
light heavyweight winner … Jim Braddock” Cerasini, 2005: 4
37 From that winning, James J. Braddock becomes famous and nobody thinks the
New Jersey boxer will last a second round. The sportwriters start to write news about him, and named James J. Braddock as the headline of some newspaper.
New Jersey celebrates his victory. Newspaper wrote about it, calling it the best fight they’d seen that night,
which was as good as the church blessing to a younger boxer who’d just fought the first professional match of his life.” Cerasini, 2005: 17
The person who really grateful for this victory is his wife, Mae Theresa Fox. She realizes the impacts of her husband’s job and that is the reason why in every
match she does not want to see her husband directly instead of waits with fearful in home. For every win or lose she thanks God that her husband go home healthy
and still alives. “You get punched. Every time, it feels like I’m getting punched too. And I
ain’t half as tough as you . . . and anyway . . .” she added, forcing her smile to come back, her fears to recede, “who wants those articles about
me running out on a fight again?” Cerasini, 2005: 24
In every match the player should has target and effort to win it. The same thing happens to boxing match. The boxers should have some tricks to outwit
their enemies so that they can win the match. It happens to James J. Braddock. As a boxer he gives his effort to train himself to have some trick to win the match.
Since Joe Gould is become James’ manager, Joe helps James to have discipline training and creates James to be strong and full of confident when he is in the ring.
Braddock’s sharp, solid jab surprised the charging Griffiths, sending the confident hulk back on his heels. Cerasini, 2005: 2
Joe succeeds to increase James’ confident, not only when James’ wants to give some punches to his enemies but also confident to win the match.
