Baer, a devastating right-handed puncher, was indeed responsible for the ring deaths of two men, but he, who held the title for just one year, was no villain. In fact, he was wildly popular, much more ...

T he night last June that Max Baer clowned away his title to colorless James J. Braddock, thus bringing heavyweight boxing to its all-time low, Joe Louis had been a professional less than one year.

Braddock held his own in fights against John Henry Lewis and Art Lasky. But until he beat Max Baer for the championship on June 13, 1935, as the 10-to-1 underdog, he was considered no more than a ...