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[Assistant] If the police were following, they would have to stay a safe distance behind King, so they would not see when the drop was made. By the time they drove round the bend, King would already have driven away.


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[Assistant] They would continue to follow, not even knowing that the drop had happened, because King had no way of telling them. Eddie would continue talking to King.


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[Assistant] Leading him and the police further and further away.


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[Assistant] Until Cy had picked up the money and driven back to the farmhouse.


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[Assistant] When Psy stepped through the door, Eddie would stop transmitting. The plan was beautiful. Why did he feel so worried? You're going to cross a bridge, Eddie said, his eyes on the map. You have to pay. Get the money ready.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Don't say anything and don't try any tricks. If you do, we'll kill the boy. Kathy listened as her husband said it. We'll kill the boy. Kill the boy.


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[Assistant] My husband said those words, she thought. How could he say that? You're coming off the bridge, right? Eddie said. Now turn left onto the highway, and keep driving. Let me know when you pass exit 16. Kathy looked closely at the map.


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[Assistant] The farmhouse was clearly marked on it, and King's house.


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[Assistant] The red line must be the route Eddie was leading King along. What was the meaning of that blue star then? Of course, the place where Psy was hiding, waiting for King to drop his money. Then Eddie would keep King driving.


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[Assistant] To get him away from the place and to confuse any followers. So that was where Psy was.


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[Assistant] Eddie, let's stop this now, please, please. No, he said. Psy looked at his watch. Come on, Eddie, he thought. Hurry, let King get here with the money.


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[Assistant] Let me get back to the farmhouse safely, please. Please, Eddie.


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[Assistant] Fine, turn off at exit 17 and start to drive north, Eddie said.


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[Assistant] Let me know when you get to... The boy is in a farmhouse on Fairlane Road, half a mile from Stanbury! Cathy suddenly shouted into the open microphone.


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[Assistant] Did you hear that? Karela shouted. I heard it, King said. Get there as fast as you can.


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[Assistant] Corella had cut the connection and was already making another call.


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[Assistant] This is a police officer. Get me headquarters immediately.


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[Assistant] Cy Bernard was smoking his fifteenth cigarette as the black Cadillac came round the bend in the road.


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[Assistant] The car slowed down. He expected to see a box full of money drop out of the window to the ground.


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[Assistant] Instead of that, the door opened and a man with a gun in his hand jumped out.


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[Assistant] Sai started the engine and drove the car at him, but the man fired.


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[Assistant] Hitting one of the tires and breaking two windows.


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[Assistant] Side drove past him onto the road, then left the car and began running into the woods. The man was reloading his gun. Another man, a big man.


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[Assistant] Jumped out of the Cadillac and began running after Sy.


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[Assistant] Sy fired at him twice, missing him both times. Stop! the man shouted. We know where your friends are.


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[Assistant] He fired several more times, and then the gun was empty, and he threw it away and took out his knife.


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[Assistant] As the big man came through the trees, Si held out the knife and said softly, Stop there. Like hell, Douglas King said.


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[Assistant] He did not let go until the knife fell from Sai's hand to the ground, and Corella came to help him. And then it was all over.


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[Assistant] There wasn't anybody, only Sy. I've been all alone here since Sy left.


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[Assistant] He must be in shock, one policeman said to the other. Jeff refused to change his story, more surprisingly.


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[Assistant] Cy Bernard's story was exactly the same as Jeff's. He had worked alone, he said. He knew nobody called Kathy. He did not know what the police were talking about.


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[Assistant] We know you're lying, Bernard, Corella told him, and I don't understand why. Why are you trying to save Cathy? She's the one who told us where to find you. You're not helping yourself, and you're not helping your friends either. We'll get them. All you're giving them is a little more time. Maybe time is all they need, Sigh said.


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[Assistant] Maybe a little time is all anybody ever needs. Lock him up, Burns said.


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[Assistant] Steve Carello was typing up his final report on the Jeffrey Reynolds kidnapping. He pulled the paper out of the typewriter, turned to Meyer Meyer and said happily, finished. Is it though? Meyer said. Cy Bernard is in prison. But what about the mysterious Cathy and the man who shouted her name? Where are they now?


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[Assistant] Out of the country, I guess, Varela said. I wish them luck. What the hell for? They're kidnappers.


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[Assistant] She's a sweet girl, Meyer said. She only kidnaps children.


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[Assistant] You know what he was most pleased about when it was all over? The fact that his deal in Boston went through, and he's going to be President of Granger Shoe.


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[Assistant] Why do the bastards of this world always come out on top? He didn't have to run after Bernard the way he did.


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[Assistant] Just because a man is brave enough to face a knife.


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[Assistant] I'm looking for a special birthday present for little field mouse. I'm not sure what to give her.


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[Assistant] That's tricky, but I saw some very interesting seed pods over here.


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[Assistant] Oh yes, it's a very pretty blue. Thank you bluebird. Wish little field


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[Assistant] Hmm, which one do you think she'll like best?


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[Assistant] I look all over the meadow. It had to be exactly this shade of purple. With these yellow bits in the center. And with purples just this shape. Because, because that's what I wanted.


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[Assistant] I think I'll stay here and keep cool.


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[Assistant] Wow, it is orange and yellow, just like my buttercup. This was just above your head.


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[Assistant] I didn't expect to bump into you here. How have you been?


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[Assistant] I didn't expect to bump into you here. How have you been?


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[Assistant] I can hardly hear the show. Can you turn the volume up?


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[Assistant] I can hardly hear the show. Can you turn the volume up?


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[Assistant] I am on the phone right now. Can you mute the sound?


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[Assistant] I am on the phone right now. Can you mute the sound?


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[Assistant] Please go to room 25 and wait for the nurse to call your number.


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[Assistant] Please go to room 25 and wait for the nurse to call your number.


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[Assistant] Don't occupy the seats with your personal belongings.


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[Assistant] Don't occupy the seats with your personal belongings.


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[Assistant] If you miss your connecting flight, we will help you get on a later one.


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[Assistant] If you miss your connecting flight, we will help you get on a later one.


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[Assistant] Yeaah. But I don't want to talk about it.


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[Assistant] Yeaah. But I don't want to talk about it.


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[Assistant] We have plenty in stock right now. Come this way.


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[Assistant] We have plenty in stock right now. Come this way.


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[Assistant] If you score below 50%, you'll have to retake the test.


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[Assistant] If you score below 50%, you'll have to retake the test.


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[Assistant] With my watch, I can see what altitude we're at.


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[Assistant] With my watch, I can see what altitude we're at.


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[Assistant] Slap some aftershave on your face after shaving.


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[Assistant] Slap some aftershave on your face after shaving.


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[Assistant] It was a blast. The speaker system was amazing.


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[Assistant] It was a blast. The speaker system was amazing.


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[Assistant] Many vegetarians are opposed to the killing of animals.


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[Assistant] Many vegetarians are opposed to the killing of animals.


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[Assistant] As for my main course, I think I'll have the T-bone state.


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[Assistant] As for my main course, I think I'll have the T-bone state.


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[Assistant] Okay, let's pitch the tent next to the RV.


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[Assistant] Okay, let's pitch the tent next to the RV.


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[Assistant] Would you like to try this? It fits your face well.


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[Assistant] Would you like to try this? It fits your face well.


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[Assistant] What type of car do you want, automatic or manual?


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[Assistant] What type of car do you want? Automatic or manual?


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[Assistant] And now I have to find another mason to carve a line for the temple gates.


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[Assistant] I'm worried about him. He can hardly eat or sleep. We have to clean this up. I'd like to save some of it.


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[Assistant] Chapter One. A Lucky Man. Madison Square Garden, New York.


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[Assistant] There were 19,000 boxing supporters around the center ring in Madison Square Garden, and most were waiting for just one thing. For one fighter to murder another.


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[Assistant] Tonight, they were waiting for Gerald Tuffy Griffiths, the terror from out west, to destroy New Jersey's Jim Braddock.


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[Assistant] At the sound of the bell, Braddock stood under the hot lights and watched Griffiths rush out into the ring.


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[Assistant] Tuffy Griffiths had come to New York after winning 50 fights.


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[Assistant] Everybody knew that he would do the same to Braddock.


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[Assistant] The fighters started moving around the ring, throwing and blocking punches.


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[Assistant] Griffiths threw the same punches that had easily beaten his other opponents, but Braddock stayed on his feet. Blood and sweat poured into his eyes.


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[Assistant] Time stretched for Braddock now, and his opponent's slightest move seemed enormous.


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[Assistant] And from the great state of New Jersey, by a knockout, tonight's light heavyweight winner, Jim Braddock. The crowd was back on its feet. The local boy had won. Braddock had been born in Hell's Kitchen.


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[Assistant] A poor neighborhood of New York, just a stone's throw from Madison Square Garden.


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[Assistant] It was Friday night, the world seemed to be having a party, and Jim Braddock's win was one more reason to celebrate.


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[Assistant] Griffiths was Braddock's 18th knockout since his first professional fight in 1926. His 27th win.


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[Assistant] The fight organizers had had big plans for Griffiths. After this surprise win,


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[Assistant] The tall boxer and his manager stepped out through the side entrance into a crowd of about a hundred well-dressed supporters.


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[Assistant] Just sign your name for a few of them, said Joe. Leave them wanting more. Do you want to sign my name for me too? Jim asked his manager with a smile. People crowded around Jim. He liked them. He liked the fact that they loved him.


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[Assistant] His manager was talking to a big man who had come out of the same side entrance.


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[Assistant] Johnston and men like him ruled the world of boxing. Tonight, Johnston had wanted Griffiths to win the fight.


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[Assistant] Braddock was supposed to be an easy win for Griffiths. Jim touched his manager's arm. Leave it, he said. But Joe continued talking.


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[Assistant] Maybe you support the wrong guys. Griffiths was heavier than my boy and what happened? Jab, cross.


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[Assistant] And the fighter couldn't let his manager stand alone now. Jab, jab, cross, repeated Joe. And then your boy's out. So maybe no one's a loser. Right, Johnston? Loser. Jim hated that word.


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[Assistant] Some people had said that his early opponents were no good. Easy fights. Losers. So what did that make Jim? But after tonight, after Griffiths, what could they say now?


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[Assistant] Joe Gould and Jimmy Johnston stared hard at each other. Just like inside the boxing ring, time seemed to stretch. And then, Johnston turned and walked to his waiting car. Jim shook his head.


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[Assistant] His little manager had no control over his mouth. I'll get us a taxi, he said. But Joe pointed to a big, shiny new car across the street. You have to show you're doing well, he said.


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[Assistant] Tall buildings were going up everywhere, and everybody seemed to be getting rich.


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[Assistant] Here, Jim had grown up a typical American boy. By the time he stopped going to school, his older brother had started to box. One day, he and Jim began to argue, and soon they were fighting.


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[Assistant] Not long after this, he had first met Joe Gould in a local gym.


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[Assistant] Now the car turned onto Jim's treeline street in a nice, quiet neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey's biggest city. Joe pulled some cash out of his pocket.


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[Assistant] Asked Jim as the car stopped outside his house. The kids would love to see you. Joe paused. Are you still married to the same girl? I was this morning, answered Jim. I'll come in another time, said Joe.


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[Assistant] And tell her I didn't charge her for the towels.


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[Assistant] The front door of the house was open now and there, in the golden light of the hall, was May. Her pale face was serious as she waited. From the first time he had met her, Jim had loved her. He moved toward her now.


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[Assistant] In the afternoon, Jimmy kissed her goodbye.


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[Assistant] Then she just watched the clock and hoped that he was safe.


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[Assistant] May Teresa Fox had grown up near the Braddock family in New Jersey.


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[Assistant] But Jim was shy, and it took him a long time to ask Mae to marry him.


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[Assistant] And who wants newspaper stories about me running out from a fight again? Jim remembered when this had happened.


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[Assistant] It didn't seem to matter that Jim had won the fight in the end. After that...


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[Assistant] Then he took off the gold cross from around his neck and kissed it, looking at his own face in the mirror. It was the face of a lucky man. A lucky man and a winner. Chapter 2 Hard Times Newark, New Jersey, September 25th, 1933.


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[Assistant] Jim Braddock looked through the drawers below the same mirror that had shown him the face of a lucky man. Dressing was quick these days.


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[Assistant] May had hung a blanket across the room to turn one room into two. He looked again at his and May's wedding picture. In the last few years


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[Assistant] Rosie couldn't remember living in a big house, surrounded by nice things with new clothes and plenty of food. The girl climbed onto her father, and Jim held her close to him.


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[Assistant] He didn't tell her that Feldman had lost only one fight in nineteen. Instead, he told her what he would earn. Fifty dollars.


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[Assistant] May, couldn't hide the old fear in her eyes.


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[Assistant] With wide eyes, the child immediately began to eat. Jimmy, May began, but he silenced her with a kiss. You can't work on an empty stomach, her eyes said to him. Jim's answer was simple. You're my girls.


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[Assistant] He walked past old broken cars next to trash can fires. Those useless cars were homes now. Homes to people with no jobs and no hopes.


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[Assistant] Most of the stores were closed, and garbage cans lay empty in the street. People threw nothing away these days.


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[Assistant] Ten thousand factories in the New York area had been closed down. Everywhere Jim looked, he saw people without jobs. Businessmen.


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[Assistant] Teachers, office workers, lawyers, bankers, all were looking for work.


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[Assistant] Disaster had struck on October 29th, 1929. Some people called it Black Tuesday. Others, the crash.


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[Assistant] At first, Jim thought that the problem wouldn't last long.


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[Assistant] But then his bank closed, and his taxi company went out of business.


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[Assistant] New York wasn't a city of bright lights and happy partygoers now.


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[Assistant] This man had the power of life or death.


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[Assistant] I've been here since four o'clock, said a man's voice. The man had stepped forward to complain. Jim had spoken to him once.


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[Assistant] Jay had to give the meat back and apologize. Jim met the butcher's eyes.


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[Assistant] Marty Johnson had to go and live with his uncle. His parents didn't have enough for them to eat. Jim turned toward his son. You were scared, he said. I understand that. But we don't steal. It doesn't matter what happens. Promise me. Jay managed to nod. I promised.


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[Assistant] We're never going to send you away, son.


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[Assistant] He's a slow guy, said Joe Gould.


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[Assistant] Joe was wearing one of his usual fine brown suits.


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[Assistant] This break needs a couple of weeks to get better, he said. Why didn't you tell me Jim? Jim didn't look up.


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[Assistant] The crowd started to shout louder when Abe Feldman walked toward the ring, punching the air.


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[Assistant] Now Braddock fights Feldman, continued the radio man. A young fighter who has won 17 times and lost just once. Jim froze.


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[Assistant] Jim closed his eyes and everything went away. The crowd shouts, May's worried looks, Ben's gun.


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[Assistant] Jim tried to hit back, but Feldman blocked his punches.


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[Assistant] Come on, Jimmy! cried Gould from the corner.


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[Assistant] Feldman threw a combination of punches that threw Braddock back onto the ropes. The crowd began to boo. Don't just stand there! shouted Gould.


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[Assistant] Braddock saw an opening in Feldman's defenses and threw a right cross.


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[Assistant] The referee had to send both fighters back to their corners.


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[Assistant] But Braddock had never had a left hand punch.


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[Assistant] Now, he couldn't even block with his right, and his feet felt heavy and slow. Punch after punch fell on him.


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[Assistant] He began to throw out his left hand in wild jabs These mists


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[Assistant] Again, the two boxers held on to each other.


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[Assistant] The crowd began to boo again and shout insults. Go home!


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[Assistant] It hurt Feldman, but the pain was much worse for Braddock.


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[Assistant] Maybe your fighters can afford to have a month's rest between fights.


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[Assistant] Joe began taping a piece of wood to Jim's broken hand. Until you get to the hospital. As he taped the hand, Joe couldn't hold back the memories.


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[Assistant] Jim didn't even look up as his manager walked away, leaving him on the seats beside the dark ring, alone.


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[Assistant] Jim knew that this was the last time he would see this look on May's face after a fight. I don't have the money, he said.


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[Assistant] Too tired to find the words to make it easier. They refused to pay me. Took away my license. They said that I'm finished as a boxer.


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[Assistant] Nobody will give me a job if they see this cast on my head. So we'll cover it up.


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[Assistant] May saw it in her husband's eyes then. Jim Braddock wasn't going to be beaten.


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[Assistant] I'll cut your coat so you can put it on over the cast, she said.


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[Assistant] Opening the shoe polish and spreading it on the white cast.


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[Assistant] It was early morning and Jim was standing outside the familiar locked gate at Newark Docks.


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[Assistant] As the sun appeared in the east, the foreman, Jake, walked up. Jim put his broken hand behind him.


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[Assistant] He had never really used his left hand for anything. It was really hard using the hook with it while trying to hide the cast on his right hand. There was a fighter called Jim Braddock, said Mike. I listened to his fights on the radio.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's another fighter using the name now, but this guy's no good. Jim saw the smile on Mike's face. He almost laughed himself, but then the sack fell from the hook in his hand. Mike saw Jim's cast. This isn't going to work, he said.


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[Assistant] You can't do this job with a bad hand.


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[Assistant] They were all waiting for free soup and bread from the truck at the head of the line. May held Rosie in her arms. The two boys ran around playing. You need to stand for a few minutes, Rosie, said May. I don't want to, cried Rosie. The sidewalk's wet. Who's making all this noise?


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[Assistant] A few boxing organizers in expensive suits couldn't stop her husband from fighting, even if they had taken away his license. Are you training today? She asked him. I was thinking of selling them, said Jim. Then we can pay the grocer by the end of the week. May didn't know what to say. At last, she said.


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[Assistant] Don't take less than a dollar, Jim. He saw the tears in her eyes. Go home. I'll stand in line.


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[Assistant] She handed in the empty pot and took the children home.


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[Assistant] Jim's eyes followed them, and then he looked forward again, turning his collar up against the wind. The soup truck seemed far, far away, but Jim had become good at waiting.


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[Assistant] Hours later, familiar sounds greeted Jim's ears. Jump ropes hitting the wooden floors. Leather gloves hitting punching bags.


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[Assistant] This was the gym the gym had trained in for years.


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[Assistant] The usual smell of leather and sweat hit him. He looked at all the boxers training hard. Jimmy, said a friendly voice. Have you come to train? It was Joe Jeanette, the owner of the gym. The old fighter had never been a champion, but he had always been a hero to Jim.


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[Assistant] Jeanette had been one of the best heavyweights in the country, but he was a black man and few white boxers agreed to fight him.


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[Assistant] Joe watched as Jim handed his boxing shoes to a young black boxer who paid Jim ten cents. Then Jim picked up his soup and bread and turned toward the front entrance.


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[Assistant] Joe Jeanette looked up and saw the manager standing at the back of the gym. His eyes held a question for Joe.


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[Assistant] But Joe just shook his head and stepped behind the door.


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[Assistant] It's better for both of us. Jim doesn't see me. Joe thought.


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[Assistant] Chapter 5 Broken Promises


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[Assistant] May countered out coins from the rainy day jar.


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[Assistant] Jim's week had become an unending string of grey mornings and sweaty afternoons of hard work at the docks.


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[Assistant] May was usually asleep on the sofa by the time Jim got home at night. That night.


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[Assistant] She was woken by the sound of coins dropping into the jar. She saw her husband walk toward their bed.


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[Assistant] You wanted nothing more than to fall into them.


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[Assistant] You haven't paid the bills, and I have to cut your electricity off. The man was in his thirties, but his eyes looked older. You can't, said May. We have kids. Please. If I don't, I'll lose my job, said the man sadly. Work at the docks finished early that day.


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[Assistant] Jim and his work partner Mike started walking around local towns looking for work. There was none anywhere that day. Tired and cold, they started for home.


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[Assistant] We have until tomorrow, cried a loud voice. Jim's steps slowed.


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[Assistant] Across the street, a young man was arguing with two city police officers.


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[Assistant] The two officers wore fine new uniforms. The younger of the two was polite.


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[Assistant] But Jim was already moving across the street, and Mike went with him.


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[Assistant] Her husband jumped in front of the officers as they moved to fit a new lock to the building's front door.


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[Assistant] The older officer's attitude changed immediately. I've seen you fight Jim, he said.


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[Assistant] Mike looked down at the document in the older man's hand. What do you say guys? Mistakes happen all the time. The officer nodded. Maybe we got our days mixed up, he said, removing the lock from the door.


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[Assistant] You have to trust that the government will solve things in the end. I like what President Roosevelt says.


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[Assistant] Forget Roosevelt, shouted Mike. He hasn't given me my house back yet.


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[Assistant] Jim looked in surprise at the terrible anger in his friend's eyes.


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[Assistant] May emptied the rainy day jar onto the table. She began to push the coins around. Six dollars and seventy cents, said Jim, joining his wife.


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[Assistant] How much would it cost to turn the electricity back on? Thirty three dollars and ten cents, whispered May.


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[Assistant] When May woke up the next morning, Jim had already gone out into the terrible cold.


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[Assistant] She spent the morning trying to keep the children warm.


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[Assistant] Burning pieces of woods they had taken from signs in the street. Howard lay close to the stove, his face red with fever.


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[Assistant] May rushed out of the door and stood in the snow. Bitter tears ran down her face.


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[Assistant] She cared only about keeping this family together.


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[Assistant] Jim was killing himself, trying to do this, but it wasn't working.


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[Assistant] She rushed inside to dress her children warmly.


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[Assistant] No little bodies ran to him with open arms. By the stove, Mei sat alone, staring into the dying flames. She couldn't meet his eyes.


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[Assistant] Howard was getting worse, she explained. Then Rosie started to get sick. Where are they, May? The boys are at my father's house. Rosie's going to stay with my sister. We can't keep them warm, Jim.


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[Assistant] Jim's emotions were almost too strong for words. Fear. Sadness. Anger. He pointed a finger at Mae.


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[Assistant] He turned and walked across the freezing room and out of the door.


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[Assistant] An unsmiling woman counted out $12.80, which she placed in a white envelope.


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[Assistant] Teachers and factory workers, bankers, and builders.


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[Assistant] Others looked straight ahead with empty stares. After Jim crossed the river to Manhattan,


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[Assistant] He walked past all the homeless people in the city who seemed to have no hope. The story was the same everywhere. No work. No money.


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[Assistant] At last, Jim reached the streets around Madison Square Garden.


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[Assistant] There were no bright lights now. No people in expensive clothes waiting outside. Instead,


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[Assistant] Homeless people searched for anything they could use. Jim went to the familiar side door.


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[Assistant] The sign for the next fight showed two boxers standing with gloves up.


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[Assistant] The dream of that night, when the future looked bright for Jim Braddock.


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[Assistant] But it was the fight that turned Braddock into a boxer of failed promise.


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[Assistant] The New York crowd had wanted Braddock to win. And the fight had started well, too. But things changed in the second round.


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[Assistant] Braddock had hit the champion with a few good punches, but it wasn't enough.


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[Assistant] The newspapers weren't kind to Braddock, who had looked slow in the last three rounds.


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[Assistant] His dream of winning the title seemed to be at an end. Now, years later.


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[Assistant] And said the same words that he had said after the law firm fight. I don't know what went wrong.


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[Assistant] He opened the side door and started up the stairs. The climb to the Madison Square Garden Boxing Club was the hardest of his life.


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[Assistant] The club was a place where the rich money makers of New York's boxing world could relax and do business. It wasn't high above street level, but it was like another world. At first,


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[Assistant] Others noticed and conversations around the room died. Jim cleared his throat. I'm here because we can't afford to pay the heating bills. We had to send our kids away. I just need enough money to get my children back. Jim took off his hat and stretched it out. The whole room was silent now.


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[Assistant] The man who had taken away Jim's license. Finally, Jim stopped in front of Joe Gould. I'm sorry, Joe. He told his old manager. What do you have to be sorry about, Jim? Said Joe. How much more do you need? One dollar and fifty cents, I think, whispered Jim.


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[Assistant] Joe placed the exact amount in Jim's hat.


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[Assistant] When Jim left the club, it was dark outside, and streetlights lit the icy sidewalks.


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[Assistant] Jim walked past a store that had gone out of business.


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[Assistant] It was on the face of the banker, waiting in line for hours at the Newark relief office.


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[Assistant] Jim had never understood how a proud man could sink so low.


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[Assistant] May opened the apartment door and turned on the electric light.


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[Assistant] Jay and Howard ran inside, followed by Jim, who was carrying the sleeping Rosie.


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[Assistant] He alone could stand up and continue fighting. Jim was alone now.


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[Assistant] Chapter 6 One Fight Only Spring had come to Newark at last.


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[Assistant] And the Braddock family had joined other families at the local church.


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[Assistant] The priest, Father Rorick, organized a birthday party for all the children whose parents couldn't afford a party.


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[Assistant] The different families, all saying a different name.


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[Assistant] His wife, Sarah, held their baby daughter in her arms, and she was shouting at Mike.


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[Assistant] You're always trying to fix the world, she shouted.


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[Assistant] Jim walked over and separated the angry couple. Hey, where's the referee? he asked.


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[Assistant] And Jim stopped him with a strong hand in the middle of his chest. Calm down, Mike, he said. Have a rest. But Mike couldn't calm down now. He pushed Jim. There's no need for this, said the boxer.


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[Assistant] Sarah began to chase her husband down the street. Jim looked up at May, who had tears in her eyes too. Why was it so hard just to come over for cake? She asked. Maybe he just needed a little time, said Jim angrily. It's not always easy. Maybe he just needed a little time. May shook her finger at him.


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[Assistant] Jim returned from work one afternoon and found his children playing in front of the apartment building. Rosie looked up at him. Teach me how to fight, she said. I can't, said Jim. I'll get in trouble with Mommy.


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[Assistant] Rosie just looked at her father with the same stare that May had. Jim couldn't say no to that look. Okay, he said. It's all about how you hold your body. Put your right hand here, and your left here.


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[Assistant] Rosie, who wasn't yet finished with her boxing lesson, threw another punch. It hit Jim right on the chin. Okay, Rosie, he said. Good punch.


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[Assistant] Now go and box shadows while I talk to Uncle Joe. Jim looked at the manager's fine new suit. Still looking fashionable, I see, he said. You have to show you're doing well, answered Joe. He gave Jim a friendly punch on the arm. Good to see you, Jimmy. Then, I've got you a fight.


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[Assistant] Jim wasn't sure. What about my boxing license?


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[Assistant] The organizers will let you fight one time only, said Joe. Jim asked the most important question. How much? $250, Joe replied.


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[Assistant] You're on the big show at the Madison Square Garden Bowl in Long Island City. He paused. Tomorrow night, Jim turned and walked away.


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[Assistant] He needs a fight before he boxes for the title. Jim's eyes were dangerous. Joe, this isn't funny.


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[Assistant] Nobody will take a fight against Griffin without training, so... Joe looked away. Aye.


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[Assistant] Jim talked more, about how it was only one fight, about how long he would have to work at the docks for so much money.


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[Assistant] Long Island City, New York, June 14th, 1934. Jim's name wasn't even on the sign, but he didn't care.


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[Assistant] $250, and the chance to punch something real were the only things on his mind.


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[Assistant] The manager had tried to get Braddock back in the ring since the time Jim had walked around the boxing club with his hat in his hand.


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[Assistant] Griffin was a promising young star in the boxing world.


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[Assistant] And Johnston wanted to get the New York sports world interested in him.


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[Assistant] The young southern boxer needed to beat a fighter in the city who had once been a big name.


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[Assistant] Especially as Braddock's manager was waiting outside Johnston's office.


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[Assistant] As the manager bent to tie up his boxing shoes, Jim smiled. We both know what this is, Joe.


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[Assistant] How are you going to fight with an empty stomach? He shouted.


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[Assistant] The man stepped into the room and took out a reporters notebook. How's your right hand now, Jim?


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[Assistant] Jim's eyes narrowed as he recognized the reporter. He said the man's name. Sporty Lewis.


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[Assistant] Jim remembered what Lewis had written about his fight with Tommy Laffer. He repeated the reporter's words to himself.


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[Assistant] Loughran destroyed the unskilled New Jersey fighter.


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[Assistant] The fight was a funeral with the body still breathing.


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[Assistant] Lewis saw the look in Jim's eyes and stopped smiling. I don't fight the fights, Braddock. I just write about them. Jim stepped up to Sporty, toe to toe and eye to eye. Save that garbage for your readers, he said. Suddenly the door opened and an official pointed at Jim. It's time.


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[Assistant] Get your pencil out, kid. Sporty Lewis said. I have your story for you.


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[Assistant] Griffin jumped to the center of the ring and lifted his thick arms above his head.


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[Assistant] The tall young boxer wore a confident smile on his face.


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[Assistant] He was young and powerful. A natural heavyweight with long arms and a big punch.


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[Assistant] Braddock danced and dodged, doing everything possible to keep away from Korn's powerful punches.


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[Assistant] It didn't hurt Griffin, but Jim was surprised that he could throw a left hand punch at all. In the second round.


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[Assistant] The young fighter wanted to win by a knockout, and Jim had to keep moving to dodge Korn's punches.


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[Assistant] At the end of the round, Jim sat heavily in his corner. Joe poured water in the fighter's mouth.


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[Assistant] He's half a step behind ya, shouted Joe. Move to the side and see what happens.


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[Assistant] The little manager started to dance and throw punches in the air. Three! The referee's count continued.


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[Assistant] But now Jim was the one moving with confidence.


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[Assistant] They fell like rain on the soup line, like snow on the Newark docks. Finally, Braddock delivered a hard right punch and stepped away.


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[Assistant] Bear's punch was so powerful that he had once killed a man in the ring.


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[Assistant] This was the fight the crowd had really come to see. In the last round of the fight...


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[Assistant] Max Bear's powerful punches were falling on Carnera without end. Carnera fell to the floor.


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[Assistant] All night, he had danced and dodged Carnera's fists.


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[Assistant] Bear just laughed at the defending champion, knocking away his weak punches easily.


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[Assistant] Karnera moved his tired body toward his opponent for a final attack.


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[Assistant] The challenger waited patiently, with an ugly smile on his handsome face. When Carnera reached the center of the ring,


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[Assistant] Jim stepped out of the car in front of his apartment house. Are you sure you won't come in and say hello? He asked. Are you still married to the same girl? Asked Joe. Jim gave the usual answer. I was the last time I looked. Joe smiled. Good night Jimmy. The car drove off and Jim stood outside the building.


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[Assistant] The door opened, and Jay, Howard, and Rosie looked up at him with hopeful faces. May stood silently.


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[Assistant] He could almost smell it, hear it cooking. He went down on his knees to speak to his daughter, fighter to fighter. Rosie, we have to eat this. But Rosie shouted, No, you have to put it on your face. Jim knew that it was useless to argue.


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[Assistant] He lay back and placed the cool steak across his eyes.


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[Assistant] The kids went wild, laughing and jumping around the room. Jim took the steak from his face. This really worked, he told his daughter. Let's eat. He crossed to the stove and started cooking the meat.


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[Assistant] She said silent thanks that her husband would never step inside the ring again.


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[Assistant] My share was $125. We had bills of $120 to pay. That left me with $5. Jake laughed. That makes you a rich man. Then he said seriously. Good fight.


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[Assistant] The two picked up their hooks and began to work, moving the heavy sacks. Why didn't you tell me you were gonna win again? said Mike. I didn't put any money on you. Mike smiled, but it wasn't the smile Jim remembered. It was tired, less happy. Come on, Mike said. Talk me through that last round.


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[Assistant] Since the cast had come off his arm, he worked with both hands.


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[Assistant] A week later, May was walking back from the stores with Rosie when she saw a shiny new car drive away from their apartment house. Joe Gould's car.


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[Assistant] With his square chin and his bright eyes up to the blue sky. Then he turned and Mae felt her heart stop. She saw it in his eyes. The old excitement. Joe was here, said Jim. He thinks they'll let me box again. It was hard for Mae to speak. You said it was one fight.


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[Assistant] Nay, thought to control her fear and anger. I am proud.


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[Assistant] I can still take a few punches. At least in the ring you know who's hitting you. May felt helpless.


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[Assistant] She took the kids to her sister's house, and then she crossed the Hudson River to New York City.


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[Assistant] She was going to the small part of the city, known as the Upper East Side.


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[Assistant] It was an area of beautiful houses, expensive apartment buildings, and fine hotels.


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[Assistant] Some of the richest people in the country lived on the blocks along the city's central park.


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[Assistant] Two streets away, the buildings weren't quite so beautiful, but they were still home to wealthy people. In front of each apartment building, a uniformed doorman stood guard.


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[Assistant] She went through the beautiful entrance hall to the elevator.


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[Assistant] Said Joe, touching his fine brown suit. Show people you're doing well, even if you're not.


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[Assistant] We sold the last of the furniture last week, he continued. So Jimmy could train. Why? May asked.


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[Assistant] Chapter 9. Not the same guy.


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[Assistant] In the next few weeks, Braddock trained hard. After all those months of hard work.


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[Assistant] Every week there were new exercises, new skills to learn, and practice. While Braddock worked at the gym, Joe Gould was busy in other ways.


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[Assistant] At Madison Square Garden, he walked into Jimmy Johnston's office and sat down.


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[Assistant] You're going to arrange a fight between Jim Braddock and John Henry Lewis.


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[Assistant] Lewis is number two in line to fight for the heavyweight title, and he's already beaten Braddock once before. So put Braddock against Lewis.


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[Assistant] If Louis wins, your boy has had a good practice fight before his next opponent, and you make some money. If by some chance Braddock beats Louis, you have a people's favorite, which means you make more money. Whatever happens, you're richer with Braddock back in the ring. Gould sat back. So what do you say?


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[Assistant] If you win the next, then everything changes. Jim, understood. He turned toward the heavy punching bag. Jimmy, Joe called.


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[Assistant] Jim turned and saw the old fire in his manager's eyes. Win, said Joe.


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[Assistant] It was the afternoon before the fight. Jim was still at home. I know this isn't what you wanted. He said softly to May. But I can't win if you don't support me.


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[Assistant] The three children took their chance to run out of the apartment.


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[Assistant] Soon, they stood again in the butcher shop. What can I do for you today? Sam the butcher asked.


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[Assistant] My dad's fighting a man who beat him badly once before, said Rosie anxiously. What kind of stakes do you have?


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[Assistant] Down the block, Jim stepped out of the apartment house and was met by a small crowd of neighbors. We're all supporting you, said an old man. Take him down, Jim, cried another. Suddenly, a familiar face appeared in front of Jim. Mike Wilson. They shook hands. I put some money on you, Mike said.


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[Assistant] Do you need some help in your corner? He asked. Jim shook his head. I have my regular guise for that. You know how it is, Mike. Mike's shoulders dropped, but he tried to laugh. Sure I do, Jim. Now go and win the fight.


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[Assistant] His perfectly timed combinations of punches pushed Jim onto the ropes again.


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[Assistant] Louis is here to repeat his win over Braddock, said the radio announcer.


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[Assistant] For three rounds, the two fighters danced around the ring, looking for the other man's weak areas.


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[Assistant] Both fighters started round five like mad animals. Leather gloves flew, and neither man backed away. Suddenly, Braddock hit his opponent with a powerful cross, and Lewis was down on one knee.


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[Assistant] When the fight continued, Lewis wasn't able to protect himself, letting Braddock knock him back onto the ropes.


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[Assistant] As Joe Gould gave Jim his share of the prize money, he said, Take care of yourself. Our luck has changed. I'm sure of it.


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[Assistant] Johnston didn't want the New Jersey boxer to stop another of his young stars.


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[Assistant] But Gould refused to take no for an answer.


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[Assistant] Again and again, he went to Johnston's office, trying to get a fight for his man. How about a fight with Art Lasky? He tried. At first, Johnston refused.


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[Assistant] He was a young fighter from Minnesota who had won a few fights in the west.


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[Assistant] He wasn't as fast as Lewis, but he was big and strong.


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[Assistant] The boxer from Minnesota took a lot of punishment and soon his nose was bloody. Everything changed in the fifth round.


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[Assistant] Fighting with new confidence. He took the next few rounds from the New Jersey man.


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[Assistant] In the eleventh round, Braddock found himself back on the ropes as Lasky's fists flew at him.


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[Assistant] Art Lasky is ending the story of Jim Braddock's second chance in boxing, said the radio announcer.


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[Assistant] He stood there, eye to eye with Lasky.


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[Assistant] He fought from a distance, throwing jabs at Lasky's bloody face.


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[Assistant] In the fifteenth round, Braddock's glove hit the other man's nose. Blood showered the ring.


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[Assistant] This is unbelievable! shouted the radio announcer. Nothing can stop Braddock now!


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[Assistant] The shouts of the crowd reached the streets outside. By radio, they reached across the country.


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[Assistant] They were heard in Branson, Missouri, where Ansel Hoffman ran to another room in the hotel he was staying in. He knocked at the door urgently.


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[Assistant] The streets around Madison Square Garden were quiet.


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[Assistant] Joe did most the talking on the drive to New Jersey.


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[Assistant] When they reached the apartment building, Jim opened the door. Good night, Joe. Haven't you forgotten something? Ask Joe.


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[Assistant] He puts some of the cash in the jar on the shelf. He put the rest in a white envelope.


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[Assistant] The sidewalks were empty as he walked to the center of town.


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[Assistant] He joined the line inside the relief office and waited patiently.


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[Assistant] They were very expensive, but he wanted to apologize for not waking her to tell her about the laski fight.


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[Assistant] He hadn't wanted to celebrate until he had paid back the money to the relief office. But when he got home, it wasn't the time for celebrating. Mike Wilson's wife, Sarah.


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[Assistant] The foreman stopped picking him for work, cried Sarah. I went to stay with my brother.


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[Assistant] There wasn't room for Mike, so he's been sleeping in Central Park. Sarah, look straight at Jim. He said he was gonna do some work for you.


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[Assistant] We were gonna meet last night, but Mike never came. Silently. May pointed at the jar that contained their money. Jim nodded. Listen, Sarah. You and May go and get something for the baby's cough. But Sarah was crying. Something's wrong. I know it is. Jim moved toward the front door. I'll go and find him.


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[Assistant] Since the crash of 1929, tens of thousands of New Yorkers were living in cars, or on the streets, or in the subway. A lot of people had started living in Central Park.


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[Assistant] Jim saw park workers, guiding the last sheep into enormous wagons.


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[Assistant] The shadows became longer as night came, and soon trashcan fires were the only lights in the park.


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[Assistant] He ran to the crowd, and had to push his way through a wall of people to reach the center.


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[Assistant] A group of men had fought the police here.


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[Assistant] He began looking for his friend among all the fallen men on the grass.


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[Assistant] In the cold and dark of New York Central Park.


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[Assistant] Jim spoke of Mike's love for his family, his wife.


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[Assistant] But Mike's anger hadn't helped his wife for his daughter.


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[Assistant] Jim wished he had known how bad things had become for his friend.


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[Assistant] He couldn't forget how kind Mike had been to him when he started working at the docks. May's attention was on Sarah, whose eyes were far away.


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[Assistant] She seemed to be staring into the long future that waited for her without her husband. As she looked at Sarah,


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[Assistant] Part of May wondered if she was looking into a mirror of her own future. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but one day, she might lose Jim.


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[Assistant] Chapter 11, Face to Face with the Champion.


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[Assistant] Jim Braddock and Joe Gould smiled for the cameras. Then it was time for the reporter's questions.


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[Assistant] Jim, do you have anything to say to our readers? Not everybody gets a second chance, answered Jim. He looked at me.


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[Assistant] This great country of ours helps a man when he's in trouble.


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[Assistant] I've had some good luck, so I thought I'd return the money. Another reporter stood.


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[Assistant] Sporty Lewis stood and turned toward May. Mrs. Braddock.


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[Assistant] How do you feel about the fact that Max Bear has killed two men in the ring? May could find no words.


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[Assistant] Mrs. Braddock, are you scared for your husband's life? continued Lewis. A camera appeared in front of May's face. Jim jumped to his feet.


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[Assistant] While Jim answered the last question, his eyes searched for May.


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[Assistant] She refused to look up, not wanting him to see the doubts and fear in her eyes.


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[Assistant] You will know exactly what Bear can do before you get in that ring.


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[Assistant] This was Johnson's lawyer, and he was followed by a secretary.


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[Assistant] Johnston went to a machine and began to show a film. It showed two boxers getting ready to fight. One was Max Bear. Johnston said the other man's name. That's Frankie Campbell.


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[Assistant] The punch was too fast to see and it had a strange, terrible power. Campbell just stood there in confusion with his gloves down by his side.


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[Assistant] The second punch hit the side of his head, and then Campbell was down, his legs wide, his eyes open, but seeing nothing. It was the second punch that killed him, said Johnston.


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[Assistant] You've warned us, said Joe. Now stop the film. No, said Jim, surprising both Joe and Johnston. Show it again. When the lights were back on, Johnston stared at Jim. Remember Ernie Shaft? He was a good fighter. Ernie took one of Bear's punches on the chin. He was dead and didn't know it.


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[Assistant] Or because they had to work long hours and dangerous jobs to feed their families.


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[Assistant] Why don't you both eat here tonight with your wives?


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[Assistant] But there was something about the look in his eyes that Jim didn't trust.


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[Assistant] Later that day, the two men returned to the club's restaurant with their wives.


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[Assistant] The four eights talked and laughed as the piano played quietly in the corner. After the meal, Joe pulled a newspaper out of his pocket.


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[Assistant] He turned to the sports pages and began to read.


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[Assistant] Wasn't Cinderella the girl who had to stay at home and clean while her sisters went to a wonderful party at the palace?


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[Assistant] As usual, all eyes in the room turned to him. This was Max Bear. Jim turned to his manager. Do you think Johnston planned this? he asked angrily. Joe nodded. Sure, more pictures for the papers.


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[Assistant] Physically, Bear was the perfect boxer.


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[Assistant] He had a narrow waist, wide shoulders, strong legs, and long arms.


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[Assistant] But Joe couldn't forget the sight of Bear destroying Primo Carnera.


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[Assistant] Joe's attention moved away from Bear when a waiter arrived with a bottle of wine and four glasses.


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[Assistant] Look, it's the Cinderella man. He shouted. Jim stood toe to toe with the champion.


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[Assistant] You keep saying in the newspapers that you're gonna kill me in the ring. I have three little kids. You're upsetting my family. Bear moved closer. His voice was quiet as he said, Listen to me, Braddock. I'm asking you not to take this fight. And people admire you.


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[Assistant] Jim squeezed his fist into a ball ready to attack, but Bear continued to look at May.


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[Assistant] Bear's bright blue eyes followed her as she picked up his drink, then threw it in his face. Bear just laughed as he dried his face. Did you get that, boys? He said to the reporters. Braddock has his wife fighting for him. Jim stepped up to Max Bear. The two boxers were nose to nose. Then Jim turned, took his wife's hand,


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[Assistant] The sound of bear laughing followed them into the street. Chapter 12. The Big Day. Keep your head down and give me a combination. Left, right, left.


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[Assistant] That's enough now, said May from the kitchen sink. Jim looked at his boys proudly. There's more than one fighter in the Braddock family.


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[Assistant] As the two boys continued to box, they knocked over a chair. May turned. I said that's enough. She cried. No boxing in the house. She pointed at her two sons. You're going to stay in school. Then college. You're going to have professions.


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[Assistant] She could still hear Sporty Lewis's words in her head.


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[Assistant] May waited for Jim to take her in his arms, to say that he had changed his mind, but he didn't. Part of him wished that he could, but it was impossible.


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[Assistant] She didn't understand how it felt for men like Jim or Mike Wilson.


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[Assistant] As the day of the fight grew closer, Max Bear helped reporters fill their sports pages.


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[Assistant] His latest demand was that there must be an ambulance outside Madison Square Garden.


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[Assistant] Joe Jeanette chose good partners for him to work with in the ring.


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[Assistant] Another partner allowed him to practice dodging big punches. Another helped him move around the ring quickly. Jim, Joe, and Jeanette.


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[Assistant] Also watched film of bears fights for hours every day. Watch him, said Jeanette, pointing. His punches are strong but you can see them coming.


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[Assistant] Joe and Jeanette started changing his boxing partners more and more often.


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[Assistant] Braddock is going to be really prepared for this fight, if he lives through training. Joe laughed when he read that.


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[Assistant] His ribs aren't strong since the last key fight.


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[Assistant] Gould already knew about the problem with Jim's ribs, but he thought there was something else wrong.


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[Assistant] Gould knew that Jim's wife wasn't happy about his profession, and about this fight especially. But whatever the problem was, there was no time to solve it now. The fight was just hours away. The reporters will be here soon, he told Jim.


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[Assistant] Take off that jacket or Bear will see that you have a rib problem.


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[Assistant] He worked hard, but he still wanted to train more after the last reporter had gone. Joe Jeanette refused. Go home and get some rest.


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[Assistant] You'll be working hard enough in the ring tonight. So Jim went home.


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[Assistant] Come home with that title. Knock him out. Jim kissed his three children, then his eyes met May's. I can't win if you don't support me, he said. Then don't go, Jimmy. Time.


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[Assistant] Seem to stretch, with each of them waiting for the other to say something.


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[Assistant] Jim watched as she pushed her way back through the crowd. Then he climbed into the waiting taxi.


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[Assistant] The taxi drove past the tall buildings of Manhattan, then crossed the East River. Jim was silent.


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[Assistant] They reached the Madison Square Garden Bull, and Jim looked out at the waiting crowd.


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[Assistant] He could see that these people had known hard times.


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[Assistant] But there was something else too. A bright look in their eyes. Hope.


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[Assistant] Jim saw his own face in the glass of the car window.


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[Assistant] He had beaten Tuffy Griffiths so confidently. But that man was gone forever.


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[Assistant] He was looking now at the face of every man who had ever been beaten down by hard times but refused to stop fighting. That's when Jim knew, no matter what happened tonight, he wouldn't give up. He would die trying.


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[Assistant] When there was peace in the room again, officials and reporters watched the two boxers being weighed.


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[Assistant] It was very hot in the crowded room. Max Bear went first, stepping up with his fists above his head and an ugly smile on his face.


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[Assistant] 95 and a half kilograms, the judge announced. Then it was Jim's turn.


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[Assistant] People laughed, and more photos were taken, but Jim didn't care.


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[Assistant] He would have the chance to reply later, in the ring.


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[Assistant] Bear's manager, Ansel Hoffman, came into the room. Did you get it? asked the champion. Hoffman nodded. The ambulance is waiting outside. There's a doctor there too. Max looked in the mirror. That's all I can do for him. Now Braddock's on his own.


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[Assistant] May spent the rest of the day at her sister's house.


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[Assistant] As the children played, she and Alice sat and talked.


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[Assistant] All of these people were beaten down by hard times. They admired her husband. If he could fight and win, maybe they could. Yes. I understand now, said May. She turned and hurried down the street.


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[Assistant] Everybody was getting ready to listen to the fight. At the docks. In homes and bars. In Sam the Butchers.


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[Assistant] People wanted the Cinderella Man to win. They wanted him to become the prince, the king, the champion.


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[Assistant] There was a knock on the door and a small familiar shape stood there. It was May. Excuse me for a minute, said Joe. He left, closing the door behind him. Finally, May spoke. You can't win if I don't support you. I keep telling you that, said Jim. May handed him a brown paper bag.


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[Assistant] Chapter 13. The Hopes of the Crowd.


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[Assistant] Madison Square Garden Bowl, Long Island City, New York, June 13th, 1935.


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[Assistant] As Jim Braddock stepped out into the bright lights, the crowd became silent. The ring seemed so far away.


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[Assistant] Some had spent their last dollar to be here. But tonight, they all held their heads high.


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[Assistant] As he passed, people got to their feet.


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[Assistant] May's sister Alice was looking for Jay, Howard, and Rosie to call them to supper. There was no sign of the children. Were they hiding? She was going to look outside.


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[Assistant] All three children were sitting around a radio.


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[Assistant] They looked up at their ants and Alice knew that she couldn't stop them without saying a word.


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[Assistant] She sat down next to the children and listened to the announcer on the radio.


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[Assistant] I don't know if you can hear me, the announcer was shouting. I can't hear myself. The crowd is on its feet and the noise is deafening.


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[Assistant] Back in the Madison Square Garden Bowl, the crowd was silent again when they realized that Max Bear was walking to the ring.


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[Assistant] The champion felt the crowd's fear. He enjoyed it.


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[Assistant] When he had climbed into the ring, Bear ran around and accepted the crowd's booze with a confident smile on his face.


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[Assistant] When I say break, step back immediately. And remember, he looked at Jim. Protect yourself at all times.


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[Assistant] As the fighters touch gloves, Bear's corner man held a gold watch in front of Braddock's face. One minute to midnight, Cinderella. He laughed. The fighters returned to their corners.


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[Assistant] The champion tried to punch back, but Braddock danced away. On Braddock's next attack, Bear was ready.


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[Assistant] Braddock's answer was a combination of punches. A long right to the face, another right, a left, and a final right to the chin.


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[Assistant] As the bell rang, Bear knew that he had lost the round on points, but he didn't care.


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[Assistant] Nobody expected this fight to go one round, the radio announcer was saying. But it's only reached round two, because Bear is playing with Braddock. He's thrown almost no punches, and he's laughing at the challenger.


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[Assistant] The champion has really hurt the challenger, said the announcer. The crowd began to boo.


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[Assistant] Before the fight started again, Gould saw that Braddock's gloves were down by his side. But there was no time to shout a warning. Bear had seen it too.


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[Assistant] Braddock's feet were quicker, and his punches more effective. So Bear started aiming for the body again. After a few good punches to the ribs,


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[Assistant] He shook the sweat from his thick black hair and held up his hands to apologize. Out of the corner of his eye.


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[Assistant] He could see that Braddock wasn't protecting himself. Without warning.


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[Assistant] Bear turned and delivered an enormous punch to Braddock's ribs.


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[Assistant] Braddock replied with a combination of left-right punches before stepping back. Round five. Bears manager Ansel Hoffman couldn't understand it.


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[Assistant] The challenger's ribs were in bad condition, but Braddock was still controlling the fight.


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[Assistant] The timing of the champion's punches wasn't right, and Hoffman knew that he was waiting for the chance to deliver his big knockout punch instead of tiring his opponent. But Bear wasn't able to hit Braddock, who dodged and danced away skillfully. The champion was getting angry now.


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[Assistant] Bear hit Braddock with three good punches in the first seconds of the round. Blood poured from the challenger's nose and mouth.


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[Assistant] Bear fought back, but his aim wasn't as good as the challenger's. His right eye began to close. For the first time in this fight, Bear felt relief when the bell rang.


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[Assistant] As soon as the round began, it was clear that Bear had a new attitude. Joe Gould could see it. The crowd could also feel the change.


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[Assistant] Bear wanted to finish this fight now. But Braddock wasn't afraid.


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[Assistant] Bear hit Braddock with several punches to the body. The last of these hit below the belt. Keep your punches up, Max, said Braddock. Bear smiled.


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[Assistant] I can't believe this, said the radio announcer.


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[Assistant] Everybody expected the champion to win easily, but now after the seventh round, neither fighter is ahead. Either of them could win. Chapter 14. The Luckiest Man.


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[Assistant] Alice? The house seemed empty.


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[Assistant] They were all there. May's three children and her sister listening to the fight on the radio.


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[Assistant] In the tenth round, the champion was in complete control of the fight. May reached to turn off the radio. Jay's eyes met hers. Please, Mom.


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[Assistant] She looked into their hopeful faces and knew that she couldn't say no, but she refused to listen herself. Without a word, she turned and walked away as the eleventh round began. Round 11. Bear was mad as he rushed out.


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[Assistant] Jim looked back into Bear's broken face and smiled.


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[Assistant] For the rest of the round, Bear tried to finish his opponent, but his wild punches missed.


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[Assistant] With each punch, he felt his strength returning. There was blood on Bear's face now.


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[Assistant] The referee in the fight's doctor had to lift the little manager back out of the ring. Bear just stood in the center of the ring. That low punch lost you the round, the referee told him.


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[Assistant] Bear waved him away and moved back to his corner. Ansel Hoffman was waiting for him.


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[Assistant] At her sister's house in New Jersey, May had stopped pretending to herself that she was reading the newspaper. That she wasn't listening to the radio.


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[Assistant] She went back to the hall, where the others still sad listening.


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[Assistant] At last, when there was just one more round in the fight, she stepped out of the shadows. Rosie moved to the side. Sit here mommy. May joined her children. Pale with worry, she listened to the announcer.


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[Assistant] They fought for air as they circled each other, looking for a chance to get past their opponent's defenses.


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[Assistant] Bear's fists flew, and all of his punches were strong enough to knock a man out. But they were wild and anxious. Braddock remained on his feet. He kept coming forward, bringing the fight to Bear.


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[Assistant] The final seconds of the fight seem to stretch forever.


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[Assistant] For each man, there was only the other fighter.


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[Assistant] Bear saw his chance. He threw his famous right punch and hit Braddock right in the head.


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[Assistant] Minutes later, Braddock was still resting on the ropes, while the fight doctor examined him and Joe Gould took his boxing gloves off. I don't like it, said Joe. The judges are taking too long. A shadow fell across their corner.


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[Assistant] But Bear was gone before he had a chance to say them.


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[Assistant] At last, the judges handed a small white card to the fight announcer.


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[Assistant] He climbed over the ropes and moved to the microphone in the middle of the ring.


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[Assistant] At her sister's house, May's cry cut the night. As the family celebrated, little Rosie smiled proudly at her mother. It's the steak, she said.


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[Assistant] Everybody wanted to shake his hand. To touch him.


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[Assistant] Where his wife and three children would soon be waiting for him to come home. In the end,


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[Assistant] They were the reason why he was not only the heavyweight champion of the world, but also the luckiest man in it.


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[Assistant] And so, James J. Braddock at the age of 29 became the heavyweight champion of the world on June 13, 1935. None of the judges disagreed with the decision, for the public and the press


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[Assistant] His win was one of the biggest surprises in the history of the sport.


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[Assistant] Most agreed that Bear had been beaten by a better boxer on the night. For two years, Braddock didn't box again.


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[Assistant] Finally, a fight was arranged with Joe Lewis, the brown bomber from Detroit.


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[Assistant] On June 22, 1937, the two fighters met in Chicago.


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[Assistant] By this time, Braddock was not as strong or healthy as he had been.


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[Assistant] After a couple of rounds, I knew I was in there with a great fighter.


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[Assistant] Joe Lewis later became one of the greatest heavyweight title holders in the history of boxing.


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[Assistant] Pharr had lasted all 15 rounds against Lewis, and most people expected him to beat Braddock. Again?


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[Assistant] Then he decided to leave the sport as a winner. I've won my last fight, he announced to the press.


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[Assistant] The couple lived in the same New Jersey house that they bought after Jim won the heavyweight title.


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[Assistant] Jim Braddock said that when Bear hit him with his best punch and Jim didn't fall, he was the happiest guy in the world.


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[Assistant] That's a lovely cool breeze. Hee hee. I want to make a cool breeze too.


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[Assistant] Hmm, that works, but it's not quite the same as having a special tail that can keep you cool in summer.


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[Assistant] Wow. How about this for special? Wow. That is special. My tail is very useful.


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[Assistant] Oh, what's wrong little nut brown hair?


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[Assistant] I really wish I had a long tail that could do special things too.


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[Assistant] I'm not having much luck with finding a new tale.


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[Assistant] I know. If the rainbow is not in the sky, then it must have disappeared.


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[Assistant] Why don't you two go and have some fun? I'll stay here to keep an eye on the sky. Just in case the rainbow comes back.


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[Assistant] ESLPOD.com presents Interview Questions Answered, Episode 6. Hello, I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillen, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.


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[Assistant] This series is designed to teach you the English you need to know to have a successful interview.


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[Assistant] We'll first listen to some tips on how to answer the question, and then we'll listen to and explain two sample answers for the question.


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[Assistant] Our question in this episode is, what are your weaknesses? This is one of the more difficult questions to answer in an interview, and many people don't know what they should say.


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[Assistant] Your goal in answering this question is to name a weakness something that causes you problems that can be improved. Something that you can make better.


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[Assistant] You also want to mention something that could be a positive thing in different circumstances.


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[Assistant] Now, you don't want to try to mention a strength.


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[Assistant] And say that it's a weakness. For example, you can't say, well, one of my weaknesses is I work too hard. I'm a workaholic. I work too much.


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[Assistant] That is a strength and your employer, the interviewer, will see that you're not really answering the question.


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[Assistant] So don't try to use things that are strengths and call them weaknesses. Instead, you want to keep the weakness a minor one or a small one. Don't mention a big problem you have, mention a smaller weakness, a smaller


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[Assistant] Part of you that needs to be improved upon.


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[Assistant] So for example, if you like to show up late, come to work late every day, you don't want to say that's one of your weaknesses, or you like to steal from the company.


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[Assistant] Definitely not something you want to say as one of your weaknesses, even if it is. Instead you want to pick some things that are less important.


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[Assistant] You also want to say how you can improve in this area of weakness. How you can make yourself better. In fact, you want to show that you are already making yourself better in terms of this weakness.


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[Assistant] Finally, you want to give some specific evidence or examples of how you are working to overcome or to improve upon your weakness. You want to give them an example of what you're doing to improve yourself, to improve this weakness that you have. Here are some options in answering this question.


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[Assistant] First, you can tell the interviewer about a weakness that you have already improved. You have already overcome. You have already made better. So you used to, for example, get nervous when you had to call someone on the telephone.


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[Assistant] But then you did something, you practiced, you talked to someone, you got some training, and now you don't have that weakness anymore. So you're telling them about a weakness, but you're also telling them how you made it better.


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[Assistant] Another option is to tell the interviewer about some mistake, some error that you made in the past to show how you learned from that mistake, how you learned from that error.


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[Assistant] So you can say that you did something wrong in one of your previous jobs, but that you learned from that and that you became stronger. So the mistake is the weakness, but you also show how you became better.


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[Assistant] Finally, you can tell the interviewer about a weakness that doesn't relate directly to what you are going to be doing on this job. It doesn't relate to the duties or the things that you have to do for the job.


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[Assistant] So it may be a weakness that's not related to the things you are expected to do in the job.


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[Assistant] Let's listen to a couple of sample answers and I think you'll have a better idea about how to answer this question. What are your weaknesses?


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[Assistant] The person began her answer by saying that a weakness that I have is that I don't like to do public speaking.


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[Assistant] Public speaking means standing up in front of other people and giving a talk, giving a presentation.


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[Assistant] This can be a weakness in many jobs where you're expected to give presentations to other people in your company or to other companies.


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[Assistant] So this is a weakness that she says that she has. She says she gets nervous when she has to give a presentation or a speech in front of other people. This is very common. Many people get nervous. It's not a serious problem. She doesn't pick a big problem.


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[Assistant] More importantly, she talks about how she made herself better.


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[Assistant] She says, I realize that I won't need to do any public speaking in this job right now. So that she's selected a weakness that is not related to this job. But it's a general weakness when it comes to some companies.


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[Assistant] She goes on to say that I want to overcome this fear so that when the time comes, I'll be prepared.


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[Assistant] She's doing a couple of things here. First, she's talking about how she wants to overcome her fear.


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[Assistant] So she wants to overcome her fear of public speaking.


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[Assistant] So that when the time comes, meaning when something happens, when the right time comes, when she needs in this case to do public speaking, she'll be able to do it.


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[Assistant] So she shows here not only that she wants to improve on her weakness, she also shows that she wants to do better and wants to have more skills for a potential future job.


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[Assistant] She says that it's important to me to identify any shortcomings that may affect my job performance.


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[Assistant] Are things that aren't as good as they should be. Problems that you have to work on to improve.


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[Assistant] She says that she wants to be able to know to identify these problems and do something about them.


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[Assistant] So to overcome or to combat my fear, I took a class.


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[Assistant] Toastmasters are groups of people who practice public speaking. Often they are business people who are nervous when they give public presentations. And so they have meetings. This is not part of the company. This is an outside of the company organization.


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[Assistant] Regularly, she goes to their meetings and she gives speeches in front of the other members. After she gives her speech, she gets constructive criticism on her performance.


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[Assistant] Criticism is when someone tells you you did something wrong. Constructive criticism


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[Assistant] C-O-N-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-V-E is criticism that helps you. So you can have criticism that doesn't help you. Someone says, oh, you're terrible. That's not helpful criticism.


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[Assistant] If they say, you're doing this wrong and here's how you can get better. If they give you a way of improving, that's called constructive criticism. So the woman giving this answer says that she gets constructive criticism, which helps her improve on her public speaking.


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[Assistant] She ends by talking about how she has now mostly overcome this weakness. It's no longer a problem for her.


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[Assistant] Mostly. She says, I can say that in the past five months, I have become a better and more confident public speaker. To be confident means that you believe that you can do something.


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[Assistant] She says, I think, however, I can be even better. And that's why I continued to attend meetings and to look for opportunities to put into practice what I've learned. So even though she's gotten better, she shows that she continues to want to improve herself.


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[Assistant] And so she keeps going, she continues going to these meetings.


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[Assistant] She also says she looks for opportunities to put it into practice, or to put into practice what she learned.


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[Assistant] The expression to put something into practice means to use what you have learned, perhaps at school or at a training, and use it in a real life situation, an actual situation.


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[Assistant] She says, I'm confident that in a short time I will be an even better and more effective speaker and presenter.


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[Assistant] So notice how she took this weakness, getting nervous about talking in front of other people, and she described how she made herself better. She already is making herself better and that she will continue to improve.


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[Assistant] She also selected a weakness that is not directly connected with what she has to do on this job. So that's another smart strategy.


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[Assistant] Now let's listen to the sample answer, this time at a native rate of speech.


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[Assistant] Now let's listen to another sample answer to the question, what are your weaknesses?


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[Assistant] When I started my first job, I had trouble with procrastination.


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[Assistant] Even though I never missed a deadline, I found that procrastinating put me under unnecessary stress, and this hurt my enjoyment of the job.


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[Assistant] Fortunately, I realized the problem fairly quickly and did something about it.


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[Assistant] The first thing I did was to talk to my colleagues about how they managed their time effectively.


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[Assistant] I learned that many of them used project management software, which I also began to use.


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[Assistant] This type of program allowed me to set deadlines and benchmarks for the different tasks I had to do and gave me reminders about how far along I should be on a given task.


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[Assistant] This helped with my planning and has made me more organized overall.


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[Assistant] Now I use this type of planning for all of my major job tasks and procrastination is no longer a problem for me.


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[Assistant] In this second sample answer, we see that the person has identified a weakness. In this case, it is with procrastination.


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[Assistant] Means to delay doing something. To wait until it's almost too late before beginning on something.


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[Assistant] To wait too long before you start something. This is procrastination.


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[Assistant] Now procrastination is definitely a weakness. Definitely something that might hurt you.


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[Assistant] Even though I procrastinated, even though I used to wait too long to begin my projects, I never missed a deadline. So it was never a serious problem.


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[Assistant] He says instead that it put him under unnecessary or unneeded stress.


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[Assistant] So even though this is a weakness, it's not a weakness that has hurt him in his job.


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[Assistant] It is however something that he has tried to fix. He has tried to make better. He says, fortunately I realized the problem fairly quickly, meaning pretty quickly or very quickly, and I did something about it.


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[Assistant] The second part of his answer explains exactly what he did to get over this weakness. He says that he talked to his colleagues and asked them how they managed their time effectively.


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[Assistant] To manage your time means to schedule your activities so that you can finish everything you're supposed to do. You put things in the right priority. That's part of managing your time.


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[Assistant] He learned that many of his colleagues use something called project management software, a computer program that helped them


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[Assistant] Get their time organized and manage their time effectively.


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[Assistant] He explains that this project management software helped him set deadlines and benchmarks for different tasks he had to do.


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[Assistant] A benchmark is like a goal or an objective. It's...


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[Assistant] A certain point in a project where you've completed part of it. So you have a big project that takes 10 weeks. You can divide it into smaller parts and when you finish a certain part, you've reached


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[Assistant] A benchmark. You've finished an important part of your task. An important part of what you have to do.


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[Assistant] Well this software program helped him do that and also gave him reminders about how far along he should be, meaning


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[Assistant] How much progress he should have made in order to still be on time or on schedule.


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[Assistant] He says this helped with his planning and has made him more organized.


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[Assistant] Now he says he uses this type of project management software, this type of planning, for all of his job tasks. And procrastination is no longer a problem for me.


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[Assistant] So this is a problem that he says he doesn't have anymore because he did something about it and he improved himself.


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[Assistant] There are lots of other types of weaknesses that you can talk about.


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[Assistant] You might talk about how you sometimes lose your patience. That when someone is talking to you or someone is doing something, you become frustrated.


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[Assistant] If that's your weakness, then you have to say how you are getting better. You are setting expectations. You are thinking about things and establishing a kind of behavior that is acceptable so that you don't lose your patience.


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[Assistant] You might also say that you have problems with organization that you used to have in the past problems with organization. But now you have a schedule and something that helps you organize yourself better. And you're no longer seriously affected by this problem.


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[Assistant] Now let's listen to the sample answer number two, this time at a normal speed.


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[Assistant] When I started my first job, I had trouble with procrastination.


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[Assistant] Even though I never missed a deadline, I found that procrastinating put me under unnecessary stress, and this hurt my enjoyment of the job.


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[Assistant] Fortunately, I realized the problem fairly quickly and did something about it.


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[Assistant] The first thing I did was talk to my colleagues about how they managed their time effectively. I learned that many of them used project management software, which I also began to use.


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[Assistant] This type of program allowed me to set deadlines and benchmarks for the different tasks I had to do, and gave me reminders about how far along I should be on a given task.


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[Assistant] Now I use this type of planning for all of my major job tasks, and procrastination is no longer a problem for me.


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[Assistant] We hope you enjoyed this series. Remember that each of our episodes has a complete learning guide which contains all of the vocabulary


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[Assistant] And definitions, along with additional information about the questions,


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[Assistant] And a complete transcript of the episode.


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[Assistant] From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillen. Thanks for listening.