A vociferous claque of rooters burst into an excited hubbub when Rocky Marciano came bouncing into the ring. But the real roar of the crowd in Madison Square Garden came for the man with the magic name: Joe Louis. Only those right at the ringside could see that Louis at 37, balding and thick-waisted, was little more than a bloated, moonfaced caricature of the famed Brown Bomber. The gamblers, out of respectful memory, made Joe a 7-5 favorite-but it was the shortest price ever quoted on the ex-champion.
Cocky Rocky, winner of all of...
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