Jake LaMotta in a Pantsuit, and Other Presidential Contenders

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Campaigning in Philadelphia last week, Hillary Clinton threw a bucket of cold water on the growing chorus calling for her to concede the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama. Evoking the image of Philadelphia's fictional fighting hero, Rocky Balboa, Hillary said: "Let me tell you something. When it comes to finishing the fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit. I never give up."

Her identification with Rocky got me thinking about boxing and presidential politics from a neutral corner, so to speak. What legendary, real-life fighters are reminiscent of Clinton, Obama and John McCain? As a kid growing up in the Midwest in the 1950s, I was often glued to the TV set watching the Friday nights fights from Madison Square Garden. Partly, it was the wonderful, exotic names--Kid Gavilan was one of my favorites. But mainly I was intrigued by the contrasting styles of the sluggers, counter punchers, southpaws and so forth. And in boxing, style counts for a lot, as it does in politics.

The other day, I tracked down the Boxing Hall of Fame historian Bert Randolph Sugar, and asked him to share his pugilistic insights on the three political heavyweights still in the ring.

The author of 80 books, Sugar, 72, answered the phone at his home in, of all places, Chappaqua, New York, where Bill and Hillary also live--and nearby. "I can see their house," he says. "Seamus, their dog, leaves presidential souvenirs on my lawn."

As soon as I popped the question, Sugar was off and running. "The person that Hillary reminds me of is Jake LaMotta. He had grit, guts. He was a rough, tough brawler. He didn't mind taking two to the face to land one to the body." LaMotta was the middleweight champion when, on the night of February 14, 1951 in Chicago, Sugar Ray Robinson dethroned him in the 13th round. The ending of that brutal fight, which some call the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, was immortalized in the movie, Raging Bull. In the movie, when the referee mercifully stops the fight as LaMotta is pummeled on the ropes, Jake defiantly shouts at Robinson: "You never got me down, Ray, you never got me down." That, Bert Sugar says, "reminds me of Hillary."

In his book, Boxing's Greatest Fighters, Sugar ranks Ray Robinson and Henry Armstrong as the top two of all time. His third best, who lost only once in his first 136 fights, was the featherweight champion Willie Pep, who fought mainly in the 1940s and 50s. "Obama is a Willie Pep," Sugar says. "Pep had great moves, and was always on the move. He once won a round without throwing a punch. He was as eloquent in his movements as Obama is in his speech. And you couldn't lay a glove on him." Indeed, Sugar, who prefers Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, thinks Obama's dazzling style has allowed him to elude potential haymakers such as his association with the Chicago pastor Jeremiah Wright, Jr.

In recent weeks, John McCain has portrayed himself as an amalgam of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. McCain's incorporation of several styles and images reminds Bert Sugar of the 1920s heavyweight Gene Tunney. "Tunney was a boxer with predecessors," is the way Sugar puts it. "He appropriated from others. He would take a little of this fighter, James J. Corbett, a little of that fighter, Benny Leonard, a little from Hank Dillon, a light heavyweight champion. And that made him what he was." Tunney had a highly successful career, losing only once in 83 bouts, the loss occurring in a 1922 bout when he absorbed a terrible beating from Harry "The Windmill" Greb. "Tunney's blood was all over everybody in the first five rows," Sugar says. But like McCain, who was bloodied in the 2000 South Carolina primary and left for dead by Karl Rove and his boys, Tunney's tenacity and smarts ultimately paid off. In four subsequent bouts with Greb, he won them all.

Last year, Bert Sugar and the fabled boxing trainer Angelo Dundee coauthored the book, My View From the Corner. Sugar suggested I give his friend Angie a call, which I did. Dundee, gregarious and energetic-sounding at 86-years old, said he didn't follow politics. "I know boxing; I don't know anything else," he assured me. But when I asked Dundee, who trained Muhammad Ali and George Foreman among other champions, about Willie Pep, you could almost see his eyes widening. "Oh, God. The most magnificent boxer I ever saw. He was so graceful. It was like watching a ballet dancer in mid-air. He was my hero. I told him: 'Willie, you were the greatest I ever saw.'"

And come Election Day in November, John McCain may discover what Hillary Clinton already knows: it's hard to beat somebody as talented as Willie Pep.

Comments

[Herrington]

I wish you had asked about what fight most resembles the current primary contest. The Ali (then Clay) Liston fight has seemed, for months, to me to be the analogue. Liston was so powerful and so feared that no one would accept a title fight with him (Clinton with "inevitability" and cash and name recognition). Ali took the shot (Obama), a 7 to 1 underdog. Ali floated out of reach of the pulverizing fists of Liston for 6 rounds, flicking jabs and punishing with his famous right lead. Liston failed to come out of his corner for the seventh round, a TKO. Ali's style revolutionized boxing for a generation and saved the sport by adding art to the equation. Lesson, if the other guy will beat you to death on their own terms, change the terms.

[avraamjack]

-----CLINTON SLEEZE FATIGUE WILL INVIGORATE GOP, DISPIRIT DEMOCRATS AND SINK DEMOCRATIC TICKET-----

-----OBAMA/KERRY TO WIN-----

It is possible that Senator Clinton is the best candidate. However, even though many may like the policies that Senator Clinton proposes, they should also consider her record, just as Senator Clinton insists.
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The last Clinton Administration, when faced with the fact that protection rackets where assaulting, torturing and murdering people with poison and radiation, chose to avoid its responsibilities to incarcerate the criminals and to protect the citizenry.
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Instead, they made a deal with the criminal gang stalker protection rackets to leave them alone and to consequently abandon the citizenry.
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Do we want a President who sells out the citizenry for votes?
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Do we want a President who sends a "crime does pay" message to society?
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Would you vote for a President who signed nonaggression deals with the KKKlan or the Nazi party? Gangs that torture with poison and radiation are much like the KKKlan and Nazi Party.
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We do not need a sellout President. We need a principled leader President.
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If you are one of the few who do not know what the above refers to, do a web search for "gang stalking" to see the tip of the dirtberg. Please do it before you decide to reply to my post. Here let me make it easy for you: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22gang+stalking%22.
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[ThomasDoubting]

Mr Sugar, I'm amazed that you named the top three fighters of all time, and didn't mention "The Greatest". It is difficult for me to separate Ali the fighter, from Ali the showman, and Ali the world figure. I have been following boxing since Jersey Joe Wolcott,the original Sugar Ray, and Archie Moore. Ali brought a level of excitement to boxing that no one else ever has.

[Casanavelaw]

He wasn't asked to name the top 3 fighters of all time (And if he did, Bert Sugar knows boxing better than almost everyone). He was asked who the 3 candidates reminded him of. His answers are his own and I respect that.

[Democrab]

After seeing Obama bowl, I'd say he's more like Joey Gamache, a lightweight.
Hillary and her nippy attacks, more like Tyson, chewing people's ears off.
McCain is more like George Foreman but the George Foreman of today, too old to get back in the ring.

[Tejano1]

cool article. it gave me a new way of imagining the race and the candidates.

[Ozarks]

Cool article. Wish you would have asked them about Billy Conn and Joe Louis. One of the most prevalent quotes today is Joe Louis saying about Billy : "He can run but he can't hide". Met Billy Conn once in St. Louis at Mel's Bar about 44 years ago. Can't remember if he said that famous quote was before the first (where Billy had him beat till Joe knocked him out) or the second fight.

[Patrickvashon]

To Ozarks: it was before the 2nd fight. I see a general election campaign between Obama and McCain as being like a famous lightheavyweight fight between Gus Lesnivich (just out of the Navy after WW2) and Billy "blackjack" Fox who was undefeated with a hughe number of knockouts. Lesnivich was a vetran fighter and he knocked out the young phenom in short order. Oh Lesnivich was white and Fox was black.