Troy Smith Is San Francisco’s Latest Cinderella Story

November 16, 2010   ·   Michael Erler   ·   Jump to comments

One of my all-time favorite movies is Cinderella Man, which is based on the life and times of James. J. Braddock, the heavyweight champion of the world from 1935 to 1937.
Braddock was an up-and-coming fighter who had his career sidetracked by injury and lost whatever wealth he'd accumulated during the Great Depression. Nearly completely broke, he worked for a time as a longshoreman to feed his family before re-launching his boxing career and winning a string of upsets to earn himself a title shot against Max Baer, the champion at the time.
In the movie Braddock is being interviewed by several sportswriters before the big fight and one of them asked "The Bulldog of Bergen," as Braddock was known, how he could explain his comeback.
At first, Braddock (played by Russell Crowe, who is superb as always), rattled off his various injuries and his run of bad luck. But then comes the line that makes the movie:
"This time around, I know what I'm fighting for."
When the w...

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