In 1912 boxing was as popular a spectator sport in the United States as baseball, if not more so.
In Crazy Fourth Toby Smith tells the story of how the African American boxer Jack Johnson--.
It was the perfect venue for one of the biggest, loudest, most rambunctious Heavyweight championship bouts ever seen.
But not in New Mexico.
It was also rife with corruption and surrounded by gambling, drinking, and prostitution, so much so that many cities and states passed laws to control it.
In 1912 boxing was as popular a spectator sport in the United States as baseball, if not more so