Farr was sitting pretty. He was the undisputed heavyweight king of the British Empire with victories over Walter Neusel, Max Baer, Bob Olin and Tommy Loughran. He had gained an international reputation and had reached the stage where the big money ordinarily starts flowing in. But this was not the case. Tommy, a Welshman with a keen commercial sense, was becoming restless. He thought that his manager, Ted Broadribb, was not getting him his proper share of worldly goods and the British papers were harping on a possible break between the pair. Sports editorials commented on the fact that Broadribb was suing Tommy before the British Boxing Board of Control to compel him to live up to their agreement. Broadribb and I were on friendly terms. He wrote to me about his troubles, asking if there was something I could do. I wrote an editorial praising Farr as the best British heavyweight in a quarter of a century, and I told how Broadribb had brought him along in easy stages to the high position he now occupied in fistic circles. The article pleased Farr immensely and he wrote me that his differences with Broadribb were not too great to iron out. He also asked if I would use whatever influence I had to get him a title bout in America. His letter launched me on a plan that gave me great satisfaction after it had been consummated, for it developed into the greatest event in British pugilism since Charley Mitchell fought John L. Sullivan. * * * * * Let’s trace the episode from the start. Max Schmeling had been shunted to the sidelines to make room for Joe Louis to fight Jimmy Braddock for the world heavyweight title. Schmeling, realizing his position, decided not to remain in America for the outcome of the Chicago battle, but to return to Germany and seek the support of European countries in his claim for championship recognition. He decided to do a little manipulating himself, and I couldn’t blame him. I supported his contention that he, not Louis, was entitled to get the first shot at Braddock’s crown, but Mike Jacobs was a great obstacle in his path. Mike had both Louis and Braddock under contract through a shady deal by which Braddock and his manager, Joe Gould, were to be handsomely rewarded for breaking their contract with Madison Square Garden to fight for Jacobs. Schmeling was informed through the press that Jacobs was dickering for a fight between Louis and Farr in the event that Louis gained the title, something Jacobs regarded as a foregone conclusion.