Boxing’s Dark Side: Exploring the Underworld of Illegal Betting and Match-Fixing
Have you ever seen some sports fan scream, “I swear, this match was fixed!” whenever their favorite player loses the match? We are sure you just nodded to this.
Similarly, we all have heard about fixed boxing matches, and some of them are actually fixed. However, if this is really true about every match? Do they really decide the fate of every fight before players get into the ring? Well, the short answer is no because not all matches are fixed, especially if there are high stakes involved. On the other hand, the low-tier matches are often fixed. So, if you want to know more about this dark side of the boxing world, we have some details!
Understanding Match-Fixing & Illegal Betting
Match fixing is a phenomenon where the match’s results are fully or partially decided before players get into the ring. This is a violation of the game’s rules as well as laws. On the other hand, illegal betting is betting on a player and setting money on it. The primary reason for these processes is to get money from the cartels.
When the matches are fixed, or the huge bets are in order, the players start fighting poorly intentionally, so the other one wins. In addition, some players fight poorly because they want to rig the handicap system, so the type of cheating significantly depends on the format of the competition. Match fixing and betting need contacts and huge amounts of money between team officials, referees, gamblers, ad players.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that anyone can be a part of this process, but if anyone is found guilty, they can be prosecuted by law enforcement agencies as well as sports leagues. On the other hand, losing for your advantage is a much-internalized matter and is daunting to prove. Sometimes, the coaches are changed to increase the chances of a player’s loss rather than bribing players to play poorly.
The second type of match-fixing is spot-fixing, which is all about fixing small-scale events in a fight, so people can bet on them and gamble. However, spot-fixing doesn’t determine the fight’s end result.
Reasons behind Match-Fixing & Illegal Betting
There are multiple reasons behind match-fixing and illegal betting, and many of them are due to external factors. For instance, there are illegal agreements with cartels and higher draft positions. Some other reasons include better chances of playoffs, a desired schedule for the next fight, prize sharing, abuse of ties, and more gate receipts.
Exploring Match-Fixing In the Boxing World
1. Arthur Pelkey
The sports world always has some betting and match-fixing incidents, but most of them don’t make it to the news. However, there was one major scandal in 1913 that captured everyone’s attention. This scandal revolved around Arthur Pelkey, who sent a letter to the authorities admitting that he took part in match-fixing in Canada. According to the letter, he accused Tommy Burns, his manager, of organizing this illegal fixing.
2. Harry Thomas
This happened in 1939 when Harry Thomas, a heavyweight boxer, admitted that he had fixed two matches in 1937 and 1938. T.K.O was behind these incidents, and Harry lost both these matches. He played these matches against Tony Galento and Max Schmelling. He was paid $23,000 and $8,500, respectively.
3. Muhammad Ali & Antonio Inoki’s Match
This was a legendary match that happened back in 1976. There was an assumption that this match was fixed, but apparently, the players couldn’t reach an agreement on who would win. Having said that, this match had to be a fifteen-round draw, which turned into a real fight. In addition to this, Mohammad Ali’s fights with Sonny Liston in 1964 and 1965 were also fixed, but no one could prove it.
4. Alfredo Evangelista & Steffan Tangstad
This might not be a popular fight, but it was also fixed (well, allegedly). According to a Norwegian newspaper, Evangelista made a pact to lose as long as he wouldn’t be knocked out of the game. For losing this match, he got around $6,000, which was huge money back in the day.
5. Dick Goldstein
This match happened back in 1957 when Goldstein told the NBA that Art Aragon approached him before he could go to the ring and offered him to lose $500. He also told the associations that he refused the bribe. For this reason, Aragon was taken into custody for a criminal conspiracy, and he spent a few years in California State Prison.
6. Georges Carpentier
This happened back in 1922 when Carpentier had to take on Battling Siki as he was the light heavyweight champion. The game was supposed to happen in Velodrome Buffalo. However, this was a fixed fight because it could be seen how Carpentier wouldn’t move an inch to protect Siki from any sort of harm. However, now, many people wonder if someone from his team fixed the match and Carpentier didn’t have any idea. Anyways, Carpentier was disqualified from the fight because the referee made a decision.
7. Fred Fulton
This is the tale of 1924 when Tony Fuente and Fred Fulton had to come into the ring, but they were accused of fixing a match in L.A. The entire fight didn’t last for more than 25 seconds, and Fuente only threw two punches in this time. Many don’t know this was the last match they fought under the state’s rules, which meant that the players wouldn’t get any cash prizes for winning the match.
8. AI Bray
Known as the Big Boy, this heavyweight boxer stated he someone offered him $1,000 to lose a fight that he was going to play against Chuck Crowell. This happened back in 1938, and he also mentioned the name of a person who tried to bribe him, Suey Welch. This was the only piece of news about this, and nobody if there was any action against it. Also, many say that Baron Henry was involved in it, too (he was Chuck Crowell’s manager at that time!). However, we couldn’t find any picture of him!
