Times where out side influences may have affected fights?

There must be literally hundreds,but most of them probably won't ever be known.

 

The crowd has always been a big influence in fights. Not to pick on any one race in particular, but Latin crowds have always been quite 'rabid' towards their countrymen. Wilfredo Gomez for one got away with murder in puerto Rico. I watched a great referee in Harry Gibb turn pussycat when it came to reffing a Puerto Rican in San Juan. He let Gomez get away with murder against Zarate. And how the officials stole the title from Rocky Lockridge is anyone's guess. But then again, the crowd could be intimidating. They even had Gomez ahead against Nelson before Nelson prevented the next robbery in the 11th round. And God only knows what Gomez weighed against Eddie Ndukwu. Again, talking about the crowd, Nicolino Loche, could get away with making faces for 15 rounds down in Argentina and get the decision. And not just to pick on the Latins, I watched one of the bouts (I think it was the first) between Hiroshi Kobayashi and Antonio Amaya and the Japanese crowd cheered at everything Kobayashi threw - even his misses - and he gets the decision (I think I had Amaya up by 5 points at the end). So the crowd can really sway even good officials.

 

Fergy, you also mentioned weather as a factor (the heat in Robinson-Maxim and McGuigan-Cruz). I can think of the monsoon that erupted during the Jimmy Carruthers-Chamren Songkitrat fight that resulted in both fighters doffing their boots and fighting barefoot. But mostly I remember the Albert Davila-Enriqe Sanchez bantamweight title bout in Miami. Davila was trailing on points when a typhoon erupted in the outdoor arena. Davila kept moving to keep the rain at his back that hit Sanchez fully in the face. Davila said it revived him and he stopped Sanchez in the 11th. Davila called it something - I think it was 'water from God' or something like that.

 

Two more examples of outside influences effecting a fight was the 1976 non-title between Carlos Zarate and Alfonso Zamora. I think it was the first or second round some nutjob jumped into the ring and interrupted proceedings until they physically extricated him from the ring. But the funny thing was that Zamora had momentum going until that episode - possibly even having Zarate in some dire straits - and was unable to recapture it. Zarate then ended matters in 4.

The second one I was thinking of was a title bout between Virgil Hill and Adolfo Washington. if memory serves me Washington was doing OK but had a bad swelling on an eye. Well, the over-zealous cameraman wanted a closer look and jammed his camera right into Washington's eye and busted it open. I can't recall offhand if it was stopped then and there and if it was a TKO or a no-contest. Will have to look that one up.

 

Steve Collins v Eubank 1 and the hypnotist

 

Important life lesson:

Losers (and their supporters) make excuses.

Winners adjust.

 

Harry Greb being served papers just before his second bout with Tiger Flowers went on - being sued for a chunk of money by the husband of the woman he was messing with.

Jerry Quarry seeing his bro Mike get knocked cold by Bob Foster just before he went on against Ali.

Rodrigo Valdes going against Carlos Monzon (I think the first fight) after his brother was killed a few days before.