Throwing Fights - What Fighters...

As far as I understand it, he was given the nod to a title fight, but not within a specific time period.

 

Yeah, Cerdan was controlled by the US mafia, sure.

 

This is true. Boxing had some trouble in the 1930's and 1950's with fixed fights.

 

Why did he need to be?

 

The IBC was controlled by the mafia. Or at least that's what historians say, I couldn't prove it either way but the story is that Frankie Carbo ultimately could and would veto title fights.
LaMotta supposedly was frozen out of the title picture and would continue to be so until he did the deal.

 

Had LaMotta been given a shot at Graziano, I would believe that. But not with Cerdan, 1.5 years later.

 

The Mod wanted Marciano to thown the Cockell fight. Even useing death threats I belive.

 

It was against Al Nettlow in Philadelphia.

Robinson said that he'd instinctively reacted when Nettlow tagged him, and that when he went down, he was praying for Nettlow to beat the count. But he didn't.

According to Robinson, Palermo didn't get mad, and said something like "Nothing we can do about it now."

That's from "Sugar Ray," Robinson's autobiography with Dave Anderson.

 

Archie Moore admitted that when fighting Lloyd Marshall in Baltimore in 1945, he held back to make a close fight that would make for a big-gate rematch in Cleveland, Marshall's home town, the next month.

 

I'd guess yes. But since I didn't see them, it's only a guess based on circumstantial evidence.

Moore said that he didn't like Marshall for going all out to kayo Harvey Massey when Marshall was clearly ahead and had the fight won. He and Marshall actually had words about it, and Moore said that that was not the way you were supposed to treat another member of the fraternity.

If you add up that and the knowledge that he fought some guys a bunch of times, I'd have to figure that sometimes he was trying not to hurt opponents and sometimes they'd both agree to coast in anticipation of a rematch. So with some of the folks he fought multiple times in the 40s, like Eddie Booker and Jack Chase, I'd have to guess that in a fight or two in those series probably didn't go all out.

Once he got to be champion, though, I don't think he took any dives. He might have tried to coast here and there in a fight he thought he'd win anyway, but I don't think he lost any on purpose. I haven't seen anything to make me believe that he lost to Marciano on purpose, including the Tosches account in The Devil And Sonny Liston.

 

If that wasn't all-out, then all the eyewitnesses and everybody who's been taking their word for all these decades has been duped pretty well!

 

I think Barbados Joe Walcott and Joe Gans both had to throw fights around 1900 to get title shots later.

 

Yeah, just like Marciano throwing that double left was a fix. So the question begs to ba asked, was it a fix, or did Archie just think he shouldn't have lost?

For History's sake, Moore had an awfully BIG mouth regarding Marciano before the fight. He's quite fortunate Marciano decided to take it easy on him :yep