Carnera hits Sharkey with a phantom punch? (Great Quality)

I think this is an excellent point, which I never thought of. The Lindbergh kidnapping happened in 1932 and the country would have been even more outraged than usual at threatening children. And just to fix a boxing match? Even other gangsters might have stepped in to eliminate anyone crazy enough to go that far. The mob prospered to a large extent because they were giving people what they wanted (booze, gambling, women) and there were lines they didn't cross. Threatening the child of a sports idol would have been such a line, and I don't think the money involved could have made such a risk worthwhile.

 

I disagree I think when fights are fixed the diver often goes down when he gets a shot that looks credible and it would be extremely difficult rehearsing when that is going to happen.

 

If Sharkey had picked up the phone to the police he might have ended up in the Hudson River wearing concrete shoes. Sharkey's manager had a very unsavoury reputation and was tight with the likes of DeMange and Capone.

 

We don't know what he was offered in return. I'm fairly certain that Sharkey was Mobbed up as much as Carnera was. It probably didn't just start there.
If he called the FBI he would have been a dead man walking. Hoover was still pretending there was no Mafia and doing a fine job of it. As long as he was getting betting tips at the track he was content to leave them alone.
I'm pretty sure it was Owney Madden who was pulling the strings for Carnera's career. Owney "The Killer" Madden. The Boys don't miss.

 

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Yes Madden was the main man in Carnera's set up, with Bill Duffy, another hood as the front man.Frenchy DeMange also had a piece of the Alp.

 

Can you imagine the public reaction if the reigning heavyweight champion disappeared, or was found murdered?

Catching the people responsible would become the single highest priority for law enforcement in the country, and it simply wouldn't be possible to look the other way.

In short it would be suicidal.

This I am pretty sure that no criminal organisation of the period could willingly undertake.

 

Then why didn't Sharkey just stay down the first time Carnera dropped him?

 

Many think they killed a President and got away with it.Sharkey would be small beer in comparison.
What was the public reaction when Battling Siki was found dead? Where was the big outcry then?
You are making statements based on nothing but your own ideas,You have no basis for stating it would be the biggest single priority for the police.

 

He didnt drop him Sharkey went down from a slip in the 6th round it was not a knockdown. Sharkey's tactics consisted of coming in, hands down by his waist ,crouching head open to punches, as though inviting uppercuts.Which he duly got.Nothing will ever convince me Sharkey was fighting to win.

 

At this time the heavyweight champion was pretty much the most recognized person in the country, outside of the President of the United States.

You couldn't just make the current heavyweight champion disappear, and expect people not to ask questions.

 

You didn't say ask questions ,you said this.

"the single highest priority for law enforcement in the country."
In short you hugely exaggerated the impact a less than universally popular champions demise would have on the general population.I know it ,and you know it!

 

this conversation has taken an interesting detour, but

I thought the original idea was threatening Sharkey's children. If anything happened to Sharkey's kids as a means of forcing him to throw a fight or to punish him for refusing to take a dive the outrage would have been overwhelming. At best, American police aren't fastidious about their methods, but in such a case no one would much care about what happened in the back room or how many were killed resisting arrest.

As for Sharkey disappearing, it would be the equivalent of Tom Brady or Tiger Woods disappearing today. It is silly to think it wouldn't cause a sensation and a nationwide manhunt with Constitutional scruples ignored. There would be a lot of money on the table for info leading to the exposure of the culprits.

Sharkey might not have been the most popular guy, but then again neither was Dempsey when he was champ, and there are many who probably don't like Brady or Woods or Lebron James today, but there are still a lot of fans of these men. Battling Siki was an African and while I am certain his death caused a stir, it wouldn't be the same in 1920's America as the murder of a prominent white star.

I find it interesting that the term Mafia is used, and then the names given are Madden, Duffy, and Frenchy somebody.

The Kennedy assassination has been mentioned. Sure, that is a bigger deal. But assassinating a president is playing for the biggest stakes, changing the government. But what is the reward justifying murdering a sports star compared to the backlash danger from an enraged public?

 

Yes, I would go as far as to say that it might have become the highest priority for law enforcement in the country.

I agree with the analogy of it being like Tiger Woods disappearing today.

The public would have demanded answers, whether they liked Sharkey or not.

 

Now we have the qualification "might" inserted in the statement!lol
You have no comment on Sharkey NOT being floored before the ko I take it?