Fights that looked fixed to you

Same here. At best a slip. Still, Stanley bought it and went for the kill. Didn't end too well for him.

Imagine, you're fighting someone about 40lbs heavier than you, you throw a punch that you don't feel land but the much bigger guy goes down only to spring up at the count of one. And still you think he's there for the taking. Ketchel had the heart of a lionn but gotta wonder about what was going through his head.

Johnson's fist being the next thing to do so.

Wasn't Jack's smirk in the neutral corner all a bit contrived? It was certainly a strange one.

 

They were proven to be fixed Gastinau's whole career was fake

 

Court? Are you serious? We're talking back room negotiations and conditions that get made all the time out of the public eye. It's not a new thought that Hagler was so confident that he could run Leonard out of the ring at will that he agreed to do it. So maybe "ego", but there would be no other logical explanation why Hagler, a master strategist, would give away the first three rounds. And I'm not breaking virgin ground here either, been discussed on several other boxing boards as well and by people with some considerable knowledge.

 

So why would Hagler honour the agreement? It makes no sense, he has zero reason not fight his optimal fight plan

As for Hagler being a master strategist. I don't see that either. See Duran and the first Antufermo fight where he took his foot off the gas.

Anyway maybe he thought fighting orthodox would play into his plan of KO'ing Leonard - he said he didn't need judges, that his fists would be the judges

 

Johnson/ Kecthel
Also a case for Johnson/Willard in so much as Johnson prob could have got up, but decided he couldn't win, so why bother.

 

I think Seldon knew he couldnt take Mikes power so looked for a way out. I doubt it was pre arranged or that Mike was in on it.

 

It looked to me like Seldon faked a lot of knockdowns early in hopes of winning and his record showing he won but only after climbing off the canvas a couple of times, which would certainly impressive. He was down against Bowe (twice) and Ribalta too, and those knockdowns were very unimpressive as well. I just think it backfired on Seldon. Too bad, cuz he wasn't a bad fighter.