How do you view Bob Fitszimmons' KO loss to Jim Hall?

I totally understand Fitz's dire financial problems going into the second fight. He had only fought twice (?) since beating Hall, and he wasnt making much money from boxing at all. While, in the short term, beating Hall again would have boosted his earnings (I think you pointed out he would likely make $500 from beating Hall), he very well may have dropped back into a rut and not been able to secure a fight by beating the local prospect. It does seem strange that he went on to secure a further 2 fights in 3 months after the second Hall fight.

But he had long set his sights on moving to the USA. So surely beating the Ozzy champion would have put him on great sted when making the trip.

While I appreciate the local paper arguing it was a fix, other articles, at least immidiately after the fight, thought it was on the level.

I agree with Flea here. I honestly think Fitzsimmons walked onto a big shot against a very very good fighter, while still a little inexperienced. There's no shame in that.

Also, I'd like to say I very much enjoyed the book. It was a fasinating read, and I'm looking to get my hands on the Sullivan and Jeffries work