How mob connected was Jack Sharkey?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by The Long Count, Feb 27, 2014.


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  1. The Long Count

    The Long Count Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    I always here how Primo Carnera was controlled by the mob but there seems to be alot of circumstantial evidence that says Sharkey was as well.

    The two fights with Carnera-the latter for the HW Championship was dogged for years that the fix was in.

    The highly suspicious Split Deciscion over Schmeling that led to the title fight with Carnera.

    The Larry Gains testimony that he turned down an offer "to take a dive" against Sharkey.

    As well as photos of Sharkey palling around with some of the era's most notorious gangsters including Al Capone.

    Does anyone have more information on Jack Sharkey and other contenders of the era that may have been controlled by the underworld.
     
    The Long Count, Feb 27, 2014
    The Long Count, Feb 27, 2014
    #1
  2. BlizzyBlizz

    BlizzyBlizz Loyal Member Full Member

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    You always hEre? Stupid ****!:lol:
     
    BlizzyBlizz, Aug 15, 2016
    BlizzyBlizz, Aug 15, 2016
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  3. kingfisher3

    kingfisher3 Boxing Addict Full Member

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    From what I know his manager was a decent enough guy. To be involved in boxing meant dealing with mob guys but i never thought Sharkey was particularly connected to, or protected by, them.

    The Schmelling 2 result could have been bought, but it could just have been how the judges scored it.
     
    kingfisher3, Aug 15, 2016
    kingfisher3, Aug 15, 2016
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  4. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    There were supposedly members of the Detroit Purple Gang at his training camp when he defended his title against Carnera.Johnny Buckley his manager also had some "interesting friends",I doubt we will ever know for sure.I'm inclined to think he took a swim against Primo but I am in the minority.
     
    mcvey, Aug 15, 2016
    mcvey, Aug 15, 2016
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  5. The Long Count

    The Long Count Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    That dive rumor has percolated for years. Primo received a ton of negative stories regarding his career some of it warranted and some was just piling on an Italian scape goat. Sharkey was also alleged to have corrupt friends so to me a dive is not out of the question. Only thing that really bothers me with that theory is he was close with Schaaf. I have hard time thinking he would tank it when his close friend perished in the ring against the same foe. But you never know.
     
    The Long Count, Aug 15, 2016
    The Long Count, Aug 15, 2016
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  6. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    He had Schaaf's contract.

    Carnera had nothing to do with Schaaf's death, Ernie shouldn't have been in the ring that night.
    Sharkey said his own wife doubted the fight was on the level.I think the way Sharkey reacted to Carnera's "uppercut " looks very theatrical,but as I say ,I'm in the minority.
     
    mcvey, Aug 15, 2016
    mcvey, Aug 15, 2016
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  7. red cobra

    red cobra Loyal Member Full Member

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    Max Baer had more to do with Schaaf's death than Primo did.
     
    red cobra, Aug 15, 2016
    red cobra, Aug 15, 2016
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  8. red cobra

    red cobra Loyal Member Full Member

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    That's true, and what I believe, but it's kinda strange scoring as I've heard that all Sharkey did all night was retreat behind a diffident jab and displayed no passion at all...which was rather odd for him. It could have been boiled down to anti-German/foreigner prejudice as well.
     
    red cobra, Aug 15, 2016
    red cobra, Aug 15, 2016
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  9. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    The New York medical examiner, Dr. Charles Norris, performed an autopsy on Schaaf’s body. He said he found “an inflammation of the brain caused by a bad case of Influenza.” In addition, the doctor said he found “recent signs of Spinal Meningitis.” According to Dr. Norris, the swelling of the brain from these two viruses and the accumulated jabs to the head that night, caused a cerebral hemorrhage (a brain bleed), that led to Ernie’s death at the young age of twenty-four.
     
    mcvey, Aug 15, 2016
    mcvey, Aug 15, 2016
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  10. janitor

    janitor VIP Member Full Member

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    I think the Max Baer thing is a bit of an urban myth.

    The cause of death was probably a punch landed by Carnera, against a fighter who was medically unfit to be sent into the ring, due to a pre-existing illness.

    If you let people fight ranked contenders in that state, it is only a matter of time.
     
    janitor, Aug 15, 2016
    janitor, Aug 15, 2016
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  11. kingfisher3

    kingfisher3 Boxing Addict Full Member

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    My previous comment about Buckley being alrite might have been wrong. I was remembering reading about him being good to Schaaf's familly afterwards.
     
    kingfisher3, Aug 15, 2016
    kingfisher3, Aug 15, 2016
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  12. The Long Count

    The Long Count Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    This. There are two reports on Schaaf that corroborate this a simple google search will find them.
    The Baer thing was a myth to sell papers.
     
    The Long Count, Aug 15, 2016
    The Long Count, Aug 15, 2016
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  13. The Long Count

    The Long Count Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    I would hope there was more interest and research done on Sharkey vs Scmeling 2. The result is so dubious and the backdrop is fascinating with one guy with mob connections and the other who once was welcomed in America quickly being viewed as the enemy with the rise of the Nazis.
     
    The Long Count, Aug 15, 2016
    The Long Count, Aug 15, 2016
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  14. red cobra

    red cobra Loyal Member Full Member

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    I would like to know about that fight too. The title changed hands, after all, and I'd like to know what Sharkey did, if anything, to deserve the decision and the title.
     
    red cobra, Aug 15, 2016
    red cobra, Aug 15, 2016
    #14
  15. red cobra

    red cobra Loyal Member Full Member

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    red cobra, Aug 15, 2016
    red cobra, Aug 15, 2016
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