Boxing: The Greatest Sport In History – But Sadly Corruption Also Runs Rampant

By Anne “Boxologist” Whitlock

I love spending hours digging back in time on the good and bad of boxing’s influences because there are so many names within boxing’s shady past, that are forgotten. So here I share a few names that left a significant imprint in the boxing world. In 1931, shortly before the end of Prohibition, Owney Madden got out of bootlegging and entered into partnership with boxing promoters, Billy Duffy and George Jean DeMange. Between them, they controlled the careers of several boxing champions including Max Baer and Primo Carnera.

As Carnera’s manager, Madden arranged fixed fights which led eventually to Carnera’s winning the NBA World Heavyweight Championship in 1933. Carnera held onto the title for nearly a year, until reporter’s suspicions about fixed fights led Madden to desert the Italian strongman, setting up Carnera’s famous defeat at the hands of Max Baer on June 14, 1934. Boxing has a complicated maze of governing bodies, which can be confusing even to boxing experts, which fights they sanction, and what fighters top their rankings.

All have been accused of corruption over the years. The history of boxing traces back to ancient Greece, where it was part of the Olympic games. It experienced a revival of popularity in the 18th century in bare-knuckle form, but it wasn’t until the Marques of Queensberry published rules in 1867 that boxing took the form we see today. Corruption shows through the evolution of boxing and introduces some historic events that have greatly affected the boxing world and modern society.