Five Big Match Fixing Sports Controversies

We recently did an article on the biggest sports betting scandals. Well, here is another piece of content in a similar vein, except this one goes into five sporting events whose results many think were not legit.

The Battle of the Sexes – 1973

In 2017, Fox Searchlight Pictures distributed a sports film based on the real-life tennis match between the former number one ranked female player in the world, Billie Jean King, and ex-number one male star, Bobby Riggs, which happened in 1973. The basis for this exhibition match was a cultural moment for gender equality in sports and to answer the question, can a woman beat a man in tennis? Bobby Riggs, a former top player, ran a campaign to prove male dominance by challenging the then-top female tennis competitors to matches. It should get noted that Riggs was way past his prime in the early 1970s, when he was in his 50s, and his accolades as a pro primarily rested from his career in the 1940s, when he was a formidable force in the sport.

Upon his retirement, Riggs became notorious as a hustler. In 1973, he tried to exploit the feminist movement, bashfully stating that even at his age, he could still beat anyone from the opposite gender. The number one women’s player, Margaret Court (at that time), played Riggs first and lost quite decisively. He then sought to bait Billie Jean King into a match, who was one of the most prominent players and a substantial advocate for gender equality. The Battle of the Sexes, as the media called it, a match between Riggs and King, took place on September 20, 1973. The event drew massive global attention, and in a stunning upset, King defeated Riggs in straight sets.

According to legend, Riggs intentionally lost the King match to erase his mob debts. These were ones stemming from his gambling pastime. That said, Riggs himself has always said that his loss was legitimate. Doubts have remained, particularly given how easily he defeated Court and his reputation for having no shame in how he made his money. ESPN, in 2014, ran a show dedicated to this case, which featured an interview with a man who claimed he had heard from known mob members that Riggs did, in fact, throw the contest. Nevertheless, his statements have never gotten collaborated by anyone of note.

Ali vs. Liston 2

Without question, as far as the heavyweight division goes in boxing, Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston should rank in the top ten in most pundits list of best heavyweights ever. The duo had two bouts against each other, and both have gotten shrouded in controversy, jam-packed with fix allegations. The first contest between Ali and Liston took place on February 25, 1964. It famously ended with Liston retiring due to a shoulder injury. That ending drew many suspicions of a fix, fueled by Liston’s connections to organized crime. However, no evidence emerged to support such a claim.

Per the Freedom of Information Act, in 2014, documents came out that the FBI suspected a fix at the time, citing a Houston gambler named Barnett Magids, who claimed he got advised not to bet on the fight from mob-linked individuals.

The Liston-Ali rematch occurred on May 25, 1965, and it turned out to be an even more famed contest that ended in even more controversy than the original bout. The rematch concluded via a first-round Ali KO win, as he knocked down Liston with what many believed to be a phantom punch. Naturally, this led to theories that Liston threw the fight on account of the Mafia forcing him to go down early because he owed them money. Other rumors got threatened by the Nation of Islam, and he lost intentionally, fearing for his life from members of this organization if he won. Despite these claims, no conclusive evidence (again) has ever been produced to prove that the rematch was a fixed job, and this gets debated till today, with all allegations being founded only on hearsay and indirect evidence.

Tyson vs. Seldon

Here is another boxing event that many believe was not a true contest of skill. Few sports fans remember the fight between Burce Seldon and Mike Tyson at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas in September of 1996. The same goes even for hard-core boxing aficionados, as this event is not an especially significant one. It was Tyson’s third fight back from his prison stint, and he was a massive favorite. Seldon nicknamed The Atlantic City Express, came into the bout with a 33-3 record on the heels of a nine-fight win streak. Despite this, few gave him a chance, and he lost in the first round via TKO at one minute and forty-seven seconds after the initial bell.

At the time (and now), many experts speculated that Don King paid Seldon to lose as quickly as possible so that Tyson could have a quick turnaround and fight Evander Holyfield. While no one thinks that Tyson needed help to beat Seldon, the rumor is that Seldon took a dive so that Mike could come out unscathed and participate in a bigger money fight soon. That did happen, as Tyson fought Evander Holyfield only two months later, losing by TKO in the eleventh round. Seldon’s performance got vastly criticized against Tyson, as he appeared to get dropped by phantom punches. Even the fans in attendance started chanting FIX after the fight got called, negatively marking the atmosphere of this combat sports event.

2002 NBA Western Conference Finals Game 6

In the early 2000s, the Sacramento Kings has an exceptional team featuring Peja Stojakovic, Chris Webber, Vlade, Mike Bibby, Hedo Turkoglu, Doug Christie, and former best NBA six-man Bobby Jackson. They finished first in the NBA Pacific Division with a record of sixty-one wins and twenty-one losses, with loads of pundits and fans believing they could go all the way that season. In the Western Conference Final, they faced the Lakers, losing 106 to 102, tying up the series to 3-3, setting up a game seven showdown.

Of course, game 6 was a match-up with significant implications, and a win would have taken the Kings to the finals. Yet, the contest featured multiple controversial calls and non-calls for the Lakers, creating a clear officiating imbalance. ESPN’s Roland Beech provided a detailed analysis of all the calls, calling them complex but rending a verdict that he did not believe the game was fixed. But Tim Donaghy, the notorious NBA ref who got convicted for corruption and in charge of game 6, confessed that the contest was not a fair one. Even Kobe Bryant once alluded to the fact that corruption may have gotten involved, as some calls were not right. Nonetheless, even with Donaghy’s confession, some still claim there was no foul play, and the Lakers won justifiably. The result does not have an asterisk to it to this day.

Coleman vs. Takada

Japan has a pretty much-proven track record for fixing combat sports events, and its former top MMA organization, Pride FC, history’s has been marred by many match-throwing allegations, with circulating rumors that fighters got paid not to go to the ground with certain combatants and outright throw fights.

One of the most famous Pride FC matches of all time occurred on the organization’s fifth event, which saw pro wrestler Nobuhiko Takada defeat former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman using a heel hook submission. The fight now gets considered a work (fixed) by many, with even Coleman stating – I needed to support my family, I’ll leave it at that. In his next fight, Takada faced another former UFC champion, Mark Kerr, which he lost, with rumors again circulating that Kerr got paid money not to use his devastating ground and pound against Takada, which he didn’t, beating the pro wrestler by submission, using a kimura arm-lock.

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