The Wobble

[H2O Man]

36. Great question!

It would take me hours upon hours to fully answer that! Boxing is a corrupt sport, always has been, always will be. And it goes beyond mis-matches and bad decisions. I'll give but two examples that you might find interesting. Keep in mind that my Uncle David was a BCI Senior Investigator who often coordinated with the FBI in investigating organized crime -- which exercised control of the sport from the amateurs to the professionals.

My brothers & I frequented a gym in an area city. The fighters, managers, and promoters that were there knew we were David's nephews. I remember one saying, "Hey, Tom, what's up with your Uncle David? Tell him that we treat you well." And they did. Then, they had a fighter who fought on the undercard of the Fight of the Century ask if he could stay at our house, while he worked construction thirty miles away. We didn't stop to think about all the motels in that 30-mile stretch other workers were staying at!

This guy was at the time a top sparring partner for Jerry Quarry and Oscar Bonavena. We were hay seeds. He did teach us a lot, and we had a great time in the weeks he stayed with us. It was only years later that I learned from an associate of the owners of the construction company that the boxer had been tasked with getting my brother -- a vicious fighter -- to work as muscle to attack union leaders. They said if they had Tom, it would be like having David's balls in their hands. But he told the owners he couldn't, because staying at our house reminded him of being on the set of "The Waltons."

When my other brother and I took our seats at ringside for the second Ali vs Frazier fight, we saw the owners of that construction firm up at the ring. My brother got along well with them, and went up and chatted with the pair. A couple months later, the brothers were behind bars, facing state and federal charges, for which they were convicted. Of course, my brothers and I thought, "Darn you, Uncle David! They treat us nice!"

Another former world champion from a more distance city offered my brother a 10-year contract, sight unseen. He had heard of my brother fighting in his city, and he used to fight on cards my great Uncle Pat promoted. My brothers & I thought we were reaching the Big Time. But my father had Uncle David check the ex-champ's status, which ranked fairly high in the mob. So no deal!

I could go on and on. But corruption saturates the sport, and capitalizes on the ignorance of fighters.