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Top 10 Worst Boxing Moments In History

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Professional Boxing is known as the “Sweet Science” but corruption, a
lack of a central governing body, and the rise of MMA have threatened
to end this glorious sport. Mega fights still bring in huge revenues but
they are few and far between. Here is a list of 10 incidents that have
contributed to the downfall:

10. The Sad Saga of James Butler

Butler was a very promising young fighter from New York City known by
the nickname “Harlem Hammer”.  In November 2001, James Butler fought
Richard “The Alien” Grant.  The bout was a charity event to benefit
survivors of the September 11 attacks.  After losing by unanimous
decision Butler made his way to the middle of the ring to purportedly
congratulate Grant.  Grant reacted by stretching his hand out in a
motion to embrace.  Instead, Butler (who had already removed his gloves)
threw a vicious haymaker to Grant’s face.  Richard Grant suffered
numerous facial injuries including a broken jaw, lacerated tongue, and
several stitches.  Butler, in turn, was arrested and convicted of
assault and served prison time for the attack.

Unfortunately the tale does not end there.  James Butler continued
his career after this incident but could never duplicate his earlier
success.  In October of 2004, Butler was arrested and charged with
murdering Sam Kellerman, brother of HBO Boxing
analyst Max Kellermanwith. He (ironically) used a hammer and set his
body on fire after a dispute.  Butler pled guilty in 2006 and was
sentenced to 29 years in prison.

9. The Riot at Madison Square Garden

Polish born Andrew Golota entered the ring on July 11, 1996 on the cusp
of superstardom with an exceptional 27-0 record. All he had to do was
get past the 38-1 former Undisputed Heavyweight champ Riddick Bowe.
Golota responded with a brilliant performance. The Polish sensation
clobbered the ex-champ round after round, almost into submission. He was
well ahead on points and seemingly close to a scoring a knockout.

In the 7th round the fight began to take a very strange turn. Golota
(for reasons known only to himself) commenced to blatantly and
repeatedly punch Bowe below the belt line.  Golota was warned several
times and even received point deductions but his behavior continued. 
After several more flagrant low blows the referee
was forced to disqualify him.  Riddick Bowe’s corner responded by
rushing the ring and viciously attacking Golota and his team.  This
triggered a full scale, racially charged riot, which spilled into the
stands. MSG security was not equipped to handle a massive brawl and had
to wait for New York riot police to arrive. Reinforcements finally
arrived but not before dozens of fans, boxing personnel and police were
injured in this disgraceful and bizarre incident. (Check the video at
2:54 to see the riot start.)

8. Only in America

Not anyone can own a professional football franchise. Not anyone can own a baseball franchise. However, anyone can
promote a fight- even a convicted killer and numbers operator from
Cleveland. In 1974 Don King very shrewdly promoted his first
professional fight.  It turned out to be the famed Ali
vs. Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire.  This mega-event instantly
transformed King into the major player in boxing for the next 30 years.

Unfortunately, the major player likes to play dirty; King’s many
exploits are infamous.  He has perpetrated fraud after fraud on any and
all promising young fighters to join his stable. King has been
implicated in: murder, bribery, theft, bookmaking, breaches of contract,
and mafia-assisted racketeering. Larry Holmes once said, “Don King
wears his hair like that so he can hide his horns.”

7. Sonny Liston and the Mob

By all accounts Liston had a woeful childhood full of extreme poverty
and physical abuse. Liston left home at an early age and participated in
numerous violent crimes.  While incarcerated, his boxing skills were
discovered and soon after his release he began destroying a string of
opponents on his way to the Heavyweight title.  Liston’s incredible
prowess caught the attention of several mafia associates including
Frankie Carbo and “Blinky” Palermo.

By the time Sonny Liston fought a young Cassius Clay on May 25, 1965
many in the press already suspected that Liston was controlled by the
mob.  He nevertheless participated in one of the most obvious fixes in sports
history.  In the very first round Liston took a dive and allowed
himself to be counted out after Clay threw his famous “Phantom Punch”. 
Slow motion review shows a quick combination that seemingly misses or at
best only grazes Liston. Coincidently their first fight also ended
controversially when Liston refused to come out of his corner for the
7th round, claiming a shoulder injury.  Sonny Liston would die 5 years
later under very suspicious circumstances.

6. The Corrupt Richard Steele

A very rare event occurred on March 17, 1990.  On this night two undefeated champions,
who were both in the same weight class and who were both in their
prime, fought each other.  Julio Cesar Chavez who was 68-0 (and promoted
by Don King) met undefeated Olympic gold medalist and welterweight
champ Meldrick Taylor.  Chavez was the favorite but it was Taylor who
dominated the fight from the opening bell.

Taylor’s trademark speed was beginning to wane but he still held a
commanding lead on all scorecards going into the final round.  Moments
before the end of the match Chavez scored a knockdown
but Taylor rose to his feet quickly. Had the fight continued Taylor
would have still won by unanimous decision, but it was not meant to be. 
The bout referee Richard Steele stopped the fight with a mere 2 seconds
left and awarded the victory to Chavez.  There were immediate protests
from Taylor’s camp but the Nevada State Athletic Commission (whose
integrity has been routinely called into question) upheld the decision. 
Taylor’s career and health were subsequently ruined and Steele, who
notoriously favored Don King fighters, forever tarnished the sport.

5. International Boxing Federation Ranking Scandal

The IBF, among other entities, is a major sanctioning body based in
New Jersey.  The way boxing works: each sanctioning body has a champion
and champions are only allowed to fight boxers ranked in the top 15.
Ranking committees determine who gets ranked. Ranking committee chairmen
have the final say and are notoriously corruptible.

In November 1999 IBF president Bob Lee Sr. was indicted and convicted
on numerous racketeering charges.  Lee was conspiring with his rankings
chairman C. Douglass Beavers to rig the rankings system to favor boxers
whose promoters and handlers paid them cash bribes.  The duo routinely
took hundreds of thousands of dollars from the likes of Don King and
Cedric Kushner in return for artificial inflation of the rankings of
their fighters.  Promoters who didn’t pay didn’t see title fights.  The
result, a completely corrupt system that was not in any way based on
merit.  Another black eye for boxing.

4. Jim Norris: Boxing’s Not So Golden Age

James D. Norris was a very wealthy and an extremely powerful man in
the mid 20th century.  He owned many companies and was heavily involved
in the sports world: he owned a National Hockey League franchise, a
major stake in Madison Square Garden, and champion racehorses.  Jim
Norris was also a very unsavory individual and was widely known to
associate with criminals. As president of the International Boxing Club,
Norris had a virtual monopoly on championship fights due to a lucrative
contract the IBC had to broadcast fights on national television.

Jim Norris was personally responsible for fixing numerous bouts,
including: Harry Thomas vs. Max Schmeling in 1937 and Jake Lamotta vs.
Billy Fox in 1946.  His corruption knew no limits. Besides match fixing
he was also unofficially managing many boxers (usually against their
will) and persuading them to hire his associates as advisors.  Norris’
actions perpetuated a chain of farces, which were passed off as
competitive bouts to an unsuspecting public- helping to erode boxing’s
intregrity. (Image: Legends of Hockey. James Norris is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.)

3. 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea

Many people remember a young Roy Jones Jr. being robbed of a gold medal
by corrupt Olympic judges, but few remember the even uglier incident
that preceded it.  New Zealander Keith Walker was officiating a
bantamweight bout between Byun Jong Il of South Korea and Alexander
Hristov of Bulgaria.  The fight was an ugly foul-filled affair and
Walker had to repeatedly penalize Jong for head butting.

At the conclusion of the fight Hristov was announced the winner but
this only incensed Jong’s countrymen.  Numerous South Korean boxing
officials and coaches stormed the ring
and viciously attacked referee Keith Walker with punches, kicks,
bottles, and even chairs.  The terrified Walker barely escaped serious
injury and directly headed to the airport and took the first plane back
to New Zealand. Shamed and embarrassed, the Korean Boxing Federation
president and the president of the Korean Olympic Committee both
resigned after this deplorable incident. (Photo: Byun Jong II sits in
the ring and refuses to get up.)

2. The Actions of Panama Lewis

At one time Carlos “Panama” Lewis was a world-class trainer. His
character, on the other hand was anything but world class.  Despite
already being under a cloud of suspicion for allegedly giving his boxers
water spiked with illegal stimulants and for gambling on fights that he
was involved in; Panama Lewis concocted a wicked plan for his figher
Luis Resto.  Resto was nothing more than a journeyman fighter or simply a
professional opponent when he took on undefeated rising star Billy
Collins Jr, on June 16, 1983.

Knowing Resto was overmatched, Panama and another trainer removed
padding from Resto’s gloves and poured an illegal hardening agent on his
hand wraps.  Luis Resto proceeded to brutalize his unsuspecting
opponent for 10 rounds.  After being declared the winner Resto
approached Collins’ corner.  Collins’ father, who at that point was
suspicious of Resto’s new found power, touched Resto’s hand and
immediately notified ringside officials (see video). The gloves and hand
wraps in question were confiscated by the state Athletic Commission and
both were brought up on charges.  Panama Lewis and Luis Resto both had
their licenses permanently revoked and were given prison sentences. 
Sadly, Billy Collins Jr. would never fight again, his once promising
career shattered by the injuries he received.  Collins Jr. was dead less than one year later, suicide was suspected.

1. The Death of Duk Koo Kim

A superstar in South Korea, Kim had risen all the way to number one
lightweight contender and earned a world title shot against the famed
Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini on November 13, 1982.  The bout was extremely
brutal, especially for Kim, who had begun to wear down in the latter
rounds after absorbing tremendous punishment from the champion.  In the
early part of the 14th round Mancini hit Kim with a crushing right hand
that caused him to fly toward the ropes and hit his head on the canvas.

Kim managed to rise but the referee stopped the fight.  Minutes later
Duk Koo Kim collapsed into a coma and was carried out of the ring and
taken directly to the hospital.  Tragically the Korean star died 4 days
later from severe brain trauma.  Out of the hundreds of recorded ring fatalities
Kim’s death was one of the saddest.  Kim’s opponent Ray Mancini would
never again be the same caliber fighter and it was widely reported that
he blamed himself for Kim’s death. Kim’s mother committed suicide three
months after her son’s death by drinking a bottle of pesticide.  The
bout’s referee Richard Green, consumed by guilt, also committed suicide
shortly after the fight.