To What Extent Does Boxing Affect The Sport Throughout History

EQ: To what extent has criminal activity within boxing affect the sport all throughout history?

“Sure the fight was fixed. I fixed it with a right hand.” – George Foreman. George Foreman, former heavyweight champion, has been through the beginnings of boxing and still is actively participating in the sport today. Foreman throughout his career has witnessed and has full knowledge what the sport is outside the ring. Besides corruption the sport came to be the most exciting and underrated sport of all time. Due to criminal activity boxing to this day remains the sport with most corruption in American history.

Boxing has been around even before Christ. It was a sport that proved you were a better man (Jezek). Boxing has evolved over

In 1962, the spread of boxing around the world forced the NBA to change their name to WBA also known as World Boxing Association.The sport in popularity encouraged Olympic boxing in universities, schools, and armed forces to participate (Jezek). Boxing sprung In popularity during the 1920’s in America the most. Ring magazine was founded in the mid 1900’s, and it began listings of world rankings and new word champions that sparked the public's interest. With the popularity going up, the first acts of corruption begin to emerge within the sport. During this time the major power in boxing was the promoter. The promoter became central to the event, an overly visible, meddlesome, and corruptible influence (Levinson). Promoters would bribe, fix, threaten fighters to get money. To a promoter only the money matters. Promoters would have a World class fighter and give that fighter up for better money. “Boxing is a sport that it’s all about who you know” (Levinson). Boxing from then on has been a sport of corruption. A sport that Americans can look up to, is now and still is looked down upon. Americans in the 1920’s now see the corruption manifesting within the