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Jake LaMotta vs. Billy Fox... Infamous fixed match...
Jake LaMotta vs. Billy Fox... Infamous fixed match...
Item # 724028
November 15, 1947
LEOMINSTER DAILY ENTERPRISE, Mass., November 15, 1947
* Jake LaMotta vs. Billy Fox
* Fixed boxing match - Mafia
* Middleweight fight at MSG
* Featured in 'Raging Bull' film
The sport's section (page 5) has a one column heading: "Fox Beats Lamotta In New York" (see images)
Complete with 8 pages, light toning at the margins, a little irregular along the spine, generally nice.
background: On November 14, 1947, Jake LaMotta faced Billy Fox in a highly controversial middleweight bout at Madison Square Garden, New York City, scheduled for ten rounds. LaMotta, a formidable and notoriously tough fighter, intentionally lost the fight, a fact he later admitted, as part of a mob-arranged fix orchestrated by Frank “Blinky” Palermo, with the promise of a future shot at the middleweight title. The fight ended in the fourth round when the referee stopped the bout, a shocking early conclusion for LaMotta, whose lackluster defense and minimal resistance made the one-sided outcome immediately suspect. The New York State Athletic Commission withheld the fighters’ purses and investigated the contest, but despite the scandal, LaMotta eventually secured his promised title opportunity ten fights later. Billy Fox, who benefited from the fix, never achieved significant success afterward and eventually faded from boxing, his career overshadowed by the mob’s manipulation. This fight remains infamous in boxing history as a striking example of organized crime’s influence in the sport during the 1940s.
Category: The 20th Century
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