Boxing is a chaotic cocktail of raw skill, high drama, and murky politics—it’s just the nature of the beast. But sometimes, things go way beyond the usual chaos. Take June 1997, for example—when Mike Tyson literally bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear during their rematch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The boxing world imploded. Iron Mike was disqualified, fined $3 million, and had his boxing license revoked. He later claimed that it was an involuntary response to Holyfield’s constant headbutts. However, it cemented the incident as one of sports’ most infamous spectacles.
Yet, as unhinged as Tyson’s ear-biting was, it’s not the only controversy to rock the ring. From rigged fights to shady tactics, boxing’s history is littered with jaw-dropping scandals. Here are five moments that arguably overshadow even Iron Mike’s meltdown.
1. Panama Lewis & The “Black Bottle” Scandal (1983)
Carlos “Panama” Lewis. A great boxing trainer, but not the kind you’d want in your corner. He had skills, no doubt. In the 1980s, he was one the 5 best boxing coaches in the world, known for training Aaron Pryor and Roberto Duran, among others. But his tactics? Shady. He also helped train Mike Tyson for his 2002 fight against Lennox Lewis. However, his real claim to infamy came way before that, back in 1983.
That year in June, he was in Luis Resto’s corner for a fight against Billy Collins Jr. on the undercard of the Roberto Duran vs. Davey Moore event at Madison Square Garden. The fight was a particularly bloody affair, especially for Billy Collins Jr., who was bleeding profusely by the end of the 10-round fight. When the result was announced, Resto got the win by unanimous decision. However, here’s where things get wild.
After the victory, when Luis Resto went to shake hands with Collins’ corner, Collins’ father Billy Sr. noticed the padding in the gloves was thinner than normal. Soon, a controversy erupted, and Resto’s gloves were impounded by the New York State Boxing Commission, which later found the gloves had been tampered with. Subsequent investigation concluded that Panama Lewis had tampered with Resto’s gloves, stripping out the padding. So, instead of normal punches, Collins was basically getting hit with bare knuckles all night. Brutal!
Billy Collins Jr. suffered permanent eye damage that blurred his vision, and though Resto originally won, the New York State Boxing Commission flipped the result to a “No Contest”. And the fallout? Resto and Lewis both got banned from boxing for life. Resto, in October 1986, was also sentenced to three years imprisonment. Collins never recovered after the fight. He spiraled into depression soon after. Tragically, he passed away in October 1984 in what many believe was a sui–de. He was 22 years old at the time.
Lewis was also in Aaron Pryor’s corner during his first fight against Alexis Arguello in 1982. If you’ve ever heard a cornerman yell, “You want the (black) bottle? The one I mixed?”—yep, that was Lewis. Pryor, who was looking exhausted, suddenly found a second wind after drinking from it. To this day, nobody really knows what was in that bottle. Luis Resto later revealed that Panama Lewis would break open pills used to treat asthma and mix them into the water. Sketchy tactics, mysterious bottles, and a lifetime ban—Panama Lewis might’ve been a sharp trainer, but his legacy? Full of controversy.
2. Jake LaMotta & The “Fixed” Fight (1947)
Remember Jake LaMotta’s shady deal with the mob? Yes, he was a beast in the ring. But even he had to play by the underworld’s rules to get ahead. Back in November 1947, LaMotta fought Billy Fox. He straight-up let the Blackjack win in 4th round TKO, just so he could get a shot at the middleweight title.
It all went down at Madison Square Garden, and honestly? It wasn’t even a good fix. LaMotta barely threw any punches, and Fox looked like he could go down at any second just from LaMotta’s jab. The whole thing was so obvious that the New York State Athletic Commission immediately got suspicious, withheld their fight purses, and suspended LaMotta. And later on? The FBI came knocking.
Years later, LaMotta came clean, admitting he dived in exchange for a title shot. He even wrote about it in his autobiography, saying, “I was supposed to be throwing a fight to this guy, and it looked like I was going to end up holding him on his feet…” By the fourth round, he just let Fox knock him out. If you were in the crowd and didn’t realize what was happening, well, as LaMotta put it, “he must have been dead drunk.”
But here’s the kicker—his gamble worked. Two years later, after paying the Mafia an additional $20,000, he finally got his title shot against World Middleweight Champion Marcel Cerdan. And this time? No fixing. LaMotta won the belt in a ninth-round RTD victory, and Cerdan retired after that fight.
3. The Long Count – Jack Dempsey vs. Gene Tunney (1927)
So, picture this. September 1927, Soldier Field, Chicago. Jack Dempsey is in the ring with Gene Tunney, trying to reclaim the heavyweight title. Then comes Round 7. Boom! Dempsey drops Tunney with a brutal combo of two rights and two lefts. This was the first time Gene Tunney had ever been knocked down. But here’s where things get messy. Back in the day, Dempsey had a habit of standing over his opponents after knocking them down, ready to pounce the second they got up. But by this fight, a new rule was in place: the ref wouldn’t start the count until the standing fighter went to a neutral corner. Problem? Dempsey forgot, or maybe just ignored it.
Instead of stepping away, he hovered over Tunney, watching him struggle. Referee Dave Barry kept yelling for Dempsey to go to a neutral corner, but he just stood there. That hesitation gave Tunney an extra five to eight precious seconds to recover before the count even started. By the time the ref began counting, Tunney had been down for around 14 seconds (as later seen in the fight footage). And sure enough, he got up at nine, survived the round, and ended up winning the fight. This came to be known as ‘The Long Count Fight.’
Now, the big question: Was Dempsey robbed of a knockout win? If he had stepped away immediately, would the ref’s count have been faster, and would Tunney have been done?
4. Roy Jones Jr. Robbed at the Olympics (1988)
If you want to talk about one of the worst robberies in boxing history, Roy Jones Jr. at the 1988 Seoul Olympics is the case study. Roy Jones Jr. completely dominated South Korean fighter Park Si-Hun in the gold medal match. Outclassing him and making it painfully obvious who the real winner was. But when the judges announced the decision? Park was awarded the gold in a shocking 3-2 split. Even Park himself looked stunned. He knew he didn’t win that fight.
Years later, an investigation revealed what many already suspected: officials had been bribed. The whole thing was rigged. One of the judges, Bob Kasule, actually scored the fight a draw but still gave Park the win for “aggressiveness“—even though Park had been backpedaling the entire fight. Another judge, Houcine Larbi, later admitted, “The American won easily. So easily, in fact, that I was positive my four fellow judges would score the fight for the American by a wide margin. So I voted for the Korean to make the score only 4-1 for the American and not embarrass the host nation.” Imagine knowing the guy lost but scoring it for him anyway just to avoid hurting national pride.
Many believed this was South Korea getting payback for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, where the U.S. boxing team dominated. South Korean officials had already hinted that the Americans would face a tough time in Seoul, and—well, they weren’t wrong. The U.S. filed an appeal, but the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) dismissed it, claiming it wasn’t filed within 30 minutes of the fight. Even if it had been, they said there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn the decision. But a few months later, five judges, including some from Jones’ fight, were suspended for “poor officiating.”
5. Floyd Mayweather’s Cheap Shot KO of Victor Ortiz (2011)
The Floyd Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz fight in 2011 gave us one of the most controversial knockouts in boxing history. And honestly? It all happened so fast that people are still debating whether it was fair or just straight-up dirty.
Victor Ortiz got a little too eager and blatantly head-butted Money Mayweather. The ref, Joe Cortez, immediately stepped in and deducted a point. Ortiz, realizing he messed up, went into full apology mode—hugging, even kissing Mayweather on the cheek (yeah, seriously). But here’s the thing: The bell had already rung when Ortiz went in for a final hug. Ortiz dropped his hands after the hug, completely unfocused, and stepped back. Big mistake.
Mayweather, who was not in a forgiving mood, saw the opening and boom—left hook to the jaw. Ortiz, still looking at the ref like, “Wait, what’s happening?” got obliterated by a straight right hand. He went down hard, dazed, while Cortez counted him out. And just like that, Ortiz lost his title in the fourth round.
Now, was it legal? Technically, yes—Cortez had apparently told them to “box on.” But was it sportsmanlike? That’s the debate. Some say Mayweather just took advantage of Ortiz’s lapse in focus (because who drops their hands mid-fight?). Others say it was cheap and unnecessary. And let’s be real—Cortez didn’t exactly handle it well either. Either way, the fight ended in classic Mayweather fashion: chaos, controversy, and yet another W on his record.
So, which one of the stories do you think was the wildest?
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