Top 5 Cheaters In Boxing History

By Paul Pastorini

Top 5 Cheaters In Boxing History

Boxing Hand Wraps — Just about every sport has experienced its fair share of corruption. From fixed games to performance-enhancing drugs, athletes, as well as governing bodies and those powerful enough to affect them, have proven that winning at any cost is sometimes more important than winning the right way. Boxing, in particular, has experienced this truth far more than other sports. Here is a list of the most well-known cheats in boxing history.

5. Jake LaMotta

Robert De Niro and Jake LaMotta

5. Jake LaMotta

Robert De Niro and Jake LaMotta — Recognized by most boxing fans for his five epic fights against Sugar Ray Robinson as well as Robert De Niro’s portrayal of him in “The Raging Bull,” Jake LaMotta is unquestionably one of the most well-known fighters in the history of the sport. That he made a deal with the Mafia to take a dive in order to get a title fight and was later able to garner the respect of millions of boxing fans speaks to his dynamic character.

4. Shane Mosley

Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya

4. Shane Mosley

Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya — Whether former three-division champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley knowingly or unknowingly took PEDs before his second fight against Oscar De La Hoya is of very little consequence. He admitted to taking The Clear, which was a popular steroid used during the Balco scandal, before a Grand Jury. Using steroids in boxing is not like using steroids in baseball; plenty of boxers have died in the ring, and what Mosley did could’ve killed someone.

3. Mike Tyson

Holyfield's ear

3. Mike Tyson

Holyfield's ear — At the height of his powers, former undisputed heavyweight champion “Iron” Mike Tyson was one of the most feared men in all of boxing. Then he was convicted of rape. And then he bit off pieces of Evander Holyfield’s ears in Round 3 of their rematch. As long as boxing exists, this fight will stand as one of the sport's most controversial.

2. Antonio Margarito

Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito

2. Antonio Margarito

Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito — Nothing in boxing is more dangerous than fighting with loaded gloves, and that’s just what Margarito was caught trying to do before his fight against Mosley. This led many boxing experts to believe he had used the same substance, plaster of Paris, in his fight against Miguel Cotto, whose face had been brutally disfigured by the end of their fight. Margarito was suspended and lost to Cotto in a rematch.

1. Panama Lewis and Luis Resto

Hand Wraps

1. Panama Lewis and Luis Resto

Hand Wraps — One of the most infamous cases of cheating in the history of boxing, Luis Resto and his trainer, Panama Lewis, were later found guilty of assault, conspiracy and possession of a deadly weapon, which was Resto’s hands. Resto’s opponent, then unbeaten Billy Collins Jr., suffered a torn iris and permanently blurred vision, and died a year later. The documentary, 'Assault in the Ring,' examines what took place that night.

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