Frankly dating back to the 1880s it has been this way. John L. Sullivan drue the color line, played political games to get the best price to put his title on the line. I think Joe Gans was forced to come under the lightweight limit a few pounds for the first Battling Nelson fight. And talk about cherry picking Tommy Burns knocked out a guy in one round in defense of the heavyweight title, then took the guy on the road with him around the world and defended against him twice more. Bill Squires was his name I believe. Nothing new to the sweet science.
Bookmarks