May 16, 1950
Art Aragon_
Controversy reigned at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles after Tommy Campbell’s (140) strange performance in a third round stoppage loss to local star Art Aragon (137 ½).
Campbell’s odd antics started after he knocked the favored Aragon through the ropes and onto the ring apron with a right hand in the second round. According to George Main of the Los Angeles Herald-Express, Campbell appeared "amazed" by what he’d done and "reached out as if to help Aragon to his feet" before backing off while the count was administered. After rising at eight, the Golden Boy looked none too steady but rather than go for the finish, Campbell made the bizarre move of retreating to a neutral corner and allowing Aragon (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) to wail away on him until the end of the round…
Never once did the onetime high-ranking Illinois battler make a serious move to ward off Aragon’s stream of leather.
At this sudden turn of events the crowd went into an uproar with many fans making uncomplimentary charges about Campbell’s integrity.
– Cal Whorton, Los Angeles Times
When he came out for the third session, Campbell continued to make no effort to defend himself, seemingly content to stand and get drilled by Aragon's right hand, before eventually being dropped for the count. At the finish, "most of the 7500 spectators were on their feet yelling 'fake' and showing the ring with debris." Commission representative Clayton Frye was none too impressed either, and told the press he believed the strange happenings "could do with some investigating."
The opinion of foul play wasn’t shared by matchmaker Babe McCoy, who stated that he saw nothing amiss with the bout, brushing aside rumors that Campbell had taken a dive "to help build Aragon up."
The purses of the fighters were held up until a hearing before Norman Houston of the California State Athletic Commission two days later. Campbell explained his performance by saying that he didn’t want to veer from his plan of trying to outbox Aragon, believing that the local star wasn’t really hurt after the knockdown. He also reiterated the reason he’d given immediately after the bout for backing off, explaining that he’d been partially blinded after being hit in the eye.
Though Mushy Callahan and Joe Stone, the two official fight judges, stated at the hearing that something wasn’t quite right about the fight, Houston ruled that "the facts don’t support any form of collusion."
First they ask the supposed culprits if they had been bad boys, then accept their denials as factual… Then they ignore the fact that two of the three ringside officials swore under oath that they though the bout was "fishy" while it was in progress. Result: None, as usual.
– Dick Hyland, Los Angeles Times
* In 1956, McCoy was banned for life by the CSAC for "ordering fights lost to fighters including Art Aragon, Harry Mathews and Del Flanagan." The ban came after Campbell testified as a surprise witness before a special investigating committee set up by California Governor Goodwin J. Knight. Campbell told the committee he was there voluntarily "to do what was right." According to Campbell’s testimony, his manager George Moore had made a deal with McCoy before the bout. Campbell explained that he was supposed to "make it look good" for three rounds, and in doing so had nearly knocked Aragon out by accident, prompting the strange sequence of events in the second round that had lead to the original suspicions over the bout’s legitimacy.
* Fighters Georgie Hansford and Watson Jones also testified at the hearing, stating that they had tanked fights for McCoy. Jones also testified that the influential matchmaker had robbed him of his purses.
* At the hearing, it was also revealed the Clayton Frye had been barred from the dressing rooms by the Olympic Auditorium management, making it very difficult for the commission member to properly oversee what took place at the venue. Rather suspiciously, the CSAC refused at the time to do anything about Frye’s lack of access.
