That's what this article by Jimmy Cannon seems to be implying. It also seems to imply that one of his fights with Joey Maxim was fixed. Very interesting stuff, and informative.
From http://www.nypost.com/sports/4257.htm
November 23, 2003 -- Originally printed on Dec. 8, 1955
CHICAGO - You're Bobo Olson and the years are going for you. You're 28 and Ray Robinson, whom you fight tomorrow night for the third time, is 35. Time is a robber. It steals the greatness of pugs while they're still young. At 35 a doctor's young. So is an attorney or a writer. In the movies Clark Gable, who is old enough to be your father, still gets Jane Russell when the picture ends.
You're an authority on Robinson's greatness. He knocked you out in 12 rounds in '50. In '52 he beat you again. It was a close fight. This time you're the champion. And Robinson's a guy who temporarily quit the racket because he figured he was all through. Hoofing doesn't damage a pug. The hours a night club entertainer keeps do. For 31 months Robinson didn't box. You have this going for you, too. But can you forget that this guy beat you twice?
Champions get the money. They also inherit trouble. Your marriage is smashed. An old manager, Herbert Campoh, is suing you. You were sloppy with Joey Giambra the last time you fought. What did Archie Moore do to you before that? Only you know. That's a secret a fighter keeps. You don't unload that kind of trouble. You lose it and you're whole. You hold onto it and it becomes an incurable disease. Only Robinson and Moore have knocked you out. You got over Robinson.
Stories go with both of them. You come out of Honolulu. Your manager, Sid Flaherty, a master sergeant in the Army, was matchmaker at Hickam Field. He saw you on an amateur card. You were 16 then and, when he was shipped backed to the states, he sent for you. But they wouldn't give you a license in California and you returned to Hawaii. Then, when you were old enough to get a permit, Flaherty brought you to California again.
You became dissatisfied with Flaherty. He told you not to take Robinson the first time. You were obstinate. You believed you were ready. So Robinson dumped you. After that you depended on Flaherty. But they trapped him into fighting Moore. Did you truly think you could beat Moore? Or was it just a big pay night? You don't tell that secret either.
You beat Joey Maxim who is managed by Jack Kearns. You knocked him down. Did you realize that Kearns also has a piece of Moore? So Kearns worked on Flaherty. He said making weight would sap Moore's stamina. He wouldn't be able to go the route. His years would pull him apart. Making weight would weaken him. Originally, did you go for this? Or did you doubt yourself from the hour the match was made?
You were careless about training for Moore. You sat, sallow and spangled with sweat, in your corner before that fight commenced. You appeared to be seized with a dreadful tension. Moore was a guy accustomed to fighting heavyweights. You were a soft touch and he took you out in three.
You're supposed to be a lock tomorrow night. The bookmakers declare you an easy winner.
You're not a spectacular fighter. You've knocked out guys. Usually you wear them down. You're fast-handed and industrious. You dig to the body a lot. You're not a puncher. You're a cute club fighter. You don't run or depend on agility. You push a guy and keep going.
The excuse is you weren't ready for Robinson. Moore was a light heavyweight. But what about the late Dave Sands who beat you twice?
You couldn't knock out Kid Gavilan who was a welterweight. He had a bad right hand that night, too. You were merciless and worked him over 15 rounds. But he was there when it was over. He made a game fight for a one-handed guy. How the hell could you knock down Maxim, then, who is really tough? There's a lot of speculation about that.
You're quietly suspicious around strangers. Your manager acts as if he were an ambassador instead of a pug's agent. You're a good team. You made a lot of money together. His mistakes have been insignificant. So Moore knocked you out? You took home a bundle, didn't you? You've been well-healed and tomorrow night you're supposed to be a cinch. Robinson doesn't think so. You behave as if this is just another fight. Is it? Or do you still remember Robinson as he used to be?
POST-SCRIPT: Robinson seized Olson's middleweight title with a second-round KO in Dec. 9, 1955 in Chicago. Robinson then won a rematch with a fourth-round KO, May 18, 1956, in LA. The two also fought in 1950 and '52, with Robinson winning both.
Bobo Olson, a built up fraud???
Jimmy Cannon used to write some really good articles but he sometimes had very biased views and came up with some pretty silly stuff (ideas). I don't believe that there was anything dodgey going on in the Olsen vs Maxim fight... and Jimmy using the fact that Olsen didn't floor Gavilan as if to prove his point is a nonsense as Gavilan had one of the best chins of all the great champs and was floored only a few times in his career and was never stopped..... and he fought Robinson when Ray was at his Welterweight best.
Also Olsens defeat to Moore and his blow out to Robinson when Robinson won the title back all occured at a time when Bobo's personal life was falling apart (he'd been keeping two wives and two sets of children)and he was drinking heavily. This is not to say that otherwise he would have beaten either Moore or Robinson..... but he would have made much better showings in both fights. He was a very good fighter..... a brilliant in-fighter. In his first fight with Robinson he gave Ray a very hard match.
After losing the title to Robinson Bobo moved up to Light-heavy (and even heavyweight for a time) and had some good success at Light-heavy, being a contender till the mid 60s.
For Cannon to say that Bobo was just a club fighter is a bit silly and perhaps shows that Cannons knowledge of boxing wasn't quite what we are led to believe. Pretty words don't always tell the whole story.
Also Olsens defeat to Moore and his blow out to Robinson when Robinson won the title back all occured at a time when Bobo's personal life was falling apart (he'd been keeping two wives and two sets of children)and he was drinking heavily. This is not to say that otherwise he would have beaten either Moore or Robinson..... but he would have made much better showings in both fights. He was a very good fighter..... a brilliant in-fighter. In his first fight with Robinson he gave Ray a very hard match.
After losing the title to Robinson Bobo moved up to Light-heavy (and even heavyweight for a time) and had some good success at Light-heavy, being a contender till the mid 60s.
For Cannon to say that Bobo was just a club fighter is a bit silly and perhaps shows that Cannons knowledge of boxing wasn't quite what we are led to believe. Pretty words don't always tell the whole story.