The Ring (magazine) - Scandal

Scandal

In 1976 The Ring magazine fabricated records of selected boxers, to elevate them, thereby securing them lucrative fights on the American ABC television network, as part of the United States Championship Tournament.

The United States Championship Tournament was a promotional effort by promoter Don King to capitalize on the patriotism surrounding the United States Bicentennial and the American amateur success at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. King's idea was to defeat the non-American boxers who held the vast majority of world titles below the Heavyweight division. Keeping in line with the patriotic theme of the promotion, King held shows at "patriotic" locales—such as the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, as well as on an aircraft carrier stationed off Pensacola, Florida.

Despite the above, the 1977 Ring Record Book contained the fictitious additions to the records of the boxers in question, and were never taken out of their records of the boxers. Those dubious bouts would continue to appear in subsequent Ring Record Book editions.

This Ring Record Magazine scandal was uncovered by boxing writer Malcolm 'Flash' Gordon and ABC staffer Alex Wallau. After Gordon and Wallau's evidence was presented to ABC executives the United States Championship tournament was cancelled. It led to the eventual resignation of New York State Boxing Commissioner James Farley Jr. who had lent his name to the Championship fights and who was the son of former New York State Athletic Commissioner and former Postmaster General James Farley, who had died one year prior to the scandal. Farley had accepted a hotel room which had been furnished by King, this was used to smear Farley as dirty for accepting kickbacks, forcing his eventual resignation. No formal charges of impropriety were ever filed against Farley. The following year the Boxing Writers Association dedicated their highest honor the "James A. Farley Award", for honesty and integrity in the sport of Boxing.