Long before the Marquis of Queensberry came along, bare-knuckle contests were frequently rigged.

In 1760 Bill Stevens, a notorious fixer, beat Jack Slack in dubious circumstances only to lose to George Meggs in an even more blatantly rigged bout.

Stevens said later: "I got 50 guineas more than I should otherwise have done by letting George beat me and damn me ain't I the same man still?"

In 1904, only a decade after prizefighting had been legalised in the US, the referee disqualified welterweight Joe Walcott as he cruised to victory over Dixie Kid. It transpired the ref had actually bet on Kid winning the fight.

Shock in Havana

Jack Johnson was one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time.

But Johnson, the first black man to hold the title, lost it in suspicious circumstances in Havana in 1915.

Johnson, who was counted out in the 26th round of an exhausting contest in the Cuban sun, had gone into exile in Europe after being charged with transporting women across US state lines.

After his defeat by Jess Willard he claimed he was offered a deal by the white establishment - take a dive and the charges will be dropped.

In 1922 world light-heavyweight champion Georges Carpentier thought challenger Battling Siki had agreed to a fixed fight but the African double-crossed him and handed out a six-round beating.

But the referee disqualified Siki for tripping Carpentier only for the French Boxing Federation to reverse his decision.

He won, but he's Irish!

The following year Irishman Mike McTigue fought local hero Young Stribling in Georgia, USA.

The ref declared the fight a draw but when the hometown crowd, including Klansmen in full regalia, became restless he switched it to a Stribling win.

The draw was reversed when the ref was safely out of Georgia.

It may not have been a fix but The Night of the Long Count is infamous in boxing history.

On 22 September 1927 more than 120,000 people paid record receipts of $2.6m to watch world heavyweight champion Gene Tunney fight former champ Jack Dempsey.

Long count

Tunney was well ahead on points when Dempsey dumped him on the canvas in the 17th round.

But with Dempsey unwilling to retreat to a neutral corner, the referee was slow to pick up the count and Tunney was on the floor for a total of 14 seconds.

He got up, survived and won the contest on points.

One of the most sensational "fixes" of all time was world heavyweight champ Jack Sharkey's sixth-round defeat by Primo Carnera in 1933.

Sharkey was knocked out by a "phantom punch" by the giant Italian, who he had outwitted in a previous contest.

British rings have not been immune from skullduggery either.

Stench of corruption

In 1948 there was a stink at Harringay Arena in London when British and European heavyweight champion Bruce Woodcock "knocked out" Lee Oma.

Woodcock was on the comeback trail after losing to another Yank, Joe Baksi, but Oma had beaten Baksi and should have been a real threat.

The American sauntered around the ring, scarcely throwing a punch in the first three rounds.

In the fourth he crashed to the canvas and was counted out after Woodcock landed a right to the jaw.

Oma had reportedly pocketed £5,000 to "lie down" but if Woodcock's promoter Jack Solomons did bribe him he took the secret to the grave.

Drugged fruit

In 1954 former light-heavyweight champion Harold Johnson was surprisingly knocked out by Julio Mederos in the second round.

Johnson said afterwards his reflexes had been dulled after he ate a drugged orange before the fight.

One of the most famous "dodgy" fights was in 1961 when young Cassius Clay, later to become Muhammad Ali, fought Sonny Liston in Lewiston, Maine.

Liston, one of the most fearsome characters in the heavyweight division, fell to a "phantom punch" in the first round.

He denied taking a dive despite rumours of a huge betting coup which persisted until his sad death in a Las Vegas hotel.

After the previously unbeaten Mike Tyson lost his title to James 'Buster' Douglas in 1990 his camp - including promoter Don King - cried foul.

They claimed Douglas should have been counted out long before Tyson was knocked out.

In 1993 British middleweight Nigel Benn claimed the judges had been urged to look kindly on Chris Eubank during their second contest.

The judges scored a draw but no evidence of foul play was ever produced.