Was the match between Billie Jean King & Bobby Riggs fixed? Battle of the Sexes 50th anniversary 👀

Рет қаралды 38,213

9 ай бұрын

In 1973, renowned tennis hustler and long-ago men’s number one Bobby Riggs, 55, had already beaten then-women’s number one Margaret Court when he challenged Billie Jean King, 29, to a match. In a momentous feminist rebuke to Riggs and his fellow male chauvinists everywhere, King routed him in the “Battle of the Sexes” at the Houston Astrodome before an international TV audience. A decade ago, investigative reporter Don Van Natta probed intriguing new evidence that Riggs, an inveterate gambler who associated with mob figures, might have thrown the match. For the 50th anniversary of King’s celebrated 9/20/73 triumph, ESPN reprises its report, which provoked controversy, acclaim and anger.
For more, please read: www.espn.com/espn/feature/sto....
✔️ Subscribe to ESPN+ espnplus.com/youtube
✔️ Get the ESPN App: www.espn.com/espn/apps/espn
✔️ Subscribe to ESPN on KZbin: es.pn/SUBSCRIBEtoKZbin
✔️ Subscribe to NBA on ESPN on KZbin: bit.ly/SUBSCRIBEtoNBAonESPN
✔️ Watch ESPN on KZbin TV: es.pn/KZbinTV

Пікірлер: 211

@waynethurman2144 8 ай бұрын

I don't know if the match was rigged but I think that Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean set up the match for one reason, to help promote women's tennis. I think the hostility between the two was an act to draw interest for their match and woman's tennis. I think Bobby's motive and Billie Jean's motive were the same, "to help bring more attention to the women's game", which at the time was not even close to what it is now. The ploy worked!

@full-fish 5 ай бұрын

Makes sense, does that. The money built on the back is immeasurable in the women's game. He set a fire, and it burned very brightly. The women are still leagues behind the men, though 😮

@waynethurman2144 5 ай бұрын

Because if the women competed with men they would get stomped. Women drafted by the Selective Service System is way, way behind men!

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

That's stupider than the thrown match theory.

@waynethurman2144 5 ай бұрын

@@theoriginalthinker9199 You are so naive!

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

@@waynethurman2144 No, I am so SMART. The proof? You can't prove me wrong with facts, you have to attack my character. But seriously, that's one dumb theory!

@YouTubeCensor 9 ай бұрын

Everyone be sure to thank the mob for their support of the women's movement.

@TheSportingWorld 2 ай бұрын

As much as I’d like to say Billie Jean won fair and square, it’s so clear from match highlights that Bobby threw it. He even bet against himself in this match so he had more to gain by losing than winning. If he was able to beat Court that easily then he would’ve done the same against Billie Jean. The amount of unforced errors in there and the over-exaggerated annoyance at losing a point made it all too obvious.

@ChristianMoffet 23 күн бұрын

Court played like crap and totally choked, so she isn't a good indicator.

@daptheking 9 ай бұрын

So this so called old man. After the match this man clears the net perfectly to jump over. But couldn't chase down some easy pop shots from king. The man got the word rig in his name for christ sakes. 😂

@pistolpete8231 8 ай бұрын

😂😂😂😂😂😂

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

This is what you're saying: Bobby Riggs set this match up, got all these people to put up all this money, promoted the match, the highest viewing audience of a tennis match to this day, then threw the match, but made the match look competitive against one of the greatest women tennis players of all time, while she was in her prime, and he was a 55 year old man! In order to pull something off like that, Bobby Riggs would have to be an ICEMAN! He'd have to be fk'ing brilliant! Bobby Riggs, great tennis player, but look at him... he clearly wasn't THAT GUY!

@bigpapi42 5 ай бұрын

@@theoriginalthinker9199where are your facts?? Come on

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

@@bigpapi42 Facts: Bobby Riggs passed a lie detester test. 93,000,000 worldwide viewing audience, including the tennis professionals at the time, and none of them said the match was fixed. Bobby Riggs, to his dying day, remained friends with BJK, and said the match was legit. Most of the people who think the match was fixed, know very little about tennis. There have been Books, movies and articles about the legitimacy of the match. Want more?

@devonlatrell5767 4 ай бұрын

@@theoriginalthinker9199who admits to fixing a match bro? Just deal with it.. you're not supposed to know n accept it.. you know him personally? His family? Anything he said at the time? No, you're spreading you're theory based off a perfect world, news flash, it's not! Wake up! The rich get richer for a reason.. you think he got to be Iceman to sell a show? To sell tickets to a match he's pretty much not making the majority of the money for regardless if he wins.. he self promoted for a reason, to get bets on yourself .. integrity doesn't matter when your pockets are low .. but you're saying this based off stuff you read 😂😂 the finest research won't get you an answer .. you've never heard one person that fixed Anything come out and say it.. because it's a federal crime to fix a professional game dummy

@jm_1214 9 ай бұрын

The comment about Riggs having to play the match to stay alive is the truth

@viewtifulnovanorman9059 9 ай бұрын

So what you're saying is Bobby RIGGS rigged a match...huh...

@just.do.something 3 ай бұрын

If Bobby threw the match I doubt he would've lost in straight sets. Would've made it more interesting.

@humanbeing2420 22 күн бұрын

With King not accustomed to playing 5 set matches, it would have been risky to mess around. If they get to the fifth set and King's play deteriorated, he'd have had to make it even more obvious that he was tanking.

@joelwillems4081 6 ай бұрын

BJK built her entire career and post career around beating Riggs. She can never admit that he threw it. He is walking around and hitting the ball directly into the net repeatedly.

@scottdavidson526 5 ай бұрын

It looks that way. I was only 11 years old when I watched this match, but in watching some of the highlights on here, I do believe that Riggs threw the match.

@fightclubdurden 5 ай бұрын

Absolutely. He didn't try at all. Rigged 💯

@humanbeing2420 22 күн бұрын

I'd watch the entire match before concluding anything. The unforced errors shown here look like mis-hits rather than intentional errors.

@richardcoreno 9 ай бұрын

The Bobby Riggs book -- "Court Hustler" -- remains a great read....some 50 years after it was published.

@stickman-1 6 ай бұрын

I watched it live when I was a teen. I used to play a lot of tennis back then. The unforced errors Riggs made drove me nuts. At that time, I didn't know anything about the mob/Riggs connection, I just knew he was not playing to his ability. Almost laughable at times. He thru the match and I know King doesn't want to believe that but anyone who plays and watched that match knew it.

@scottdavidson526 5 ай бұрын

I believe you're correct. Of course, King isn't going to accept it because that tarnish her victory.

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

@jimkoenig5026 5 ай бұрын

Thanks. I was too into tennis. Court was 22-10 vs bjk. Riggs beat her easily. Williams sisters lost to a 400 ranked man. Wasn't close

@stickman-1 5 ай бұрын

@@theoriginalthinker9199 No, Riggs didn't "set it up." It was several agencies that put it together. #1 was the media. The had nothing to do with the other agencies involved. They did it for ratings and it fit their agenda (feminism.) Agency #2 was organized crime. Riggs had big gambling debts. He played both sides of the situation. He let King win to settle his debts with the mob. Learn about Riggs. He as somewhat of a con man. Not in the traditional sense of "evil" but he was always working an angle. Really "con man" is not the right word, but I can't think of the right one. But read about Riggs.. He had lots of "games" going.

@stickman-1 5 ай бұрын

Chrissie Evert said the same thing about her brother. There is a video here on YT of it. At the time her brother was ranked in the high 300s. She was #1 or #2. They played all the time. The interviewer asked her a question about them playing together assuming she would easily beat him. Her reply was that he waxed the floor with her any time he wanted. The interviewer was stunned. @@jimkoenig5026

@AristotelK 9 ай бұрын

Bobby has the perfect last name😆

@angelaramirez4144 2 ай бұрын

😄 how did I not catch on to that. It's so obvious.

@Paulafan5 9 ай бұрын

I never knew about his match against the GOAT Margaret Court and how he destroyed her. Funny how that fact is rarely reported on. If he destroyed Court, then he should have been able to beat King without much effort.

@jessicagreen8883 9 ай бұрын

Margaret Court famously is not that good. She never really had any real competition. Her slams aren’t really recognized because of it.

@Lauren-vd4qe 9 ай бұрын

he destroyed the first one to pave the odds for the second event vs King, so he could bet against himself and collect a tidy sum plus erase his debt. if he had a betting father and a long history of betting, period, it could certainly b true that he was indeed, in debt to the mobbers...

@yomismo74 9 ай бұрын

You only need to watch the matches to see the Big difference. Margareth was intimidated Billie Jean was not. And she prepared way better for the match.

@jimkoenig5026 9 ай бұрын

@@jessicagreen8883King and Court faced each other 32 times, with Court winning 22 Mic drop

@theoriginalthinker9199 8 ай бұрын

Margaret did not even care about that match. She didn't try hard at all. It didn't mean anything, she would get paid whether she won or lost.

@emmanuelmoses7249 9 ай бұрын

Riggs was clearly a betting man & a troll 😂😂. Definitely think he threw the match, look at all the incredibly easy shots that he missed...After he just demolished the number 1 female in Tennis, soon after, he gets destroyed by Billie Jean? I dont buy it.

@humaamsaid3282 9 ай бұрын

Billie Jean King was ranked #1 in 1972, then was ranked #2 at the match. She wasn't that far off from #1 at the time

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

@thefanwithoutaface8105 8 ай бұрын

Riggs prior to this utterly demolished the then top ranked female tennis player with casual ease. Factor that in with Riggs having gambling debts and having a history of using tennis as a way to make money, it's painfully obvious he threw the match.

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

@thefanwithoutaface8105 5 ай бұрын

@@theoriginalthinker9199 Did you miss the part where he easily defeated the then top ranked best Female Tennis Player by himself before changing Billie Jean King? If he could beat her, then he could certainly beat king. Fact is he stood to gain more from losing than winning.

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

@@thefanwithoutaface8105 Don't take this personally, but you don't know much about tennis. Any top ranked tennis player can beat another top ranked tennis player on any given day, i.e, you can't say that just because he beat Margaret, he should be able to beat King. It doesn't work that way. Beyond that, Riggs didn't beat Margaret, she beat herself by playing TERRIBLE! Watch the match. All Riggs had to do was get the ball back and she would make an error. The match didn't matter to Margaret. She was gonna get paid whether she won or not. But watch her match against any other female player, and you'll see the real Margaret Court.

@Unvaccinated69 5 ай бұрын

@theoriginalthinker9199 so what you're saying is that court decided not to play her best against riggs but riggs definitely played his best against King? Cope mate

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

@@Unvaccinated69 No, that's not what I'm saying. You're also demonstrating an egregious lack of knowledge of the game of tennis. What I'm saying is that Margaret had a bad day at the office, and there was no motivation to try to play better because she would get paid regardless of how bad she played. Riggs vs King was a 100,000 winner take all, which means Riggs was obviously trying to play his best or he gets nothing. After the match, the first thing Riggs said to King was, "I underestimated you." Which is exactly what happened! Give it up, man. She beat him fair and square.

@bigpoppaplump462 7 ай бұрын

The whole thing was a publicity stunt to promote women's tennis. All of us who were there understood that.

@michaelrodgers6592 5 ай бұрын

Of course, Billie Jean doesn't believe he threw the match. Because she takes so much pride that she actually beat a man. He clearly threw the match

@malcolm6107 9 ай бұрын

so Bobby Riggs was a feminist after all😂

@Oliver-by1gl 18 күн бұрын

50 years later and they still cry that a woman beat a guy in a tennis match, some men are so delusional they will believe she was a witch to not face the truth

@AndreCollins-ur4ez 8 ай бұрын

Absolutely was fixed

@ruzzzty 9 ай бұрын

Great Documentary!

@Noahmendess 5 ай бұрын

Even if he didn’t threw the match, I wouldn’t be proud of winning a game against someone the put up that level of performance

@jimkoenig5026 9 ай бұрын

He had just destroyed Margaret Court. The gap between Margaret Court and Billie Jean was about nil. He is always been a showman and it was good for women's tennis so yes he threw the match

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

@ramstacp 5 ай бұрын

@@theoriginalthinker9199I really hope that you are a kid, otherwise you don’t have an excuse for being so dim.

@PoonFlavoredTang 7 күн бұрын

@@theoriginalthinker9199 It doesn't have to be calculated at every step to prove he threw the match. His intentions very well could have been genuine initially. It's easy for those with power over you to make you do things you don't want. And it's even easier to conceal them to keep that fact hidden.

@MrGenexxx 9 ай бұрын

She was in her absolute prime. He was old, washed, drunk and most definitely threw the match for money.

@groovykev 9 ай бұрын

I think the question to ask is - have you seen a former champ play that badly?

@scottdavidson526 5 ай бұрын

No.

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

The set scores were 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. That was a competitive match. If it were 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, you might have a point.

@bigpapi42 5 ай бұрын

@@theoriginalthinker9199it is good to know you've never cheated on anything lol, because if you did you'd knowthat you don't make out obvious....

@razzaman9023 3 ай бұрын

He threw the match to get out of debt. There were heavy bettors on him being the winner. So to bet against him they made much more money. He got out of debt after that tennis match surprisingly

@gregoryphillips3969 9 ай бұрын

There was a tennis commentator who said that he witnessed Riggs was routinely beating male college players that same year. Then he went out and demolished Margaret Court within that same time period. Rumor was he owed money to some people who meant business. Apparently he had to do whatever he did so he could keep breathing. Remember he had already beaten .Margaret Court. So he already proved his point.

@livingstonekot757 6 ай бұрын

C'mon, he threw the match, made big money, and helped women's tennis... Win win for both sides... heheh.. 😂😂

@jimklein6958 4 ай бұрын

Also, watch match point, doesn’t anyone think it’s very strange that after all the hype that Riggs went through to get this match played, and the embarrassment of losing the match with the biggest sports audience of all time, jumps over the net to congratulate Bill Jean King. Riggs was the true winner in the match. Losers don’t jump the net. Show me another match where this has ever happened?? Riggs was thrilled that he pulled it off and was now debt free from the mob and with enough money to retire on!

@peterphilstacey4698 12 күн бұрын

billie started this nonsense, same pay at slams..... playing a quarter or a fifth the time men play,,,, outrageous

@patrickwisdom123 9 ай бұрын

I can confirm this was fixed

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

How?

@bluesea2023 Ай бұрын

Venus and Serena Williams took on then World No. 203 Karsten Braasch at the 1998 Australian Open, in an exhibition event named "The Battle of the Sexes." The event came about after the Americans allegedly claimed that they could beat any male player ranked outside the top-200. The 50 year old man easily defeated both Williams sisters. The quirky lefty's herky-jerky serve and masterful skill shifting spins and creating obscure angles befuddled the teenage Serena as Braasch prevailed, 6-1.

@humanbeing2420 22 күн бұрын

Questions: Does Hal Shaw have anything to gain from making this claim about what he heard? What's his background and reputation for truthfulness? What were the betting markets for the match like? Are there any records as to what was bet on whom? Were there any indications in the days and weeks after the match that Riggs's financial condition had just improved? What was King's record against Court?

@nigelsharman9253 9 ай бұрын

Not sure why the anniversary of this event is even being marked

@juniord2789 9 ай бұрын

He obviously threw the match lol

@B0Sajwah 5 ай бұрын

This is where the term rigged came from

@jake1776 3 ай бұрын

The movie with Steve Carrol doesn’t admit the obvious truth that this game was staged. Even if it was not staged… he was 26 years older!!! Not much of a battle - but especially when one of the players has gambling debts.

@hellraiser338 5 ай бұрын

I was born in the 90s so i knew nothing about this when the movie came out. But the more I read about this and the two athletes, the more it seems like this was most likely rigged.

@og_mante5138 9 ай бұрын

Fixed or not, Riggs was an old man😂

@jeffm7145 9 ай бұрын

He was missing shots a 70 year old could have made

@DarthVader1977 9 ай бұрын

@@jeffm7145 It was a ridiculous match, a 29 year old male would have DESTROYED Billie Jean King.

@exitium194 9 ай бұрын

captain obvious has entered the building@@DarthVader1977

@tennisace40 6 ай бұрын

Riggs was a great player in his prime.He threw this match.

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

@@DarthVader1977 But Riggs wasn't a 29 year old male. What's your point?

@j.jester7821 6 ай бұрын

Bobby definitely threw the match.

@fightclubdurden 5 ай бұрын

Absolutely

@angelaramirez4144 2 ай бұрын

I feel bad for Billie. She was robbed of the chance to really win.

@JohnHoulgate 8 ай бұрын

This shouldn't surprise me. Riggs was a tennis hustler. He was always about putting something over on someone. He lived in Encinitas, CA and hung out at the La Costa Country Club, which was a known Mob-owned property during the 70s and 80s. He also had a home in Las Vegas. My mom knew him as she was a tennis journalist for AP. He even invited her to come up and stay with him at his place in Las Vegas. He was always hustling. My mom was a dedicated wife and mother; she never took him up on his offer. She knew if she wasn't buying his BS, he was making similar offers to other women. Always the hustler. Another Tennis hustler was Pancho Gonzales. This is what men's tennis was before it became big-time media entertainment.

@scottdavidson526 5 ай бұрын

Interesting story. Thank you for sharing.

@cmonson1354 5 ай бұрын

I wonder how much he made off throwing the match?! lol

@JohnHoulgate 5 ай бұрын

@@cmonson1354 I'll put it this way, that encounter with my mom? That happened some time well after the match. He wasn't hurtin' for anything.

@ghostwolf1435 2 ай бұрын

He was the perfect villain for that time 😂😂😊

@scottdavidson526 5 ай бұрын

I watched this tennis 🎾 match with my mom and dad when I was 11 years old. Everyone was talking about the upcoming, and it got got huge ratings, but considering beat the #1 female tennis player in the world at that time, ine has to wonder if Bobby did ultimately throw the match.

@computerartist0072 9 ай бұрын

Did Riggs rig the match?

@ethanw4253 5 ай бұрын

So youre telling me Bobby Riggs: -Had A Gambling Addiction -Ties to the Mafia - And won against the best player in the world before going against her and absolutely tanking And people think that the match wasnt thrown?

@tayluc777 3 ай бұрын

Yes, yes it was.

@tennisace40 6 ай бұрын

Riggs was indeed a hustler…entirely possible.

@yugihoo 5 ай бұрын

There is no way he didn't throw that match

@EmperorsNewWardrobe 7 ай бұрын

I mean, if the question in all of this is whether women are equal to men on the tennis court, would we be surprised if we heard that a 29 year old Federer beat a 55 year old Serena Williams? If not, why would we be surprised if it was the other way round?

@michaelfortenberry5735 5 ай бұрын

Of course it was rigged. Riggs used the match to pay off gambling debts. Just a few months prior to this, he beat Margaret Court - objectively superior to BJK by no small amount - in straight sets. The only people who think this is legit are the feminists who are desperate for a talking point. The Williams sisters played a set each against the 203rd ranked Karsten Braasch, who was a chain-smoking drunk. He played a round of golf that morning and chugged a beer between points. He beat Venus 6-2 and Serena 6-1. Women can't compete with men. It's simple biology. Don't kill the messenger, it's simple truth.

@ReekLarson-ky8dz 3 ай бұрын

I’ve never actually watched the match just the movie based on that famous event. I truly believe that some female players could beat an older male ex pro. Tennis has changed a lot over the years especially the jump from wooden rackets to aluminium. I truly believe that someone like Serena Williams could beat someone like Bjorn Borg. We all saw Bjorgs comeback. It was just awful to watch the once unbeatable Nord struggle with the new style that came with aluminium rackets.

@jimklein6958 4 ай бұрын

Riggs was not tanking. He was throwing the match. Big big difference!

@timidturkey2777 6 ай бұрын

Ngl I don't understand how BJK can show her face at the anniversary celebrations and the such. I'd be so ashamed to know the reason I'm so loved is built around a lie

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

Save that for Colin Kaepernick. BJK did much more than play Bobby Riggs. She won 39 grand slam titles. To this day, still a record. Educate yourself before you make stupid comments.

@timidturkey2777 5 ай бұрын

@theoriginalthinker9199 yet, their magnum opus was a lie...

@MarcPlaysDrums 9 ай бұрын

Yes

@ericaawake9503 29 күн бұрын

C’mom Billie Jean. Admite he allowed you to win..

@stage51manager 9 ай бұрын

50 years ago.

@truthhurts- 4 ай бұрын

Ohh God..did people not see through this

@jimklein6958 4 ай бұрын

Watch the first battle of the sexes match, Riggs vs Margaret Court just a few months earlier in May of 1973. Riggs toyed with court 6-2 / 6-1. Riggs lost on purpose.

@jordagilmore5938 9 ай бұрын

We all know it was fixed 🤦🏽‍♂️

@Lauren-vd4qe 9 ай бұрын

UPDATE: and here we are decades later, are any of you wondering if/how/why any CURRENT tennis pros throw a match or a set? I swear it CERTAINLY looks like it to me, especially with one world class goatee player, make no um...joke...about it...get it? i swear this dude is the smartest player to ever set foot on a court...make his OWN health choices and was severely punished for it by the so called health officials...pple can gabjab all they want about this, but due to his nojabb personal choice, hes clearly the topdog and will b for some time as his body has not been damaged by the spear, but have u ever seen him clearly far and away AHEAD of another player in a match, then inexplicably screw up repeatedly and lose the second set, then seemingly come roaring back and demolish the opponent, winning the match? ive seen him do this very regularly, then he, to keep everyone guessing, actually throws a whole match when you KNOW hes easily capable of totally annihilating the opponent, ie at the latest wimbledon event? tennis betting is alive and well folks, no ive never done it, but im convinced it flourishes despite altruistics will deny it. anyone who can speak 5 languages fluently is beyond smart, and its like watching a cat play with a mouse to watch him play, with a cloud of set-fixing sprinkled on it...

@thefloatinghead859 5 ай бұрын

Bobby Rigged? Yes, yes it was. Watched it, knew it, nothing has changed.

@southamcaballero 6 ай бұрын

Was the match rigged?

@hammondegger603 9 ай бұрын

watched both matches on tv with my brother…an absolute beat down of Court and a laughingly mediocre effort against King…the only way Riggs was going to play that pathetically was if it was on purpose…Court was the best player in women’s tennis…head to head, Court 22-10 over King…in 5 grand slam finals, Court won 4 of those over King…Riggs played to win over the better women’s player Court, and demolished her…Riggs did not play to win the match against King…

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

Margaret didn't try. The match meant nothing to her. Watch the match, Riggs didn't "beat her," she made error after error.

@ramstacp 5 ай бұрын

@@theoriginalthinker9199contradicting yourself yet again. Did she not try? Or did she make errors? That’s two different things that you are conflating. And how nice that you have determined for her that she didn’t “try”. Have you informed Court about this yet?

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

@@ramstacp Usually, due to lack of effort (not trying), you make errors. So, it's not two different things. And it's pretty obvious that she didn't try. No energy in her footwork, no fire in her demeanor, whatsoever! Do you know what body language means? Watch any match against a female player and you'll see the real Margaret Court. Nice try, though.

@PapaPolo 9 ай бұрын

Riggs fixed the match but I do understand why Billie Jean King needs to believe he tried his best.

@Paulafan5 9 ай бұрын

He destroyed Court (who has more GS titles than any other woman), so he shouldn't have lost to King.

@wrongwayranger4736 4 ай бұрын

The 100th ranked man would beat the top ten women players. The game was thrown

@blueskyalchemist623 4 ай бұрын

Incels would live in denial whenever a woman wins something.

@humaamsaid3282 9 ай бұрын

I feel like a lot of people are too quick to believe that it was rigged to comfort their worldview. If Billie Jean King, who actually played the match, says that he was trying to win then you should believe her. I don't think we should take the word of one guy who allegedly overheard a conversation sayig he would fix the match and take that as more credible. Also, why would he not admit it like 20 years later when he knew he was going to die from cancer? Makes no sense that he would stay silent about rigging it

@euj0 9 ай бұрын

The fact that Riggs an out of shape, and out of his prime destroyed an in her prime Court, and who was known to gamble big should give credence to the theory. In boxing the term is carrying the opponent in a fixed, or juiced fight. How much better do you think Serena Williams and her generation is compared to BJK? Serena got destroyed by the men's ranked 200+ player. Serena even says herself, while she was in her prime, she could not compete in the men's game. Why would Riggs admit it, and open his family to wire fraud investigations?

@Paulafan5 9 ай бұрын

Margaret Court is probably the GOAT in women's tennis and she was destroyed by Riggs. King was never on Court's level, so Riggs should have been able to win without much effort.

@jm_1214 9 ай бұрын

It was rigged. Riggs ea a gambler. He owed some bad people money and he had to play the match and lose

@jeffm7145 9 ай бұрын

Look at the shots he missed. An average 70 year old player could have made some of them. Of course Billie Jean won't admit it. She's s radical feminist with an agenda.

@bb1111116 8 ай бұрын

Many comments don’t show much knowledge about tennis. * Riggs beat Margaret Court. But Court played poorly. She stayed back and let Bobby come to the net. Court did not have good passing shots. - Did Court throw the match? No one claims that. So, playing poorly does not = someone tanking. * Billie Jean’s win first involved her coming to net forcing Bobby to hit passing shots. Then Billie Jean made Bobby run exhausting him. Billie Jean’s strategy was much better than Court’s. - The point is this. Watching both matches, Bobby played Billie Jean the same way he played Court. Billie Jean knew what he was going to do and countered it. * PS. 12 Years later, Bobby played mixed doubles with Vitas Gerulaitis against Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver. The women won again (6-2, 6-3, 6-4).

@jeffm7145 9 ай бұрын

Was clearly fixed

@hammondegger603 9 ай бұрын

word…

@Emma-yg2uf 9 ай бұрын

And she decided to be his friend afterwards. What an idiot. Don't befriend pig just because you humbled them.

@danievanrensburg9160 4 ай бұрын

She humbled no one. Riggs did more for women's tennis by throwing that match than she ever could. But hey girl power! Just remember that next time Lia Thomas wins a swimming competition or Fallon Fox breaks someone's orbital bone. Girls are strong and fast. 😉

@johanprx7985 6 ай бұрын

If he threw the match he would have done it for something other than money. Riggs was in it for the money. The mob was in it for the money. And it made no business sense for him to lose this match. If he had won he could have had a 3rd match with Chris Everett. And that match could have made even more money. And even if he had lost that 3rd match, he could have had a rematch and make even more money. By losing purposely he robbed himself of buckets of money. Nor he or the mob would have wanted that.

@Unvaccinated69 5 ай бұрын

A 55yr old man playing top women was a gimmick that wasn't going to be watched by people forever. You obviously don't know how much money they could.make from match fixing

@johanprx7985 5 ай бұрын

@@Unvaccinated69 They could easily have stretched it to 2 or 3 matches. Just look at what the WWE does. It's never just one match. Or better yet, look at a similar gimmick from Andy Kaufman. Him wrestling women is what he did over and over again and made good money because the women were desperately waiting for that one woman that would beat him and made him shut up. 2 or 3 matches from Bobby Riggs would have dwarfed any money they made out of that one match. But that could only happen if he had won that match.

@ramstacp 5 ай бұрын

@@johanprx7985my brain hurts reading this it’s so bad. WWE? Hahaha how pathetic

@theoriginalthinker9199 4 ай бұрын

Facts!

@BOBBY-et9xb 3 ай бұрын

Anything is possible

@michaelcampbell5849 9 ай бұрын

How old was Bobby Riggs was, when he played against Billie Jean King?

@Marked150 9 ай бұрын

@sunnavailable 5 ай бұрын

Today's women's tour would have no problem beating Riggs. The level of tennis back then was good but not today's standards.

@saviornub6534 5 ай бұрын

Prime Riggs or any Prime Male that has played at that level would destroy even today's women's tour. The difference in physical is too mucj

@mk-vg6vg 24 күн бұрын

@@saviornub6534nahh it would be pretty possible i wouldnt discredit anyone

@jensen55082 8 ай бұрын

Very overrated sporting event

@afellowamericanafellowamer5317 5 ай бұрын

I believe Riggs threw the match. He came off as the nice guy though

@fightclubdurden 5 ай бұрын

Fixed! No doubt

@44excalibur 9 ай бұрын

Of course it was fixed! Bobby Riggs was middle aged and Billie Jean King was in her physical prime! You want a real battle of the sexes? Have Billie Jean King go up against John McEnroe in his prime, and then we'll see. It would certainly be entertaining. 😂

@tysmothers 9 ай бұрын

I've read some articles and watch some videos about it and the purpose wasn't to prove who was better at tennis between men and women. The best men would beat the best women. It was about women getting paid more because they draw the same/similar size crowds so the discrepancy in pay was too large. The other side(the tennis organizers paying the athletes) felt that if the top women Margaret court(who lost) and Billy king can't beat a far out of his prime man then they definitely don't deserve a pay raise. One side was using it to discredit the other while the other didn't want this to be used against them.

@44excalibur 9 ай бұрын

@@tysmothers That's a good point, but I think that could also be determined by the amount of money female athletes bring to the sport in terms of crowd size and ticket sales, as well as television ratings compared to their male counterparts. If those things are comparable then yes, by all means they deserve a pay raise.

@yomismo74 9 ай бұрын

Billie never said she was better than men, or that women could compete against men, the only thing she wanted to prove is that women's tenis players deserve respect

@nickpoliseno279 9 ай бұрын

There was no fix!!! BJK beat him fair and square!!

@theoriginalthinker9199 5 ай бұрын

No it wasn't. Riggs was not talented enough, I don't think anyone's talented enough, to play a match against someone, and make it look like he was trying to win when he wasn't.

@josephvalinski849 5 ай бұрын

Lol

@juliocortez5209 3 ай бұрын

youre delusional

@AndreCollins-ur4ez 8 ай бұрын

William Jean King