1953 - FOUR STAR PLAYHOUSE: Knockout

Writer: Morton Fime
Producer: Broderick Crawford
Executive prod.: Don W. Sharpe
Dir.: Blake Edwards

Mike Dundee: Broderick Crawford
Bobby Gregory: Ron Hargrave
Fred Stevens: Buddy Wright
The Bodyguard: Leonard Nimoy 

Bobby Gregory was discovered by Mike Dundee as a great boxer. Mike's opponent, Jack Balady, who uses the boxers for business only, is after good boxers, too. On a training farm Mike Dundee arranges for Bob to learn anything his best coach can teach him about boxing. Soon the coach phones in and tells Dundee that Bob is ready. From now on he wins all the fights across the country. Jack Balady meets Dundee after he and Bobby have watched a fight with Stevens, Balady's champion. Balady islways backed by his body guards. 

Now Jack Balady gets interested. While the body guards are playing cards, he makes a plan: He pays his man, Stevens, to pretend that he has to loose the fight in order to make Bob the champion and then to make money through him, betting $ 200,000 on Bobby, the newcomer. At night a drunken Stevens visits Bobby and tells him about the plan. On the ring Bob Gregory does not fight hard. He cannot fight a man who does not give his best and he cannot really fight knowing the other has to loose against his will. 

In the end he convinces Stevens to do his best and lets himself be knocked out, giving up the championchip. Steven does so. Both know that Balady will take it out on Stevens.  After the fight Dundee, Bobby, Stevens and Balady meet and discuss the unexpected outcome of the fight. When Balady begins to threaten Dundee, Dundee knocks him down. As they want to leave they see the body guards standing in the corridor and leave through the back window. Later Bobby Gregory becomes champion after the rematch.