Primo Carnera defeated George Godfrey on June 23, 1930, via disqualification after a low blow, sparking controversy and riots among 35,000 spectators

1. The official narrative: foul, disqualification, large gate

Prominent fight records state the June 23, 1930 match at Shibe Park ended when George Godfrey was disqualified for a foul — commonly described as an intentional low blow — and the referee awarded the contest to Primo Carnera in the fifth round, with the event reportedly attracting about 35,000 fans and roughly $160,000 at the gate ^{[1] [2]}. Several boxing databases and contemporary summaries repeat the “foul/disqualified” outcome as the formal result ^{[1] [3]}.

2. Crowd reaction: disorder and near-riot are consistently reported

Multiple sources concur that the crowd reacted violently to the disqualification: BoxRec’s fight entry cites “scenes of wild disorder,” while narrative histories and retrospectives say Philadelphia police were “hard-pressed” to stop a riot inside the ballpark ^{[1] [5]}. Attendance figures vary — 35,000 is commonly cited, while one vendor page and some histories suggest up to 40,000 — but all accounts agree the crowd was unusually large and enraged at the decision ^{[1] [2]}.

3. Why the call was controversial: accusations of a fix

Contemporaneous press and later historians repeatedly note that many observers considered the bout fixed. Writers point out that Godfrey appeared to be beating Carnera before the disqualification, and that the referee’s decision — described by some sources as “mysterious” — immediately prompted accusations that the outcome had been arranged ^{[4] [3] [5]}. Boxing historians have linked this fight to the broader controversy that dogged Carnera’s U.S. tenure, where allegations of mob influence and fixed contests followed him ^[6].

4. Context on Carnera’s reputation and the sport’s backstage politics

The Godfrey fight occurred during a period when Carnera’s career was shadowed by persistent allegations of mob control and managed match outcomes; later biographical summaries note that figures like Owney Madden and trainer Abe Attell were tied to Carnera’s U.S. career and that critics accused him of being “mob controlled” ^[6]. Those broader claims provide context for why a disputed DQ at a big Philadelphia gate would trigger immediate talk of fixes ^{[6] [5]}.

5. Discrepancies in round and crowd-size details

Sources differ on a few specifics that the original query asserts definitively. Several accounts say the disqualification occurred in the fifth round ^{[1] [2] [3]}, while a few others list the sixth ^{[4] [6] [7]}. Attendance is reported as “about 35,000” by BoxRec and as “40,000” by some vendor and retrospective pages ^{[1] [2]}. Those variations reflect the imperfect record-keeping and partisan reporting common in 1930 sports journalism ^{[1] [2]}.

6. What sources do and do not say about specific details

Available sources uniformly report the disqualification, the crowd’s violent reaction, and the perception of a fix ^{[4] [1] [5]}. Sources describe the foul as a low blow or simply “a foul” but do not provide a contemporaneous referee statement or a detailed round-by-round referee report to definitively prove intent ^{[2] [1]}. Sources do not offer definitive proof in the record supplied here that the fight was fixed beyond contemporaneous allegations and the surrounding context of alleged mob influence ^{[4] [6]}.

7. Bottom line for readers

The core facts are clear in available reporting: Godfrey was disqualified for a foul and Carnera was awarded the bout on June 23, 1930, at a packed Shibe Park; the decision triggered violent crowd unrest ^{[1] [2] [5]}. Whether the disqualification was a legitimate enforcement of the rules or part of a fixed outcome remains disputed in contemporary and later accounts; many observers called the decision “mysterious” and the fight “fixed,” while formal records simply list the DQ ^{[4] [3] [1]}.