Aftermath & Claims: Opinions are mixed on Reddit regarding later allegations from a 2013 report claiming Riggs threw the match to clear mob debts, but King has firmly maintained that he played to win and did not tank
Bobby Riggs wasn’t a tennis player, he was a hustler. His hustle just happened to be tennis.
He was Amarillo Slim with an aluminum Head tennis racket.
https://marylandgolfcamps.com/won-a-bet-hit-golf-ball-on-frozen-lake.html
Riggs was 55 years old so the bloom was off the rose but he was presented with the opportunity for the score of his life. The only problem was there was more money to be made by losing than by winning.
The numbers speak for themselves.
Regardless whether he threw the match to pay off the mob, if “doze guyz” had ever got an inkling that Riggs had taken a dive, it would have greatly diminished the chances for his continued good health, so there was no option but to maintain the façade.