Sumo Match-fixing Accusations Fly Against Japan’s Top Wrestler

Japan's current number one wrestler is from Mongolia…Yokozuna Asahoryu.

An unnamed wrestler and another man are accusing him of paying $6,500 a match to wrestlers to let him win.

Sumo's bosses will discuss the accusations next week with the Yokozuna (grand champion) present.

Lower ranked wrestlers don't make a lot of money. 750,000 yen would mean a lot to them.

There is a lot of bitterness towards Asahoryu because he ranks at the top of Japan's Sport – Sumo…and the Japanese don't like it.

Some say that he, Asashoryu, did not work hard enough to get to the top and that he does not maintain the code of conduct of sumo wrestlers.

A couple of years back, two sumo wrestlers made allegations of match-fixing and later died within hours of each other.

Coincidence? Not likely.

Still, the sumo world is a tight world and no one is likely to speak out about match-fixing.

I used to like to watch Sumo till an older Japanese friend began to tell me one by one who would win the matches I was watching.

The 8th or 9th time in a row he was right, I realized that he knew something I didn't.

Sumo matches are fixed.

Problem is… the average viewer doesn't always know WHICH WAY the match is rigged.

What do you think?