They Fall Hard — Alistair Boyle

When Gil Yates P.I. gets a message from a dying man, the illegitimate son of a prize fighting world champion looking for the answer to a twenty-five year old mystery, he is reluctant to jump into the ring. But with the prospect of new property to plant his beloved palms on, he decides to "throw in the doily" and head to Las Vegas to duke it out with some heavyweight gamblers. Champion Buddy Benson was the king of first round knockouts, so why did he suddenly refuse to answer the bell in a fight with a cocky young rookie thirty years ago? Some say he threw the fight and the subsequent rematch. They also say he couldn't have died of "natural causes." When Yates steps on the toes of a mysterious opponent he is quickly escorted back to Los Angeles. His investigation leads him from country clubs to sanitariums, both of which find him circling the ring with some highly eccentric interviewees. Will Yates be able to knockout this mystery before his client's round is over?