In Dec 1896 Earp refereed the Heavyweight Boxing Championship in San Francisco, (Bob Fitzsimmons vs Tom Sharkey) having been selected by the Hearst family whom he had frequently provided security detail when Hearst traveled. By all accounts of the day Fitzsimmons was leading the fight when he knocked Sharkey out, but Earp proclaimed Sharkey the winner by default claiming Fitzsimmons had hit Sharkey with a low blow. All bets were paid off; it is unknown if Hearst was in on it. Earp soon left San Francisco to open a saloon in Nome, AK during the Alaskan Gold Rush. Some yrs later the fight doctor admitted the fight was fixed & he had "doctored" Sharkey to make his injuries look real.