Basic Trope: The protagonist beats their opponent fairly after the opponent is caught cheating.
- Straight: Flash "The Coney Island Crusher" Young, the international, united Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the world (as well as an octuple division champion) is up against Tyrone "The Slugger of the Slums" Cassius, the latter of whom hits Flash with a series of fouls (elbow strikes, headbutts, foot stomping, etc.), and Flash manages to beat Tyrone fair and square.
- Exaggerated: Tyrone fouls Flash in the most blatant ways possible. Flash sends Tyrone flying out the ring with a thunderous left cross, if not outright kills him.
- Downplayed:
- Tyrone gets caught cheating a lot, and as such, he gets disqualified.
- Tyrone cheats here and there, but it's only bad enough that his points are taken and Flash wins by unanimous decision if he hasn't already knocked Tyrone out.
- Tyrone is caught cheating by Flash, but not the ref, and Flash is enraged enough that Flash pretty much hospitalizes Tyrone, if not outright kills him.
- Tyrone had bribed the ref in order to give him long counts. Cue the above scenario.
- Justified:
- Cheating is Flash's Berserk Button. Tyrone was too dumb to realize that slamming down hard on it is a surefire way to end up knocked outside the ring and within an inch of his life.
- Cheating right in front of the ref is enough for points to be deducted. Flash won because Tyrone broke too many rules.
- Inverted: Tyrone straight up has no choice but to cheat if he wants to defeat Flash once and for all, no matter how little he wants to.
- Subverted:
- It seems that Tyrone is about to get the beating of a lifetime after being caught... But apparently, Flash isn't even catching on!
- Flash decides to get even and start fouling Tyrone himself (though less of throwing elbows, knees, and stomps and more of absolutely beating the stuffing out of Tyrone and refusing the referee to intervene).
- Double Subverted:
- Flash eventually catches on. What happens next is not pretty.
- Flash catches himself from cheating, and decides to just humiliate Tyrone by sending him out the ring.
- Parodied: The match has been sanctioned by the WVBA. Flash still beats Tyrone with basic boxing skills.
- Zig-Zagged: Tyrone cheats sometimes, other times not, and Flash's reactions are similarly oscillating.
- Averted: Tyrone doesn't cheat at all.
- Enforced: It's a good way to show An Aesop that Cheaters Never Prosper.
- Lampshaded: "Cheating? In front of Flash? Buddy, you're just signing your own death wish."
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: Tyrone outright refuses to cheat.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
Congrats, after Defeating the Cheating Opponent fairly, I'd say you more than earned that win.
