'Pulp Fiction': Marcellus paying Butch to throw fight

In this scene from 'Pulp Fiction', Marcellus pays Butch to throw a boxing match.

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In these clips, Marcellus pays Butch, an over-the-hill boxer played by Bruce Willis, to through an upcoming fight. Again, the dialogue in this scene foreshadows scenes to come later in the film. Marcellus is mostly out of view except for the back of his head and we see Butch’s face as he is being instructed by Marcellus to forget his pride. That word Pride is a word that Marcellus will be forced to deal with himself later in the film and though it seems ironic and random that he uses the word, it is not a coincidence. Asking a proud man like Butch to throw a fight is tantamount to rape, which is symbolized by what happens to Marcellus later. After getting Butch to go along with taking a dive, Marcellus adds further insult to this by giving Butch some money. Now, remember the question Jules asked the man in the previous scene, when he asked “Does Marcellus look like a bitch?” In street talk, a bitch is a  prostitute or someone who will sell their soul, which reinforces my belief that Marcellus’s soul is in that briefcase because he believes that money can buy anything. And, in movies, a briefcase is almost always connected with money.

So, by not only making Butch throw a fight but by also paying him to do it, Marcellus is treating Butch like a bitch, or a prostitute. 

Also, in this scene we see Jules and Vincent. Right away, you can see the animosity in Vincent towards Butch, for apparently no reason. But maybe this disrespect on Vincents’ part is because no one respects a man with no principles and the word’s gotten around that Butch has been paid to throw a fight.