Barbados Joe Walcott

Joe Walcott, (March 13, 1873 – October 1, 1935) also known as Barbados Joe Walcott to distinguish him from the American known by the same name, was born in Demerara, British Guyana on March 13, 1873, and died October 1, 1935. Nicknamed "The Barbados Demon" Walcott, stood 5'1 1/2 tall, was a formidable fighter who fought from 1890 to 1911.

Biography

Walcott spent part of his youth in Barbados. As a youngster, he set out to see the world, and got a job as a cabin boy on a ship sailing to Boston. He soon settled in Boston as a piano mover, porter and other odd jobs. Later, he landed a job in a gym, and became popular with other boxers as a human punching bag before turning professional.

Professional career

Walcott first challenged for the lightweight crown on October 29, 1897, but was TKO'ed by the champion George "Kid" Lavigne in the 12th round. He was also unsuccessful in his first attempt to win the world welterweight title when he was outpointed by Mysterious Billy Smith on December 6, 1898. Walcott won the title on December 15, 1901 from James "Rube" Ferris via a 5 round TKO.

On April 4, 1904 Walcott defended his title against Dixie Kid. He was winning the fight handily when the referee disqualified Walcott for no apparent reason in the 20th round. The match was disregarded as a title bout when it was discovered that the referee had bet on Dixie Kid to win the match.

Walcott also fought the well known Sam Langford to a draw, and met Joe Gans in a non-title fight. The Gans fight occurred on September 30, 1904, and was scored a draw after 20 rounds. After the Gans fight, Walcott accidentally shot himself in the hand during a New Year's celebration, effectively ending his days as a top prizefighter. While he would return to the ring in 1906 (losing his welterweight crown to William "Honey" Mellody in the process), Walcott never regained his old form, losing most of his subsequent fights.

Walcott squandered a fortune earned in the ring and eventually found employment as a custodian at the old Madison Square Garden.

Nat Fleischer rated him as the greatest welterweight of all time, and he is included in the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.

External links

* [http://www.boxrec.com/print.php?boxer_id=021091 Career Record]