Yearning for the days of Jersey Joe

A few weeks ago, welterweight boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. won a fight worth about $32 million.

For the past 15 or 20 years, it seems the smaller divisions tend to dominate interest - at least in the United States.

Think a minute. How long has it been since you were thrilled by a brawling heavyweight match?

Or even drifted off to sleep while bored by a listless heavyweight match?

The heavyweight division dominated boxing most of the first 80 years of the 20th century.

No wonder, with champions like Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, etc.

The heavyweights dominate Europe now. It was different, once.

Jersey Joe Walcott (real name Arnold Cream) grew up around Camden, N.J., and Merchantville, N.J. in the early 1930s, as a skinny teen-aged preliminary boxer, gradually growing to a 193-pound heavyweight. He knocked out his first eight opponents, but he spentmost of the 1930s struggling in small clubs. Between menial jobs, he boxed only three times in 1941-1943. Late in 1944, a well-connected management team took charge of him.

After a few tuneups, Walcott decisioned highly-ranked fighters like Joe Baksi, Lee Q. Murray (disqualification) and knocked out Curtis Sheppard. After 15 years as a pro, Walcott finally earned his first $1,000 check. Heavyweight Jimmy Bivins was probably the hottest boxer as 1946 started.

Bivins was on a undefeated 26-bout streak until Walcott handled him easily in a huge upset at Cleveland on Feb. 25. The same year, Walcott whipped Lee Oma, Tommy Gomez, Joey Maxim twice in three tries, and had split decisions withElmer Ray, who had been on a 50-bout winning streak.

Heavyweight champion Joe Louis, back from the Army, had defended his title by knocking out Billy Conn and Tami Mauriello in 1946. It seemed there would be no heavyweight title bout in 1947, until the Madison Square Garden signed Louis and Walcott in November. The Garden was packed for Louis and Walcott on Dec. 5, 1947. Louis was a 10-1 favorite and the early betting was that Walcott wouldn’t be upright for the third round.

Strange scene. Louis took a floundering 2-count spill in the first round. Walcott landed a solid right in the fourth round that dropped Louis on his back, obviously hurt. Walcott sprinted backward the final three rounds, forfeiting a 15-round split decision to Louis.

As for the rematch, broadcaster Don Dunphy predicted, “It’ll be a million-dollar gate when it comes off.”

Not really.

There were only about 70,000 people in Yankee Stadium on the 1948 June night when Louis knockedout Walcott in the 11th round. People said if it had been a 10-round fight (instead of 15 rounds), Walcott would have won.

“I lost my golden opportunity,” Walcott told the radio listeners.

After that, I always admired Walcott as an elderly warrior with a youthful touch. In 1951 at Pittsburgh, Walcott became titleholder by knocking out Ezzard Charles with a single hook in the seventh round. He was still champion by Sept. 23, 1952, when he was matched with undefeated Rocky Marciano in Philadelphia.

At his training camp, Walcott told reporters: “He [Marciano] can’t fight. If I don’t beat him, take my name out of the record book.” In the 13th round at Philadelphia, Marciano and Walcott were virtually even until Marciano beat Walcott with a knockout punch, worth the heavyweight title. There was areturn match in Chicago the next spring that needed only one Marciano punch to flatten Walcott. In retirement, Walcott had a term or two as county sheriff in New Jersey. He died at 80.

Sports, Pages 18 on 07/09/2013

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