Barbados Joe Walcott

Joe Walcott
Statistics
Real name	Joe Walcott
Nickname(s)	Barbados Demon
Rated at	Welterweight
Height	1.56 m (5 ft 1 in)
Reach	65 in (165 cm)
Nationality	Barbadian
Born	(1873-03-13)March 13, 1873 Demerara, British Guiana
Died	October 1, 1935(1935-10-01) (aged 62)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	166
Wins	104
Wins by KO	61
Losses	32
Draws	27
No contests	3

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 a Barbadian boxer who held the World Welterweight Title. Nicknamed "The Barbados Demon" Walcott, who stood 5'1½ tall, was a formidable fighter who fought from 1890 to 1911. 'Barbados' Joe Walcott was the idol of the later 'Jersey' Joe Walcott, who chose to use his idol's real name as his own ring name in his honour.

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 (left) before his fight with Joe Gans in 1904

World welterweight champion

Walcott first challenged for the Lightweight Championship 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 Championship when he was outpointed by Mysterious Billy Smith on December 6, 1898. Walcott won the title on December 15, 1901 from James "Rube" Ferns via a 5 round TKO.

Controversy vs. Dixie Kid

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.

Later career

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 in 2003 he was included in the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.

Notable Bouts

Result	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes[1]
Draw	Joe Gans	PTS	20	1904-09-30	Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California
Draw	Sam Langford	PTS	15	1904-09-05	Lake Massabesic Coliseum, Manchester, New Hampshire	Retained World Welterweight Title
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	Young Peter Jackson	KO	4 (10)	1904-06-10	Germania Maennerchor Hall, Baltimore, Maryland
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	Dixie Kid	DQ	20	1904-04-29	Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California	Lost World Welterweight Title Title later reinstated
Draw	Young Peter Jackson	PTS	(20)	1903-06-18	Balanee Box, Portland, Oregon	Retained World Welterweight Title
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	Mysterious Billy Smith	TKO	4 (20)	1903-05-28	Columbia A.C., Portland, Oregon
Draw	Philadelphia Jack O'Brien	PTS	10	1903-04-20	Health & Physical Culture A.C., Boston, Massachusetts
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	George Gardner	PTS	20	1902-04-25	Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	Philadelphia Jack O'Brien	NWS	6	1902-04-11	Industrial A.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Newspaper Decision
Draw	Young Peter Jackson	PTS	10	1902-03-13	Germania Maennerchor Hall, Baltimore, Maryland
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	Young Peter Jackson	NWS	6	1902-01-13	Penn Art Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Newspaper Decision
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	Rube Ferns	TKO	5 (20), 2:50	1901-12-18	International A.C., Fort Erie, Ontario	Won World Welterweight Title
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	Young Peter Jackson	PTS	20	1901-11-28	Music Hall, Baltimore, Maryland
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	George Gardner	PTS	20	1901-09-27	Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	Mysterious Billy Smith	DQ	10 (20)	1900-09-24	Hartford Coliseum, Hartford, Connecticut
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	Mysterious Billy Smith	PTS	25	1900-05-04	Broadway A.C., New York, New York
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	Joe Choynski	TKO	7 (25)	1900-02-23	Broadway A.C., New York, New York
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	Mysterious Billy Smith	PTS	20	1898-12-06	Lenox A.C., New York, New York	For World Welterweight Title
Draw	Mysterious Billy Smith	PTS	25	1898-04-14	Park City Theater, Bridgeport, Connecticut
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	Kid Lavigne	TKO	12 (20)	1897-10-29	Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California	For World Lightweight Title
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	Kid Lavigne	PTS	15	1895-12-02	Empire A.C., Queens, New York
Draw	Mysterious Billy Smith	PTS	15	1895-03-01	Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts

References

External links

• Professional boxing record for Barbados Joe Walcott from BoxRec

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