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Marciano-Walcott II
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The
Brockton Blockbuster gave Jersey Joe a chance at his newly won title
in the spring of 1953, eight months after their first meeting. Fans
hoped to see another thriller, but they were sadly disappointed. It
was not Rocky's fault, though.
The fight ended in the first round after a couple of minutes
of harmless sparring, when Rocky caught Walcott with a right uppercut
and knocked him down. It was not a particularly hard punch and Rocky
was amazed that it toppled Joe. He had hit him harder many times with
the same punch in their first fight and Joe had withstood the blows,
but now he was taking the count. Fully conscious, he listened to the
count from a sitting position and made no effort to get up until it
was too late. Catcalls and boos resounded through the Chicago Stadium
when the old man rose nimbly from the canvas the instant the count was
over. The jeers from 16,000 outraged fans grew louder as he walked
down the aisle to his dressing room and out of boxing forever. Joe got
his guaranteed purse of $250,000 but he finished his career in
disgrace.
If the battle did nothing else it gave support to the old
ring adage, "They never come back." Joe was the seventh ex-heavyweight
champion who had tried and failed. |
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John Durant - The Heavyweight Champions
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