BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRO-BARBADIAN " BARBADOS JOE WALCOTT " KNOWN TO HIS BOXING FANS TO DISTINGUSH HIM FROM HIS AMERICAN KNOWN BY THE SAME NAME : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

                     BLACK                 SOCIAL                HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         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 WelterweightChampionship 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.