Heavyweight champions

Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955, and held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956. He is the only ...

and

Jersey Joe Walcott Arnold Raymond Cream (January 31, 1914 – February 25, 1994), best known as Jersey Joe Walcott, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1930 to 1953. He held the NYSAC, NBA, and ''The Ring'' heavyweight titles from 1951 to 1952, ...

fought two historic boxing matches in 1952 and 1953. The first fight saw Marciano, the undefeated challenger, take on the

world heavyweight champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...

Jersey Joe in a hard-fought championship fight. The fight culminated in a 13th round

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

scored by Marciano, in a major comeback victory after Walcott stacked up a wide lead throughout the majority of the bout. The fight and the final round were ranked as 1952's fight and round of the year respectively by The Ring, and is considered one of the greatest heavyweight championship bouts of all time. The two fighters had a rematch the following year, and saw Marciano's first successful defense of his title, winning a quick victory over the former champion.

Background

During Jersey Joe Walcott's over two decade long boxing career, he would fight for the heavyweight championship several times. In four close fights, he lost title shots to

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He rei ...

and

Ezzard Charles Ezzard Mack Charles (July 7, 1921 – May 28, 1975), known as the Cincinnati Cobra, was an American professional boxer and World Heavyweight Champion. Known for his slick defense and precision, he is often considered the greatest light heavywei ...

(twice to each), before finally winning the

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heavyweight title in 1951, after scoring a knockout victory over Charles in a third match. At the age of 37, Walcott was the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship (a record he held for over 30 years until he was surpassed by

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. In boxing, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1967 and 1997. He is a two-time world heavyweight champio ...

in 1994). He defended his title with a 15-round unanimous decision in a fourth fight with Charles, before facing Marciano. Rocky Marciano had built up an impressive record of 42 straight victories, winning all but five in knockout or stoppage. He rose into prominence in the early 1950s, scoring notable victories over several top contenders, including Joe Louis, before facing off with Walcott. Marciano was a slight favorite to beat the older champion, though the more experienced Walcott entered the fight confident of victory.

First fight

The two fighters met on September 23, 1952, in

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. The fight proved to be a very hard-fought match for both men. Walcott spent most of the fight using his superior boxing skills and

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to keep the challenger on the outside, where he could more easily pick his shots and effectively counter Rocky's punches. Marciano attempted to close the distance, hoping to wear the champion down with constant punching. Walcott scored a knock down in the opening round (the first of only two times in Rocky’s career that he was knocked off his feet), and from there put up a comfortable lead over the challenger, although Marciano kept constant pressure on the champion, scoring heavy blows through the fight. Going into the 13th round, Walcott was ahead on all scorecards (8-4 and 7-5 by the judges and 7-4 by referee Charley Daggert), and seemed poised to win the fight by a decision. This all changed less than a minute into the round, when Marciano landed a devastating right hook (just before Walcott could land one of his own) which knocked the champion out cold. Marciano won via 13th-round knockout, and was now the new heavyweight champion of the world.

Rematch

Rocky Marciano and Jersey Joe Walcott 1953

Marciano's first title defense was a rematch with Walcott eight months later, meeting in

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. Although Marciano was heavily favored to defeat Walcott (who was now 39 years old), fans were expecting another tough fight. The fight would end up being almost the opposite. The fight saw both men attempt to repeat strategies that worked in the previous bout, with Walcott trying to keep the champion at range and Marciano aggressively trying to keep constant pressure on the challenger. Only two minutes into the first round, Marciano countered one of Walcott's jabs with a left hook followed by a right uppercut that sent the former champion to the ground. Although stunned, Walcott did attempt to beat the count, but ultimately rose a split second too late, and was counted out. The first-round knockout would be Marciano's quickest title defense.

Aftermath and legacy

After the fight, Walcott ultimately decided to retire, but stayed active in boxing, going on to become a referee (presiding over several championship bouts including the controversial rematch between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston in 1965). In the 1970s and 1980s he also served as the first African American

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, and as chairman of the

New Jersey State Athletic Commission The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board (SACB) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New Jersey, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers, mixed martial arts fighters, seconds ...

. Marciano would go on to hold the heavyweight title until his retirement in 1956, defending his title five more times and going on to retire undefeated and untied. He never attempted a comeback (although he did spar with Muhammad Ali in a famous computer fight), and remained a popular figure in boxing after retirement, particularly on television and radio before his untimely death in a 1969 plane crash. Marciano and Walcott's first fight is regarded as one of the greatest in boxing history, being named 1952’s fight of the year by ''The Ring.'' The fight was also ranked the 16th greatest fight of all time by both ''The Ring'' and

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, while

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ranked it as the 10th greatest heavyweight match of all time.

References

External links

Jersey Joe Walcott vs. Rocky Marciano (1st meeting)

Rocky Marciano vs. Jersey Joe Walcott (2nd meeting)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marciano, Walcott II Heavyweight championship matches 1952 in boxing Rocky Marciano 1953 in boxing 1952 in American sports 1953 in American sports Boxing matches in the United States