Marciano vs. Walcott 1 - kensoldtimeboxingchat.com

Jersey Joe Walcott became the oldest man in history to win the heavyweight championship when he knocked out Ezzard Charles in 1951 at age 37. On August 20, 1952, he signed to fight the 29 year old undefeated challenger Rocky Marciano at Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Marciano had an undefeated record of 42-0 with 37 knockouts, including a knockout of the great Joe Louis on October 26, 1951, earning him a shot at the title.

The bell rang on September 23, 1952 with Marciano a slight favorite with oddsmakers. Walcott put Marciano on the canvas for the first time in his career in the opening round and continued to take command of the fight as the fight progressed. Despite Rocky’s attempts to pressure Walcott, the slick veteran outboxed his younger opponent through round 12 which put him well ahead on the judge’s scorecards.

Marciano needed a knockout to win the fight as the 13th round began, and did just that with a spectacular right hand blow that put Jersey Joe down and out for the count. My father told me he saw the fight on closed circuit at a drive-in movie theatre in the days long before pay-per-view broadcasts at home. Ring Magazine named the bout their fight of the year and it marked the beginning of Marciano’s title reign that would last less than four years when he announced his retirement on April 27, 1956 at just 31 years old.

After his last win on September 21, 1955 over Archie Moore, Marciano mulled over his future and decided he had earned enough money to pack it in. He also said he had grown tired of training since he put every ounce of energy he had into training camp and no longer had the desire to do it. Joe Walcott would lose to Marciano in their rematch a year later via a first round knockout and retire immediately after the defeat. Marciano quit at 49-0 and remains the only heavyweight champion to do so to this day.

Both men are forever linked in one of ‘Boxing’s Classic’s’ that took place on a warm early fall evening in Philadelphia in 1952. Marciano died in a plane crash on August 31, 1969 while Jersey Joe had a long and distinguished career after boxing that included 10 years as chairman of the New Jersey State Athletic Commission. Both men were inducted in the IBHOF and deservedly so.