how in the world did abe simon.....

Jersey Joe Walcott did not become a full time profesional fighter until during the second world war.

Beating him in the pre war era is interesting in terms of what he would go on to become, but not a major win.

I would not even say that beating Walcott is Simon's career defining win. His win over Gunnar Barlund is far more impresive taken in context.

 

I think you're throwing out the baby with the bathwater. It's still possible to say that Walcott and his Fred Astaire footwork are overrated without counting some of his Depression-era losses (with accompanying training issues) against him.

 

Maxims "victory" over JJW was panned by most all boxing writers covering that match.

 

http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Felix_Bocchicchio

This is what Walcott had as a MGR
Its as simple as 2 plus 2 equals' 4

 

I actually know a really nice guy that rates Walcott as a greater Heavy than Mike Tyson :-(

Walcott was quality, and highly talented. I like pretty much everything he does. But 'great' he was not.

 

Joe had to work to make a living ,training suffered as a result.

 

Walcotts defensive genius, as it were, it way overstated and overrated. The guy made mistakes in there, mistakes the got him hit with big punches. He wouldn't position he shoulders, he squared up, and you can have fancy feet if you want, if your still in front of a guy(Louis, Marciano II) he can hit you.

Not to say he was talented, crafty, and just damn good. He could also crack. Its just a fallacy to state he was a defensive technician. Just wasn't. His slick skills got him in position to land sneaky, huge shots, not avoid them.

 

Walcott often took fights with little or no prep time. Or he just got caught.

 

Walcott was pretty inconsistent around this time, holding down a job, feeding family first himself last, barely training, taking fights on little notice generally dont help a guy out

As well as this some points people mentioned ring true, walcott had a very dangerous style of fighting that relied on pinpoint timing and sometimes he got caught, it happens

Pretty unfortunate tho his boxing prime didnt match up to his physical one

 

He lost what 17 times? How many different guys not named Marciano or Louis defeated Walcott? A lot. The truth is Walcott has the right set of skills to make two famous heavyweight champions look bad, and gets over rated for losing performances.

Walcott had a shaky chin. Simon landed a good one, that is why he won. Walcott was very inconsistent in his performances.

 

Whomever said he was a defensive genius? :huh First time I've heard that.

 

This is generally the historic opinion...Walcott had to feed a family work a job and had a slew of kids that eat first, he was undernourished and was ahead then just fizzed out and stopped...he was not at his best or may have had to give one up.....Simon was a big, strong guy...he may have had a better shot these days because he was naturally big and strong

 

Has anyone got a fight report of the fight ?

This is from boxrec, United Press report :

"Abe Simon, 248, New York, knocked out Jersey Joe Walcott, 192, Camden, N.J., in 2:32 of the 6th round of the scheduled 8 round main event at Laurel Gardens Monday night. A right hand smash to the chin produced the KO." -United Press



It's a bit thin on detail. I've seen some people here state that Walcott was ahead and in charge of the fight for the first 5 rounds then gassed or got caught. Where can i find the source of such infomation ?

 

Although we'll never know, I am inclined to thinking that Walcott from about 1946-1951 would have beaten Simon and probably decisvely.

 

Abe Simon was a big, strong, huge, hard-punching dude. Just because a prime Louis blew threw him does not mean a thing. Louis was that great. Simon did not have to deal with that type of strength and power when he fought Walcott, who was more of a boxer than attacking puncher, and Simon could use his immense size and strength on Jersey Joe. Remember, the Louis that Walcott fought was a past-it Louis, diminished by the war years.