Im not lookin at Abe record,but I think it was fairly good, & I guess he could hit. Joe was a in -an-outer at the stage they fought an probably didnt train.
Walcott had fought 8 times in the previous 2 years and times in the last 3 months when he fought Simon.
Walcott was a tricky fighter but some times his cleverness is a bit overstated imo.If he was that great he shouldn't be losing to Ray and Layne imo. Simon beating Barlund doesn't awe me I'm afraid.
With a little luck (or a lot) any heavyweight can knock out any other, especially if he's built like Abe Simon.
Abe would be a champion today even though he wasnt a power puncher in HIS day but he went 12 rounds with Louis and a total of about 18 rounds in two fights. He's highly underrated for a big man unlike today's slow unathletic HW's in comparison to what he brought to the table.
The book Jersey Joe Walcott: A Boxing Biography gives that account. Basically it says that Walcott was out of shape, weighed only 180 pounds, and had had nothing to eat since some tea and potatoes the day before. He outboxed Simon early, rattled him more than once, but Simon's wrestling and mauling tactics wore him down till by the sixth he had nothing left and collapsed from fatigue more than anything else. It also says that Simon claimed years later that Walcott hit him harder than anyone, including Joe Louis. Obviously, it's not a contemporary source and quite strongly pro-Walcott, so can't be taken as gospel.
JJW was an old time fighter that was never protected like some fighters were.....he learned his tricks on the job his record is deceptive but like many here said he was inconsistent mainly due to his inability to train oe spar with a consistency remember fighters like Marciano and Louis were immediately pulled under a trainer and manager and ad that consistency their entire career.
1940-02-12 : Jersey Joe Walcott 192 lbs lost to Abe Simon 256 lbs by KO at 2:32 in round 6 of 8 Location: Laurel Garden, Newark, New Jersey, USA Referee: Paul Cavalier "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
Walcott was fighting often enough, but he was not a full time professional fighter. He was working a full time job, and he was not being managed as a prospect. He was not putting in full training camps before major fights. This is actually a very unremarkable win!
They both split a series with Charles as well, so perhaps that just brackets him as being around the same place as Charles. Barlund was at least a legitimate contender when Simon beat him, which Walcott was not.
192 lbs could mean a lot of things, depending upon Walcott's training regime. It would be a pretty low weight for him, if he was not actively cutting his weight down.