What if Mickey Walker got the decision over Jack Sharkey?

Loved Walker, but had he beaten Sharkey, I don't think history changes that much, for Walker, the road still goes though Schmeling, and we saw how that played out. Maybe Schmeling keeps the title and has to defend against either Carnera or maybe give Max Baer a chance, either way I think the title falls into Max Baer's hands one way or other. Perhaps Sharkey and Carnera never become champs.

 

It would have been a historic upset but Walker was not destined for heavyweight success against premier contenders. You saw what Schmeling did to him. Joe Louis might have left him lying dead in the ring. And I am not kidding or using hyperbole.

 

It appears the majority have in favor of Sharkey.
Walker blood was all over Sharkey in the last round from the cut eye.
The international sport tabulation (polls) Sharkey has a slight edge.

I always prefer the round by round recap.
From the Newspaper. 8 for sharkey 6 for walker 2 even.
Walker faded dramatically down the stretch run with the cut hampering him big time.
Round by Round recap
1 Even
2 Walker
3 Walker
4 Sharkey
5 Sharkey
6 Even
7 Walker
8 Even
9 Sharkey
10 Walker
11 Walker
12 Sharkey
13 Sharkey
14 Sharkey
15 Sharkey

So flip a few even rounds for sharkey & it would appear walker got blow out

Plus sharkey has a knockdown in 5th

It's gotta be hard to pick this as a walker Win. If you give walker both even round it would be 8 walker 8 Sharkey but even then Sharkey had a knockdown.

It appears Walker was lucky to get a draw.

If walker took a few of the latter rounds in a different newspaper than he might have a chance. But he gave away 4 rounds in a row to end the fight & ended covered in blood.

Also of Note Sharkey claimed he hurt a knuckle on his right hand in round 1 & he could use his right properly throughout the fight.

 

You didnt get extra points for knockdown back then.

Im excited to be given the privilege to watch the complete film of the fight this weekend. Ill post by scorecard afterwards.

 

.. & of 21 writers at ringside, 16 thought that Walker deserved the decision...

& the hurt knuckle thing.. come on.. it's boxing, boxers are always hurting their hands... that's lame.. look at the massive disadvantages Walker was facing in that fight..

By the time Walker fought Sharkey he was 32 years old and had been a professional over 15 years, with a huge number of fights under his belt.. Walker started fighting as a teenager and had been through wars at WW, MW & LHW & with some HWs by then.. the wear and tear on his body from those fights (against great fighters too) would’ve taken a huge toll by then..

He was simply a natural MW who fought at LHW & HW.. he was giving up a ton of size to Sharkey, a legit HW.. Walker was listed around 160-170 pounds for this fight, while Sharkey was closer to 200 pounds and stood 6ft tall with a 76 inch reach. Walker was 5’7 with a 67 inch reach. That’s a huge physical mismatch.. height, weight, and reach all favored Sharkey.

Sharkey’s supposed knuckle injury doesn’t erase the fact that he had every physical edge and still couldn’t put Walker away.

Walker’s fight record wasn’t just long , it was grueling. He fought in an era where boxers took on all comers, often with little recovery time. His style.. aggressive, come-forward brawling.. meant he absorbed a lot of damage over the years too.. Add to that the fact that he wasn’t exactly living a monk’s life outside the ring.. yet despite all this, he drew 15 rounds with the future HW champ. That’s not just toughness.. that’s elite level skill.

Sharkey’s knuckle injury might’ve been a factor, but it’s a weak excuse when you stack it against Walker’s disadvantages.

 

Sounded much closer to me:

 

"21 writers at ringside, 16 thought that Walker deserved the decision..."

Zero mention of this in the paper. It could be reported in another paper. Walker was bleeding tremendously at the end & had a knockdown. happen to him Hard to figure how many had him winning. The international sport tabulation (polls) Sharkey has a slight edge.

There were several people who thought Walker won but bleeding badly & having a knockdown it's going to be hard to get a victory with those working against you. If it's scored correctly Walker would of had to win 2 extra rounds just to be even.

To be fair Sharkey used the hurt knuckle as "no kind of excise" He was just stating a fact. Boxer's often do this claim this or that went wrong with them physically.

Instead of drawing a grand conclusion I just presented a rounds breakdown. As it tells the most complete story. Walker definitely had the fight in hand but wilted the last 4 rounds. Again a different newspaper may have walker winning one of the last 4 rounds. But even so if he was knockdown he would of had to win a couple more rounds.

 

I told you, knockdowns didnt get you an extra point under the scoring system Sharkey and Walker fought under.

If you can find a more comprehensive poll than the one I posted above which is an exact split between the two fighters Id be more than happy to read it. I posted 59 expert eyewitness opinions. 25 for Sharkey, 25 for Walker, and 9 even.

 

I just got to watch the fight. I scored it 8 rounds for Sharkey, 4 rounds for Walker, 3 even. Tough fight to score. Kind of sloppy.

Both fighters had a hard time with the height of the other. Walker had to leap in a lot and Sharkey had to reach a lot. Both fighters typically looking to land one punch and clinch.

Sharkey was surprisingly better on the inside than Walker. He had a real knack for landing short quick punches while Walker was trying to get in close.

Walker was best when he made Sharkey reach in and countered him. Only two times during the fight did Walker really go all out and looked really good but the spurts were short lived.

Sharkey looked really good when he was being aggressive and asserting himself but he started this too late. The skill of both guys cancelled the other out for long stretches of the fight making it more interesting than exciting.

The knockdown in the fifth wasnt really a knockdown. Walker leaped up with a left hook which missed bringing both feet off the ground. Sharkey landed an uppercut but it was Walker missing his punch while leaping that left him off balance and he fell. He was up immediately, no count, and the ref wiped his gloves. I scored this round close for Sharkey anyway so even if you score it a knockdown it was of no consequence.

In the ninth Walker landed a good punch and chased Sharkey to the ropes. Walker followed up with a barrage of half a dozen punches all of which Sharkey slipped while sliding along the ropes with his hands down at his sides.

Walker was cut in the 12th or 13th round and continuously pawed at his eye but it didnt really seem to effect his performance.

In the 15th Sharkey landed a huge uppercut that nearly tore Walkers head off and Walker didnt even blink. That was very impressive.

Theres no way for me to score this fight for Walker. Even a draw is a generous decision to Walker in my opinion.

 

Where did you get access to the full fight?

 

I was wondering the very same thing myself

 

I am spending the weekend at Historian Steve Compton’s house in order to watch a series of amateur boxing films in his collection.

 

That’s awesome! If I were you I’d also try to watch the full Corbett-Fitz footage and full Gans-Nelson footage if he’s up for showing it.