Question for the historians here : At their absolute best , how much separated Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott in pure boxing ability? Not résumé or achievement s, just head to head talent , skill and who had the higher ceiling?
Pure boxing skill wise I think they were close although I think Charles was the more complete fighter of the two while Walcott was the more defensively talented and harder hitter. They went 2-2 which says a lot about how evenly matched they were H2H. Ezzard Charles' ceiling was definitely higher given that he had beaten Archie Moore, Joe Louis, Charley Burley, Lloyd Marshall, Jimmy Bivins, Joey Maxim. Walcott didn't become at his absolute best until he was much older.
If not getting beat in a fight is indicative of talent and skill, then it's Charles by a country mile. If you are swayed by highlight reels of silly dance steps then it could be Journeyman Joe.
Excellent analysis. I've always found these two fascinating and thought that they were quite evenly matched at HW.
Walcott was a great fighter, he was no journeyman.. Consider he probably beat Joe Louis.. He also knocked out Ezzard Charles to win the title and was ahead in 13 when Marciano landed a perfect shot to stop the fight .. Then throw in that he beat HOFERS Maxim, Johnson & Bivins too.. & a host of other solid fighters like Ray, Sheppard & Baksi..
And here's what his contemporaries, guys who watched him over his career, had to say about Arnold... San Francisco Chronicle, 11/30/47 "As a journeyman fighter (Walcott) who wants to stay in the business, he has learned to protect himself, even at the cost of displeasing the crowd." Washington Evening Star, 12/6/47 "Joe Louis... today is wearing a tarnished crown which belongs on the fuzzy semibald head of Jersey Joe Walcott, 34-year old journeyman heavyweight and ebony-hued father of six children." Plain Dealer 6/23/48 "(Walcott) only lately come to be recognized as a fair journeyman operator after 17 years of ring warfare." Washington Evening Star 12/8/49 "Walcott doesn't have youth. He's older than Louis. Jersey Joe lacks the vicious, killing instinct which lifted Dempsey to the peak of popularity... He is, in short, a plodding journeyman heavyweight who had his night." Burton Hawkins, Buffalo News, 7/30/48 (Walcott) He's a moderately talented, but extremely cautious- a 34-year old journeyman heavyweight who finds himself squarely in the championship picture strictly due to the mediocrity of his competition." Milwaukee Journal, 6/22/48 "For Walcott is strictly a second rater, a journeyman boxer working at a trade." Richmond Times Dispatch, 3/5/50 "The heavyweights are such a poor lot that a journeyman fighter (Walcott), who once quit the ring but came back to fight regularly, can make the No. 7 heavyweight look like a novice amateur scrapper." Oregon Journal, 7/20/51 "His is a story- which for sheer drama- rivals that of another old man, Jim Braddock. The both hail from New Jersey and each was a journeyman for years without ever getting past first base in their race for fame and fortune." Commercial Appeal, Memphis, 6/5/52 "Though he's an effective journeyman artilleryist, Walcott's style places heavy demands upon his legs as he jibs about in the manner of barefooted man on a sun-blasted tin roof."
Bro tip, Seamie Comedy is all about confidence, timing and delivery. You gotta believe in the joke even if the audience doesn't laugh, don't try and explain it to them.
IMO the definition of a journeyman is a durable, experienced fighter who is brought in to test prospects & give champions a workout, rather than to win titles & stack up elite wins. Walcott won the HW crown & beat numerous HOFers (some multiple times).. he's also cited by many ATGs as being a major influence on them. That's not a journeyman.. You also say those are the thoughts of his contemporaries.. those are some obsure journo quotes by local rags .. I'm sure i could counter & dig positive quotes out if i were so inclined.. but i can't be arsed, because i know how highly he is regarded by most sensible boxing aficionados & numerous ATG fighters .. you want contemporary quotes ? Go look up what Johnson, Maxim & Louis said about Walcott.. or maybe research what the likes of Foreman & Ali said about him..
If it weren't that the thoughts I posted (and I found many more that just seemed redundant) were backed up by the fact he lost every third time he entered the ring, I would reconsider my position. The modern casual/tic toc gen viewer is easily mesmerized by a few crafty but often ineffectual dance steps rather than how he managed the outcomes of his fights.
it's ok for fighters to lose, even to weaker fighters, 'beginning & end of career loses and flat nights in a long and busy career is expected & normal... plus that fighters record may be inaccurate and better than it reads. JJW was/IS an exceptional fighter and ATG! and to the question, I think Charles was the more textbook stand up basic great boxer and Walcott, also a great boxer, though a stylist & cagy boxer too.