1954 Ezzard Charles vs 1923 Luis Angel Firpo

I do.

He was stopped which was the original term used.

"He claimed he wasn't in condition to fight."

Boxers never fib about losses? Especially embarrassing ones like this. Or was he referring to his broken cheekbone?

Willard was 6-1 going in. Cox was 1-3.

"condition to fight"

Why not, and what is the proof he wasn't? He fought Cox on October 9, 1911.

On July 4, 1911 Willard went 10 rounds with Frank Lyons.

On August 10, Willard went 10 rounds with a fighter who fought under several names including Mike Comiskey.

After the Cox fight, Willard did not fight again for 7 months.

Willard certainly had some durability, but the evidence points to him simply quitting and being stopped probably because he had suffered a broken cheekbone from a punch by his opponent.

For his career, Cox went 10-16-1 and was stopped 8 times. In his last fight he lost to Harry Greb, when Cox's announced weight was 200 lbs.

 

Willard quit without being floored ,at the time he said he was not fit enough to fight/had been warned by gangsters it would be unsafe for him to continue.take your pick. You don't seriously think I have proof of this do you ? I'm only saying what I've read,in Graeme Kent's Great White Hopes and other books, have you proof that wasn't the case? Either way he was not knocked out, that is undisputable.

Cox had had 5 fights and lost 3 but two of them were to the vastly more experienced fighters Mike Shreck and Fireman Jim Flynn. A more considered look at his record shows he tangled with quite a few names, nearly all his losses were to men of ability
. But what Cox went on to accomplish or not accomplish isn't really relevant is it?
Now I'm not going to engage in a hair splitting contest over this so I'll just call Time!

 

AND he defeated Rocky Marciano as an amateur...

 

Yes he did.