Funny thing happened while tooling around old copies of The Ring, particularly the January 1952 edition. A premise that I have noted for over a decade on this site was affirmed by a contemporary source, not a middling Midwest fish wrap but the Bible of Boxing itself. The heavyweight division at that time was thoroughly depleted. The rise of old timers, particularly Joe Walcott, coincided with a uniquely depleted sport in regards to big men. A few excerpts.... "The current shortage in heavyweight ring talent is not limited to the United States. It seems to be universal in scope. There are few good big fellows anywhere.... Both in quality and in quantity, the world's heavyweight crop at the moment is at a mournful low. The champion is 37 yr old Jersey Joe Walcott, who finally hit the jackpot after a long, checkered career well spotted with defeats and retirements. The best of his rivals are.... (Charles, Marciano LaStarza, Baker and Henry)- hardly an array to arouse the populace to frenzied bursts of enthusiasm." The article goes on to sing the praises of Hein Ten Hoff and recount a sparring session with Marciano in which Hoff dominated. When a second session was agreed upon for the following day, Marciano and his crew no-showed. Anyway the tone of the article bemoans the paucity of talented big men, so much so that a 32 year old dilettante pug like Hoff was considered a promising star.
I've had both the Ring & Boxing News for years, 30s, 40s, 50s and more... I found after initial research for the things you're looking for, they can become quite hard to read and fully except, especially Boxing News, it's like an endless loop of England 66... which oddly enough England 'might' just break that echo here in the next couple of weeks. I love having them, but it reveals BUSINESS and not Boxing or Boxers in the manner you would hope, Sport, Skill, Success (truly earned), Legacy...