The Barbados Demon Today?

He'd probably have to tone it down a bit. Turn-of-the-century fighting was pretty darn rough and Walcott was something of a madman.

On the flip-side he was one of those fighters were supposed disadvantages were turned into trump cards. When you're that short it is not easy at all for opponents to get your measure.

Give the bumbling little Demon a few weeks in a gym with 14oz gloves and he'd probably chew up a few contenders on his way to a title fight.

 

Then we would have to demote, Joe Gans, George Dixon, Terry McGovern, Sam Langford, Fitz, Abe Attell, Kid McCoy, and other HoF fighters who fought in the same era as Walcott .Also Joe Walcott's great contemporary, Tommy Ryan...I believe the fighters and writers of the era following Joe Walcott and saw him fight and still placed him so highly were closer to the truth than we are 100 years later....

 

I have a hard time envisioning him as a factor in the Welterweight scene today, while using the rules of today. Due to his frame and the fact that he first competed at championship level as a LW combined with the now day before weigh-ins, my guess is, that if he were to be transported to this era he would likely compete @SBW (perhaps even bantam) early in his career and move potentialy towards a lightweight.

 

He might just demolish the lot of them.

If a contemporary welterweight chose to mix it up, then I can't see it ending well for them.

 

He'd have to make some adjustments, but I have no doubt he could do it. A modern trainer would make him into a crouching, burrowing, bobbin' n weavin' terror. He has the strength and power to do a lot of damage to any welters in any era.

 

I am also curious to know exactly what these “adjustments” that he would need to make are.

What technical deficiencies do people think he had, and why?

 

Because of his abnormal strength, might it be that today's modern WWs
might have to "adjust" to Walcott ?.
Remember, Joe Walcott as a welterweight once stopped a top heavyweight puncher Joe Choynski, and drew with the larger Sam Langford. Lest we forget...

 

Id Dwight Qwai could dominate light heavyweights and cruisers at 5'6" , Joe Walcott could dominate light weights, jr. light weights and welters at 5'2" … he was exceptionally strong, well conditioned, had a chin of shell and the power to knock out heavyweights. Sam Langford said the hardest he was ever hit was by Walcott … I think he'd be a killer ..

 

In addition to being a hard puncher, Joe was considered (for his time) to be a clever boxer. The boxing skills of that era wouldn't translate today. I think he'd have to focus on being a pure (albeit clever) slugger.

 

Given the lack of film, and the film that we have of some fighters from the period such as Langford, I would not make any assumption that he would be limited to being a slugger today.

Either way he was obviously the type of puncher that comes along once in a blue moon, and he would have been an absolute terror in the division a couple of years ago, when there were more punchers.

 

Perhaps it is my own prejudice, but I have never seen any boxing style from the turn of the century that I felt would translate today. Not Corbett, not Johnson....nobody. Without training in the methods and evolving styles of a couple decades later I see them being sitting ducks (no disrespect meant to them).

Sluggers? That's another story, imo.

 

The Barbados Demon would #1 P4P Today. ( yes over Mayweather )
He had HW Power and would probably have better endurance than most WW today.
Before he turned pro he first got noticed for withstanding tons of punishment in the gym being called a " human punching bag ".

 

Here I must turn devils advocate.

If the classic boxers have improved/changed technically since then, but the sluggers and swarmers haven’t so much, then why didn’t the sluggers and swarmers clean house back then?

 

The sluggers have, to a degree. Just not so radically as the boxers.

Also don't forget that many of the great boxers back then had a nasty kick to go back up their skills. Ryan, McCoy, Gans, Fitzsimmons, etc.

I haven't weighed one against the other lately, but I'd be willing to bet that most of the great fighters of that era had a nasty finisher coccked and ready.