The Journeyman Hall Of Fame

Sure… well a fact is he was a guy who won the title after cleaning out the top ten… being called a journeyman by a bunch of people who watched him is an opinion on par with all the “writers” today I couldn’t give a **** about lol I can see him on film so did James Toney and Buddy McGirt who revered him.
Define journeyman? Is there such a “true” definition? I’ve always thought it was somebody who never won the title, never contended meaningfully and fought to survive… maybe at one time he was that, but he can’t be called such a thing after the dust settled surely not, wish we had more like him today.

“Is it possible to put into words how much you learnt from Jersey Joe Walcott” - Nah, I still watch tapes of him today and I get chills because fighters today don’t know what they’re looking at.” - B McGirt

 

Emanuel Agustus would be a 1st ballot.

 

J.C. Candelo was a good journeyman as well, he gave winky a damn good fight.

 

Jersey Joe Walcott deserves a mention.

 

WW2 cleaned out the Top Ten.

 

Maybe? Which changes nothing - not a journeyman, keep it in ya back pocket.

 

Dude lost one out of three times entering the ring. That equals journeyman. Maybe a really good journeyman, but that's just being the tallest midget in the room.

 

Nah still not a journeyman, not close… won the title, cleaned out the top ten. Take refuge in your writers opinions I’ll keep with the facts I’ll concede his record ain’t “pretty” he was at one time a journeyman type but he was a pro fighter feeding his family like lots of guys in the depression so he has his bad days at the office… his style was built from that experience, surviving for the next fight to bring home the bacon, when he got funds behind him he became a good contender and a champion… a good contender and a champion who lost 1/3 of his fights but he ain’t a journeyman lol.

 

Joe Walcott deserves a mention. Not Barbados Joe, of course. That guy from Trenton. Total journeyman. A poor man's Tony Thompson.

 

"Rocky Marciano, Ezzard Charles, Jersey Joe Walcott, those guys were real fighters and they fought everybody," said Toney, who is preparing for an August 18 cruiserweight title eliminator against Jason Robinson. "They were willing to work on their trade, and they were hardcore fighters. Ray Robinson and Archie Moore were the guys I patterned myself after. I don't pattern myself after the new style of fighters. The fighters of yesterday fought when they were injured, with a broken foot or a broken hand. Those were real fighters. That's what I am. I will break somebody down. I can go short and end it early, or I can go late. If I take you deep, you'd better know how to swim. If you don't you're gonna drown." - “Big” James Toney

 

Holly Mims was a middleweight contender in the mid-1950s, then had a long stretch as a spoiler and trial horse who knew the tricks and made good fighters look less than their best. Beat Johnny Bratton, Henry Hank, Jimmy Ellis, George Benton, then-undefeated Willie Troy.

 

Although Burnett was robbed of the win over Leon, in a rare instance of boxing justice, Jesse DID get the Lineal and WBC CW Title shot at S. T. Gordon four years before Qawi-Leon. I've always been immensely pleased about that.

 

And at the time Johnny got his exciting shot at Ernesto Espana, he was simultaneously the trainer for others. In the early going, he decked the Venezuelan WBA successor to Duran, and his Chicago hometown fans erupted. (Espana had won the vacant title over Claude Noel. The next time the WBA LW Title was vacated because Pat O'Grady was an idiot father/manager for son Sean, 34 year old Noel won it over the Championship Distance. Noel was a great trash talker, but when he stupidly tried a lead right uppercut from the outside against the light hitting Art Frias, he paid for it.)

After Ernesto came off the deck to fracture Lira's jaw, I though Kenty would get killed in Detroit. Espana floored him early with that deadly hook, but Hilmer got up and shockingly attacked for an electrifying win which brought the LW Title back to the United States for the first time since Old Bones Brown lost it 18 years before to Carlos Ortiz. (It also gave Kronk Gym and Manny Steward their first championship.)