Walcott Only Took The 2nd Marciano Fight For The $$$$

Well I'd say money was and still is a massive reason why fighters are in the game, no surprise at all really.

 

I doubt it was the only reason, Walcott ran Marciano mighty close in the first fight and must have believed he had the beating of him.

 

Walcott also thought he got a short count, and claimed he only lost the first fight because Rocky headbutted him!

 

I wouldn't call a hundred a short count...

 

In the '60s I read a Ring Detective article in Ring Magazine which referred to a 'pathetic' heavyweight championship fight in which a former champion took the easy way out in the first round for a payday in his swan song. Although no names were mentioned, I deduced from the timing and the information given that the fight was Marciano-Walcott II. That was the first time I ever heard it suggested that Walcott deliberately took the ten-count then complained of a short count after getting up. The rematch of Marciano and Walcott was a highly-anticipated fight in light of their spectacular first fight. I believe Walcott got the lion's share of the purse in the rematch as well as their first fight. Film shows Marciano connecting with a short right and Jersey Joe goes down on his back with his legs going up in the air. I've heard that when fighters get knocked down from a hard punch sometimes their sense of time gets scrambled and seems to stretch out. Foreman made a similar claim in Zaire. So maybe the knockout was legit. What made it suspicious was how quickly this fight ended, unlike their first classic in which they pummeled each other into the thirteenth round.

 

The knockdown was definitely legit, you can see his legs stiffen up when he falls. Now if he had recovered in time and deliberately let himself be counted out you'd have to dig him up and ask him yourself.

 

Exactly.

Walcott's stoppage in the rematch looks like every other lame fight featuring an up-and-comer and a "usual suspect" where the usual suspect goes down when something solid lands and then jumps up at the bell ... and then complains that he barely missed beating the count.

If they were two guys nobody had seen before, it would be an obvious flop. Walcott actually rolled backward. He didn't crash to the floor. He rolled like a tumbler going backward.

Walcott made $250,000 for the rematch (he only made $188,000 as the champ in fight one). Marciano was paid $166,000 for the rematch (almost $100,000 less than his challenger).

And the audience felt it was a fix, and was booing and chanting fix even while the walkout bout was in progress.

You can argue Walcott took a seat because he didn't want to take a beating. You can argue Walcott took a seat because the mob didn't want Marciano to lose the rematch (since Rocky needed a knockout to win in the first fight) ... and they overpaid Walcott to make it worth his while.

The fact that it took place in Chicago, where so many shady fights were taking place that Carmen Basilio hated going there to fight, because the mob had their hands in everything.

But it's difficult to make a case that the second Marciano-Walcott fight was a legit knockout.

 

I always thought the knockout in the second fight looked really fishy.

 

Well he's the only person who would know for a fact, probably didn't fancy being finished off good and proper.

 

Yeah, I don't think Walcott had any plans of going past the first round in that second fight. Being 37 and already had lived his dream of being champion. Going through another war probably didn't sound like a such great idea. Especially since he was already guaranteed the lions share.