Walcott Was Beaten Before The 2nd Marciano Fight Began

Probably taken so much out him the first fight, he knew inside he wasn't going to beat Marciano. The hard, slogging punishment that Rocky gave out, Jersey didn't want to be going through that again, not at the age he was.

 

I wouldn't be surprised.

He had already achieved his goal of being champion, and secured his business interests, and he was only really there for the last big pay day.

In that kind of situation a fighter can steer for the rocks pretty quickly!

 

Walcott was scared of a guy he'd floored, was beating and was so far ahead of Marciano couldn't win on points? No.

More likely scenario, Walcott was told to go down in the first. He (Walcott) was paid nearly twice as much as the champ Marciano for a reason.

He didn't want to go down. He fretted about it the night before. He didn't do a convincing job of it in the ring.

(He missed the count? That's what journeymen do today when they take the money and run. They go down from a nothing shot and get up a split second too late.)

Walcott wept in the ring after the fight. The audience all chanted fix and booed Walcott out of the ring ... and were still booing when the televised walk-out bout began.

Everyone at the time knew what happened. It's there for all the world to see on film.

The mob finally had an Italian heavyweight champion. Rocky's manager, Al Weill, was also the matchmaker for Frankie Carbo's IBC. Weill (who fronted for Carbo) took half of all Marciano's earnings. They intended to milk Marciano for years. Walcott needed to go away.

Here's a re-enactment of how I imagine the Frankie Carbo-Walcott conversation went:

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I've posted them here before and articles from boxing magazines at the time. Carbo ran the IBC with Jim Norris. Carbo's wife (AKA Viola Masters) was the "official" IBC employee since Carbo couldn't be on the books.

The crowd was still booing and chanting fix when the next fight started. How often do you hear audiences today STILL BOOING fighters from the previous fight when the next fight starts? There are articles from the following day where people were demanding their money back. Everyone knew it was a fix.

The announcers had to even acknowledge the crowd booing and the fact that Walcott's KO didn't look right during the broadcast. The announcer even says during the walkout bout that the timekeeper has a microphone and everyone in the arena can hear his count.

Walcott's "I missed the count" defense is laughable.

The announcer says Walcott was staring at the ref and the timekeeper as the count (which was blaring over the speakers in the arena) commenced.

Listen to the crowd. They aren't booing Oakland Billy Smith. Everybody knew.

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Corbo?

Everyone thought it was a fix. Nobody believed the knockout was legit. (You apparently don't even believe it.) I've argued this topic for days before. I'm not going to start again.

The Illinois State Athletic Commission even launched an investigation in the days that followed. Athletic commissions don't launch investigations for knockouts everyone agrees are on the level.

Willie Pep's dive looks more legit than Walcott's.

As far as Masters being married to Carbo, she's listed in his obit and here ... all you have to do is type their names in a search bar. She was his wife. (Carbo's wife. Not Corbo's.)

https://www.si.com/vault/1960/12/19/585925/norris-last-stand

 

Nothing would surprise me, most spectators see what they want to see, and much of what really happens in boxing is smoke and mirrors. I've heard family stories about this fight forever. According to the story, my grandfather went out that day and bought the first television that anybody in the family ever had and the family gathered to watch the fight. Some were still getting things from the kitchen when the fight ended. Rocky won and they were happy. They just saw a knockout, didn't care about the "technicalities!"

That article by Farrell that you linked to yesterday was one of the best boxing articles I've read. I've read most of his others now too. Good stuff. For me, being around boxing, It's amazing what promoters get away with and it's amazing how predictable the shows can be, but most of the crowd doesn't care, they just want knockouts. The successful promoters give them knockouts.

 

So do you give Rocky as much credit for the 2nd win or not so much due to circumstances and Joe being beaten before he even stepped into the ring.

 

You could be right. Mr. Gray ran the show behind Jim Norris. I can't say your wrong.