What more could a 47-48 Walcott could have done to beat Marciano?

There are some distinct differences between the Louis/early Charles version of Walcott & the later Charles/Marciano version.

The "younger" Walcott of the Louis fights had better legs, but I'm not sure he carried the same power in his left hook, & he sometimes cost himself by being overly cautious. The older version was more aggressive & sitting down much more on his punches.

Interesting that an older Walcott matched up better vs. Charles than his younger self did, whereas I think the older, more flatfooted Walcott would've been a much easier target for Louis than the version that actually fought him.

 

Look, I have routinely said that I don't know who would have won if younger versions of Walcott and Charles fought Marciano, because they were great fighters too. But let's be clear that the reason the first fight was so close was because, after his usual slow start, Marciano was blinded by a substance. He maintained that it was trickery from Walcott's camp--others feel it was probably an innocent mistake form Marciano's. But he knocked Walcott out almost as soon as his eyes cleared.

The next fight out, Marciano, who felt it was illegal tactics, broke a good sweat in the locker room, and came out swinging. The result was the first round knockout.

Had the fight somehow occurred when both were close to their primes, Walcott's awkward defense and punching would have made it a great fight against Marciano's non-stopp attacking and punching. I decline to pick a winner.

 

I don’t want to downgrade Walcotts performance but I feel the fight wouldn’t have been as close if not for the chemicals that blinded Marciano for several rounds and the fact that he came out a little nervous for the first time in his career.

Walcott could have won the fight if he just gave up n ran the last few rounds. He was widely ahead.

I don’t think Charles ever wins. I believe Marciano n his camp where he stated he over trained for the first fight were prob correct. He still won by a decent margin. And knocked him out in the second go.

 

This question is a bit like writing a chess program so that black always wins.

Yes Walcott could theoretically have done better, but Marciano probably made more mistakes.