European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 05, 1948, Darmstadt, Hesse Last year s fight saw Walcott dump Louis on the Canvas for counts of two and seven Joe Louis Jersey Joe Walcott having come closer to lifting Joe Louis s heavyweight Crown than anyone else Hopes to do the Job on his second try this month new York there Are six kids Down in i Camden new Jersey who believe their old Man can lick anybody inthe world. Such admiration might not be considered unusual among the Small Fry except that in this Case they expect the old Man to live up to it late this month by winning the heavyweight boxing championship of the is a baldish heavy set fellow named Joe Walcott and in order to keep the kids from being disappointed hell have to beat up a pretty Tough individual named Joe Tofias. That might seem like a Little to much to expect of any Man s sense of paternal responsibility but the elder feels that his children s Hopes Are Well based. The reason for his Confidence of course is that he has already come closer than any other Man or boy to taking or. Louis jealously guarded \ heavyweight title away ,.when Jersey Joe ventured in to the ring against Joe the Champ for the first time last december he was Given exactly one Chance in ten of winning. The Odds against his staying on his feet for As much As five rounds weren much lighter. When Walcott makes his second attempt at Yankee stadium on june 23, the Odds Are Likely to be no More than eight to five against his coming out the Victor and new Cham Pion. And at those rates there will be plenty of Walcott Money posted. There would be More except that along the stretch of eighth Avenue known a Jacobs Beach the Beys who put up the stakes Are Short on memory and Longon respect Jor the Louis they prefer to forget the sinking feeling they experienced that evening last december when they watched the Champion sit Down suddenly for a two count in the very first round persuaded by a Choppy Walcott right. It was Only three rounds later that Louis Wen Down again for the Cott of seven. Only a much disputed. Split decision enabled the Champion to hang on to his title aftej.15 being Cut and baffled by an opponent who had been. Slated to become his 15th . Victim. Next time says. Walcott thereon t be any question about it. I figured i had him last time. After the came up to me and said i m sorry Joe i thought i won. Now know i can do Louis reply is terse but equally confident it won t happen this verbal argument will be settled in Louis 25th defense of his Champion ship before a crowd that is expected touring at least a million dollars pouring through Yankee stadium ticket previous Louis Walcott match Drew a record Gate of $216,477 a Madison Square Garden. Louis who entered the ring that time looking Little heavy and slow on his feet is Likely to take the rematch a bit More seriously. At 34, he wants to retire like Tunney with the title still in his own name. Win lose or draw he has announced publicly this is my last How Walcott intends to keep Louis from accomplishing his purpose of retiring with the title remains a matter of some doubt. The last time through a combination of footwork and punch he managed to confuse the Champion. _ Louis had entered the ring prepare to meet a slugger. He can t Box Lik Econn or Tommy Farr the Champ declared before last year s bout but you got to respect a Man who can hit what Louis ran up against was shifty tactic of weaving retreats sudden halts and flashes of the same sort fright hand sucker punch that Max Schmeling had used More than a decade before to hand Louis his Only knockout in the professional ring. It seems unlikely that Louis will let himself be taken in by a similar routine another time. On the matter of method Walcott refuses so far to commit himself. I won t say just How i m Gonna do it he says but i la beat him. Nobody gave me a Chance the last time and i showed pm what i could do. I la show pm Man who intends to demonstrate How to. Win the prize fighting championship of the world is a muscular Bull necked individual whose real name is Arnold Cream. He dropped that unfortunate tag years ago when he first became serious about making his living in the boxing line and realized it would t draw much More than Wise cracks at the Box office. At a fighting weight of 195, Walcott is about 20 pounds lighter than the Champion. His wide spread stance gives his legs a deceivingly spindly look and belies the heaviness of his thighs. Like Louis he is 34 years old and like Louis figures that he has t much More timer Potency to give to the fight game. He has been in and out of pugilist since his late teens and it is Only in the last few years that he has managed to make much More than Coffee and cakes out of the bodily punishment a Man take when he lets himself get hit for the amusement of the i been fighting Long enough to know Walcott says and too Long when he Speaks he smiles easily an expression which is sometimes hard to distinguish from the tense Jawed look that comes to his face whence throws a hard punch in the ring. As a matter of record Walcott has been fighting Long enough to have stopped six different times. Almost each occasion of his quitting the ring coincided with the birth of a new member of the Walcott Brood. Until 1943 he seemed unable to make up his min whether to get in. Or out of the ring. A year or so before then he had reached the Point of headlining the wednesday night cards at Small club sin new York arid new Jersey. A fight. Smoter who was briefly associate with him during this period of career describes Walcott Ai one of Thebes club fighters i Ever matched. He was fast and pretty smart and he always gave the customers a Good show. I never had no squawks when i put Walcott on the card. All he needed bark then was a smart handler to get him afew Good fights out of the w Alcott himself apparently did realize his own possibilities. He tossed up the whole business for the sixth time and tried to figure outcome less violent Means of supporting the family. He had t had much Success at this when in 1943, a Camden promoter saw a Chance to Drain Eft a Little of the Loose War workers Money that was floating around the Camden new Jersey ship Yard area by staging a few Good fights. He asked Walcott to join his Joe. The promoter figured would pull the crowds As a Home town favorite. I was broke really broke Walcott recalls and i figured i could use the he signed up and began tonight regularly. He won a few Good bouts but nothing very drastic occurred until he was tossed into the ring one nigh against blundering Joe Baksi one of the meager crop of heavies and Light heavies who were being optimistically raised to replace Joe Louis or at least to give Louis a Little profitable exercise. Baksi had figured to Knock Over the local boy in a few Quick rounds Between inbound and outbound trains. He stayed for a sound mauling and Walcott was immediately propelled into the ranks of possible challengers for the heavy weight Crown. By the fall of 1946, Walcott had strengthened his position in this Field by whipping Jimmy Bivins a lop Side favorite and then Deci Sioning Lee Oma another would be successor to Louis. I january of last year Walcott clinched his shot at the championship by taking ten round bout from still another pretender Joey Maxim. By that time Walcott says. I gota Little of my Confidence Back. Some of those boys i d been beating were in Lin for fights with Louis. Did t seem to be any reason i could t take a shot at s shot was not Only hear around the boxing world but it paid off a handsome amount of groceriess75.000 Worth to be exact with the proceeds he set up his wife and the sextet of Young Walcott in a modest new Jersey Homestead. With Jersey Joe standing to Rake in a Quarter of a Mil lion dollars out of this month s Gate minor lose the Walcott grocery bin ought to be Well stocked for some time to come. In his rematch with the Champion Walcott faces certain very discouraging facts of boxing history. Every single time Louis has been re matched with an opponent he has polished him off evermore expeditiously than in the first bout. Without exception every rematch has ended in a knockout by Louis. And in almost every tease no matter How Tough the opponent had shown himself to be the first time he was dispatched on the second occasion within a few practice goes Back to Louis earliest Days in the ring. Lee Ramage who carried Joe to eight rounds in 1934. Was knocked out in two the following year. Natie Brown who lost a ten round decision to Louis in 1935, was fourth round victim in 1937. Max Schmeling the Man who alone holds professional Victory Over the present Champ knocked Louis out in 12 rounds Back in 36. Two years later Schmeling himself hit the Canvas for keeps just Over a minute after the Start of the 1940, Arturo Godoy crouched out of harm s Way for 15 rounds but in rematch Louis caught up with him in eight. Abe Simon lasted 13 rounds the first time six the second. Buddy Baer. Good for seven the first time he tackled Louis was put away right after the opening Bell next time. And Billy Conn the Man who nearly stole the title from Louis before his1 thirteenth round Koin 1941, could t last eight rounds against the Champion five years later. If Walcott manages to survive his rematch with the Champion late this month he will be the first fighter Mohave done so. If not his moment of potential glory May have passed and. The name of Jersey Joe will have faded obscurely into the list of men who might have beaten Joe Louis but could t. Weekend. Junk 5, Tutt f i
