Barbados Joe Walcott His amateur boxing and wrestling years spanned roughly from 1887-89. His early professional boxing years between 1890 and 1896 focused in the areas of Boston and New York city. One of his more noteworthy bouts included a 15-round draw with Mysterious Billy Smith, and a fifteen-round loss to George "Kid Lavigne" in March and December 1895. He lost to Welsh born middleweight Tommy West in 1894 and 1897. West acted as a sparring partner for Walcott in late October 1904. Walcott first challenged for the Lightweight Championship on October 29, 1897, at the Lennox Athletic Club in New York, but
Joe Baksi reported as the greatest upset in years, Baksi lost a split decision. Even Tandberg was surprised, saying after the fight "I didn't believe I had won the fight. I thought I was too much on the defensive in the closing rounds." After his stunning defeat, Baksi took a year off. He was still the third ranked heavyweight contender, behind Jersey Joe Walcott and Ezzard Charles, and ahead of Lee Savold, when he scheduled a fight with Ezzard Charles. The winner of that fight would have a title match with Joe Louis. Charles, the 5-14 favorite, defeated Baksi by TKO in