Joe Bowker Joe Bowker Joe Bowker was an English boxer who was Bantamweight champion of the world in 1904 and 1905. His defeat of Frankie Neil on 17 October in London for the world bantamweight title was acclaimed as the most remarkable event in the sport in 1904. Bowker captured four boxing titles in the first decade of the 20th century: world bantamweight championship, European bantamweight championship, British bantamweight championship, and British featherweight championship. He held the world bantamweight and British featherweight titles at the same time. In 51 professional fights, he compiled a career record of 40 wins, 8 losses and
Barbados Joe Walcott the aggressor throughout the bout, landing more clean blows, though there was a great deal of clinching and wrestling throughout the furious bout, likely a result of the mismatch in reach between the two opponents. In the first round, Walcott brought Gardner to his knees from a left and right to the head for a nine count, though Gardner returned to the fighting unfazed. Walcott won the world welterweight title on December 18, 1901 in Buffalo, New York, from reigning champion James "Rube" Ferns achieving a technical knockout in the fifth round. Ferns, from the reaction of the Buffalo crowd