Barbados Joe Walcott name as his own ring name. Walcott was born on March 13, 1873, in Demerara, Guyana, according to several sources, though he spent part of his youth in Barbados. As a youngster he set out to see the world and got a job as a cabin boy on a ship sailing to Boston that arrived around 1887. He soon settled in Boston as a piano mover, and porter and took other odd jobs as well. Later, he landed a job in a gym, and became popular with even the best of the boxers as an able opponent before turning professional.
Joe Baksi and then fought a thirty-one-year-old Jersey Joe Walcott. Walcott had lost earlier bouts with world-class professionals, and was an underdog against Baksi. But Walcott won, scoring 6-3-1 on the single referees scorecard. Walcott's dancing and dodging allowed him to escape Baksi's reach, and he was able to get in enough hooks to make Baksi groggy. Baksi lost his next fight with Jimmy Bell (a split decision in which Baksi was penalized two rounds for a low blow), but then racked up four easy wins before traveling to Europe. Baksi left for Europe on October 9, 1946 to fight the two