Tom O'Rourke (boxing manager) the road, eventually claiming the world championship in 1891, and the featherweight championship in 1892 in New Orleans in a rare (for the time) mixed-race bout, a tribute to O'Rourke's matchmaking abilities. In addition to Dixon, O'Rourke managed Joe Walcott (note: not Jersey Joe Walcott, who took his name from O'Rourke's boxer), who won the welterweight championship of the world in 1901. Walcott and Dixon are famous for traveling with O'Rourke in a "take on all comers" tour, where O'Rourke had his own, slightly smaller than usual, boxing ring for the bouts. The smaller ring gave his boxers an advantage,
Barbados Joe Walcott the bout, claiming his left arm had been injured in the ninth round. In the first round Walcott scored a knockdown. Melody, fighting cautiously against the reigning champion, landed mostly body blows throughout the remainder of the fight, but scored enough to appear to dominate. In the sixth round, Mellody landed a strong right to the jaw which backed Walcott against the ropes. In the eleventh, Mellody put in punches at will, and in the final round landed a flurry of rights to the stomach, before Walcott retreated to his corner before the bell ending the bout. Returning to the