Joe Baksi Joe Baksi Joe Baksi (January 14, 1922 – August 6, 1977) was a top heavyweight contender who defeated fighters such as Tami Mauriello, Lee Savold, Lou Nova, and Freddie Mills, while losing decisions to Jersey Joe Walcott and Ezzard Charles. Joe Baksi was a child of the Kulpmont, Pennsylvania coal mines. He was quoted as saying that he never had any intention of being a boxer, but he saw it "as a ticket to a better way of life, out of the coal mines." He broke into professional boxing in 1940 at the age of 18. He beat nine boxers
Barbados Joe Walcott five times in the first round and was the aggressor throughout the bout. Choynski, a 3-1 betting favorite before the bout, suddenly became a 2-1 underdog after the sound of the first round bell. Walcott seemed to have a slight advantage in the second, though Choynski landed a solid blow. By the third round, Walcott pressed his advantage with a superior defense, and landed blows nearly at will before the sound of the bell. The fourth seemed even, with the fifth entirely in Walcott's favor, while in the sixth Walcott cut Choynski's right eye. Walcott sent Choynski to the floor