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| Date | May 15, 1953 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | NYSAC, NBA and The Ring undisputed heavyweight championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marciano defeats Walcott by 1st round KO | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rocky Marciano vs. Jersey Joe Walcott II was a professional boxing match contested on May 15, 1953, for the undisputed heavyweight championship. [1]
On 21 September 1952 Rocky Marciano had won the undisputed heavyweight championship of world by stopping champion Jersey Joe Walcott in the 13th round after a hard-fought bout with Walcott leading on the scorecards. The contract Marciano had signed to face Walcott contained a 90 day rematch if he won the title. On 4 March 1953 the two signed to face each other again in Chicago on 15 May, eight months later.
Although Marciano was heavily favored to defeat Walcott (who was now 39 years old), fans were expecting another tough fight. The fight would end up being almost the opposite.
The fight saw both men attempt to repeat strategies that worked in the previous bout, with Walcott trying to keep the champion at range and Marciano aggressively trying to keep constant pressure on the challenger. Only two minutes into the first round, Marciano countered one of Walcott's jabs with a left hook followed by a right uppercut that sent the former champion to the ground. Although stunned, Walcott did attempt to beat the count, but ultimately rose a split second too late, and was counted out. [2]
The first-round knockout would be Marciano's quickest title defense. [3]
After the fight, Walcott ultimately decided to retire, but stayed active in boxing, going on to become a referee (presiding over several championship bouts including the controversial rematch between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston in 1965). In the 1970s and 1980s he also served as the first African American sheriff of Camden County, New Jersey and as chair of the New Jersey State Athletic Commission. [4]
Marciano would go on to hold the heavyweight title until his retirement in 1956, defending his title five more times and going on to retire undefeated and untied. He never attempted a comeback (although he did spar with Muhammad Ali in a famous computer fight), and remained a popular figure in boxing after retirement, particularly on television and radio before his untimely death in a 1969 plane crash. [5]
Confirmed bouts: [6]
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 United States | NBC |