Joe Baksi

[Greatest1942]

You seem to be agreeing and disagreeing, everything you say here is in my post, no?

While there is everything I say in your post, there is also a line "Anyway the Yankee Stadium fight never came off and Louis ended up defending against Walcott who the majority thought won." , without any explanation. So I put in the explanation why it did not materialize. If you feel its redundant its fine.

[GJC]

While there is everything I say in your post, there is also a line "Anyway the Yankee Stadium fight never came off and Louis ended up defending against Walcott who the majority thought won." , without any explanation. So I put in the explanation why it did not materialize. If you feel its redundant its fine.

Agree I did mention the Walcott defence in an off hand way but Baksi was the fight Louis wanted, Baksi was a far bigger draw. Wasn't the 1st Walcott fight originally billed as an exhibition and was changed to a defence last minute?

[Greatest1942]

Agree I did mention the Walcott defence in an off hand way but Baksi was the fight Louis wanted, Baksi was a far bigger draw. Wasn't the 1st Walcott fight originally billed as an exhibition and was changed to a defence last minute?

Yes, to the best of my knowledge at first the match was scheduled only as an exhibition. But the New York State Athletic Commission declared that any fight over 6 rounds featuring the champion must be for the title.

While Louis may have wanted Baksi, I think Walcott was the more deserving. He had literally cleaned up the division and also defeated Baksi. In an extremely short span he defeated Elmer Ray, Lee Oma, Maxim and Jimmy Bivins. If Walcott had not received the fight , I think people will be accusing Louis of ducking Walcott (and quite justifiably) IMO.

Baksi was popular, and in a argument with Bat long ago I did mention him as one of the better heavyweights of that era. But at that stage in their careers Walcott was definitely better. He was hitting his stride as a heavyweight and his results against top tier opponents speaks for itself.