1904-02-26 Joe Walcott ND6 Black Bill [Lenox Athletic Club, Philadelphia, PA, USA]

1904-02-27 The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) (page 10)

OLD BLACK JOE SHADES DARK WILL
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Barbados Demon Cuts Loose at the Right Time, But Fails to Stop His Man
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Merchantville's Husky Youth Comes Up Strong in the Sixth and Shows Commendable Aggressiveness
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Though Joe Walcott demonstrated that he was Black Bill's master in the wind-up at the Lenox Athletic Club last night, he was kept moving from start to finish by the Merchantville Black. Bill seemed to lack confidence in the first round, and Walcott himself, evidently understanding that Bill has got a dangerous punch, did not extend himself until toward the close of the round. Beginning with the second round, however, there were lots doing. Bill began with a straight left to the jaw and followed that up with a hard right on the body. This seemed to anger Walcott, who cut loose with a pair of swinging lefts into Bill's wind. These punches hurt Bill, who rushed Walcott to the ropes.

The third was the hottest round of the melee. Walcott made a fierce swing at Bill, who in his efforts to duck away from it over-balanced himself and went to the floor. Walcott followed this up with four left-handed swings on the side of the jaw and for a bit Bill looked wobbly. He came back in good style, though, and in one of the clinches rushed Walcott to the ropes and incidentally compelled Referee Rocap to perform a feat in ground tumbling. The fourth and fifth rounds were quieter, but in the sixth there was plenty of action. Bill started in aggressively and landed twice on the face with his left--feats which evoked the applause of the crowd. Walcott got back with his left to Bill's wind. Both got in straight jabs on the chops. Walcott swung his hard right to the body and a general interchange of punches followed. They were mixing it up at a very rapid gait when the bell sounded.

The opening bout, between Eddie Burke and Martin Williams was stopped by Referee Rocap in the fifth round. Williams was game, but was outclassed by Burke. Young Fitzsimmons, of Pittsburg, stopped Jack Murphy in the fifth round. Eddie McAvoy outpointed Johnny Murphy in a fast six-round bout. Young Pierce and Kid Johnson went six rounds at a very rapid clip to a draw.


1904-02-27 The Philadelphia Record (Philadelphia, PA) (page 9)

WALCOTT AND BLACK BILL
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Box Six-Round Draw at the Lenox Athletic Club.
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BOUT WAS FAST AND HARD ONE
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Boston Black Had the Jerseyman Holding Tight in Last Round. Bill Did Some Good Left-Hand Work.
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The bout between Joe Walcott and Black Bill, of Merchantville, N. J., at the Lenox Athletic Club, went the full six rounds, and a draw would be a fair decision to both men. A count of the clean blows landed would probably favor the Jersey boxer, but Walcott's blows were the more effective, and at times they were so hard that Bill was so affectionate in holding on and hugging the Black Demon that the referee had to coax him to let go. Black Bill was knocked down once, while Walcott was never off his feet in any of the rounds. Bill used his long left arm to advantage, and he kept Walcott off by hard jabs to the face. Walcott tried to hook Bill on the jaw, and he got there several times, but he did not have steam enough in the blows to more than rock Bill's head a bit. It was Walcott's stomach and body punches which hurt Bill, and Joe made the big fellow wince several times when he ripped one to the Jerseyman's bread basket.

When they stood up Bill looked much taller and appeared to be about twenty pounds heavier than the Boston fellow. He also had a much longer reach than Walcott, but he threw away much of his natural advantage by assuming a crouching position, which brought him down almost to Walcott's height.

Bill started the ball rolling with a light jab to Joe's face. Walcott went to him with a rush and landed a hard body blow. Bill got one to the Demon's stomach and followed to the face. Both were left-hand blows. Joe landed a right to the ribs and a left to the face. Bill tried a rush, but did not get anything. Joe got in two blows and followed with another. Bill got a left to the face and missed a right-hand swing. Walcott pasted Bill on the nose just as the bell rang.

Joe started jabbing in the second and tried to follow it up with a right, but could not get to the proper place. Bill landed some hard jabs, but Joe only laughed. Walcott got to Bill's stomach with a punch which made him wince. He got in another one on the ribs and had Bill on the run. A fierce mix-up on the ropes followed, in which Referee Rocap got twisted up with the boxers. It was in Walcott's favor. Bill steadied himself and got in two hard left-hand facers.

The third round was on the tabasco order, and it was a whole fight in itself. Walcott landed a stiff one and Bill, in stepping back, went to his haunches on the floor. A punch on the jaw put Bill to his knees, and he was up again in a second, when Joe rushed him to the other side of the ring and smashed him on the jaw. The big fellow went down in a heap. The referee started to count, but Bill did not wait till he finished it. It looked bad for Bill, and Joe's face was one big grin.

The fourth round was pretty hot at the start, but both eased up a bit in their speed at times. Walcott tried several times to get a hook to Bill's jaw, but, although he landed, he could not get in one hard enough.

The fifth opened up with both men doing considerable fiddling. Finally Bill sent a hard jab straight to Walcott's face. Walcott got in several telling body punches. In this round there was a hot rally, which brought the spectators to their feet. Bill began to get very loving toward Joe, and when he got a chance to hug the little black fellow he did not want to leave go. Walcott began to smash him about the body, and Bill said if he did not stop he would tell Mr. Rocap, and then Joe laughed and smashed him a hard one on the side of the head.

Bill started the sixth with three hard punches to Walcott's ugly mug without a return. Joe, however, seemed to want to tell the big fellow something, and in spite of Bill's stinging punches in the face he would not keep back. Then Walcott got a few rib roasters to the Merchantville man's stomach and ribs and Bill was anything but pleased. He hung on for dear life and Joe had to wrestle to get loose. Walcott had Bill on the defensive when the bell rang.

The preliminary contests were hotly contested and every bout produced very fast milling. The referee stopped the bout between Eddie Burke and Martin Williams in the fifth round to save the latter from further punishment. Young Fitzsimmons, of Pittsburg, stopped Jack Murphy in the fifth round; Eddie McAvoy bested Johnny Murray in a fast six-round bout; McAvoy knocked Murray down in the third and sixth rounds, while Young Pierce and Kid Johnson boxed six very fast rounds with honors about even.