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Joe Walcott, "The Barbados Demon" was born in
Demarara, British Guyana on March 13, 1873, and
died October 1, 1935.  Walcott, who stood 5'1 1/2
tall, was a formidable fighter who fought all
comers from lightweights to heavyweights from 1890
to 1911.  Nat Fleischer rated him as the greatest
welterweight of all time, and he is included in
the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers
of all time. 

Walcott first challenged for the lightweight crown
on October 29, 1897, but was TKO'ed by the
champion George "Kid" Lavigne in the 12th round. 
He was also unsuccessful in his first attempt to
win the world welterweight title when he was
outpointed by Mysterious Billy Smith on December
6, 1898. Walcott won the title on December 15,
1901 from James "Rube" Ferris via a 5 round TKO.

On April 4, 1904 Walcott defended his title
against Dixie Kid.  He was winning the fight
handily when the referee disqualified Walcott for
no apparent reason in the 20th round. The match
was disregarded as a title bout when it was
discovered that the referee had bet on Dixie Kid
to win the match.

Walcott also fought legendary great Sam Langford
to a draw, and met Joe Gans in a non-title fight. 
The Gans fight occurred on September 30, 1904, and
was scored a draw after 20 rounds.  After the Gans
fight, Walcott accidentally shot himself in the
hand and was out of action until mid 1906.

Walcott lost the welterweight crown to Billy
"Honey" Melody via 15 round decision on October
16, 1906.