Marciano Headbutt Highlight

[The Old LefHook]

See Marciano headbutt Walcott at 2:04 on the tape. Obviously deliberate. And from the man often commended for his sportsmanship.

Then the referee showed equal bad sportsmanship, giving old Joe the quickest count in memory. Or maybe the ref was counting for his life, under some dago mobster's orders.

[Willie Pep 229]

See Marciano headbutt Walcott at 2:04 on the tape. Obviously deliberate. And from the man often commended for his sportsmanship.

Then the referee showed equal bad sportsmanship, giving old Joe the quickest count in memory. Or maybe the ref was counting for his life, under some dago mobster's orders

OK, deliberate no doubt. -- One could argue Marciano was serving notice, that he wouldn't let Walcott hold him; only moments into the fight Walcott grabbed him coming in and made it obvious he was going to hold his arms to neutralize his attacks.

The manner in which Walcott then continued to fight makes one suspect had the fight went on, there would have been more head action from Marciano. There was no sign that Walcott wasn't going to hold all night long.

It isn't the ref who starts the quick count, it's the time keeper. (I suppose he didn't) but it sounds like the time keeper skipped "one" and went straight to "two," and then forced the ref, who was deferring to him, into his quick count.

On the other hand the ref could have accepted Walcott as rising at 9 if he had wanted to; the ref was deferring too much to the time keeper. He didn't "pick up' the count, and make it his own count, he just followed the time keeper.

[The Old LefHook]

Valid points from Pep.

[BattlingNelson]

Marciano commended for his sportsmanship? Huh? Surely never for being a clean fighter. With Marciano anything goes. Butts, elbows, shoulders, rabbit punches, low blows. You name it.

And yeah that count man.... It was never going to be easy for Walcott to win this fight.