Camden Courier Post – May 18, 1946
South Jersey Sports
By TOM RYAN
We received word from Joey Allen yesterday that Jersey Joe Walcott will be in the pink for his forthcoming fight against Lee Oma.
Allen, who trains Walcott, wrote from Summit, where Walcott is conditioning, that the Merchantville clubber never was in better physical condition.
In fact, Allen says Walcott is so far advanced he’ll probably have to taper off a few days before the fight and indulge in only calisthenics.
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It’s Walcott’s biggest fight—he meets Oma next Friday night, at Madison Square Garden—and a victory would make. him the logical challenger to meet the winner of Joe Louis-Billy Conn fight June 19.
The bout is expected to draw a gate of $150,000 and Walcott is getting 20 percent. That’s hitting the jackpot in boxing.
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Barring his fight against Sina Bivins for which he got his best purse, Walcott earned very little in his other 12 fights since he started his comeback two years ago.
But he already has bought a home at 529 Mickle street, Camden, out of earnings to date.
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And even though he has a wife and six children to provide for, the money Joe gets from the Oma scrap should keep the wolf away from the door for many years if he’s frugal.
And if he beats Oma and gets a title shot in September, then he and his family should be set for life.
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Walcott’s comeback is one of the sagas of boxing. Down-and-out two years ago, he has fought his way to the No. 4 spot among the heavyweights.
Out of 18 bouts, Joe lost only one and later knocked out the fellow who decisioned him.
Besides beating Bivins, Walcott also beat Joe Baksl, the two standout wartime heavyweights.
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About 300 South Jersey fight fans will trek to New York next Friday night to see him meet Oma.
They’ll be pulling hard for him to win ag everyone in this locality would like to see Joe get a shot at the heavyweight title later on.

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