Marcel Cerdan vs. Billy Walker
Marcel Cerdan 162 lbs beat Billy Walker 162 lbs by TKO at 2:48 in round 1 of 10
- Date: 1947-10-07
- Location: Forum, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Referee: Tommy Sullivan
“Marcel Cerdan lived up to all his high-pressure advance publicity in stopping Billy Walker after two minutes and 48 seconds of their scheduled 10-round feature event on the fight card at the Forum last night. But in that brief time the Casablanca Clouter unleashed what was probably the most savage exhibition of punching power ever seen in the building. Walker did his best to live up to his pre-fight promise to make a battle of it. He came in swinging and nailed Cerdan with a hard right to the head shortly after the opening bell. But it hardly made Cerdan take a backward step. He covered up for a moment and then let go with a series of cruel left hooks, throwing them to the body and then to the head in combinations that never missed. They were short punches that didn’t seem to travel more than a foot, but they carried terrific power and soon Walker was in serious trouble. A right chop staggered Walker and he went down for the first time from a vicious left hook to the body. He got up at the count of eight and was scarcely on his feet before Cerdan tore into him again, looking like a smaller edition of Jack Dempsey as he fired those short, thudding punches that never missed, and Walker went down for the second time from a barrage of blows. He was obviously on Queer Street, now, and couldn’t hear the shouts from his corner to stay down for a nine-count as he staggered up at five. He was so helpless that Cerdan led with a right hand, throwing it deliberately and landing flush on the chin, and then stepping in to let go with that paralysing left hook again that dumped Walker into the resin dust for the third time. This time Referee Sullivan waved Cerdan away and beckoned Walker’s seconds to come into the ring and pick up the helpless fighter.”
Source: Dink Carroll, “Marcel Cerdan Beats Walker by T.K.O. in First Round”, The Montreal Gazette, October 8, 1947, p. 18.