Jersey Joe Walcott visits Europe to fight German heavyweight champ Hein ten Hoff. On a rainy evening at Mannheim Football Stadium, ten Hoff surprised everyone in the boxing world by losing to Walcott on a split decision over 10 rounds.
The promotor expected a 80,000 crowd. 31 special trains were on the rails to transport fans from all over the country. Yet "only" 25,000 showed up. The rain was one reason, the 70 DM price for tickets another.
In the second, ten Hoff's nose started to bleed. It was later reveiled that his nose had broken. Still he jabbed effectively into Jersey Joe's face. The American moved in fast on ten Hoff with series of hooks to the head and body. In the 4th he shook ten Hoff, but skidded on the wet canvas and the German recovered. ten Hoff had Jersey Joe against the ropes in the 5th and scored with three rights in a row. In the 6th both men slipped in the pouring rain. The 7th and 8th had occational right hand hits from ten Hoff, but Walcott was now in command, scoring at close range with series of hooks and uppercuts. His win was not controversial with the crowd.
