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Earl Walls (February 19, 1928December 13, 1996) was a Canadians professional heavyweight boxer who competed from 1948 to 1955. He won the Canadian heavyweight championship in 1952 and was inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame in 1978.
Alongside nine brothers and sisters, he was raised on the family farm in Essex County, Ontario. His great-grandfather had fled slavery in North Carolina, reaching Canada through the Underground Railroad.
Growing up in Essex County, Walls made the 3½-mile walk to a one-room schoolhouse with 45 students. Athletics were limited to hockey and baseball.
While attending a boxing match at the Detroit Olympia, Walls stepped in to replace an absent fighter, only to be blown out in a bout refereed by Joe Louis. Walls soon started boxing training at Patsy Drouillard's gym in Windsor, Ontario, where he was guided by Bill Swinhoe. At 18, he traveled to Toronto, but a misdiagnosed medical exam blocked him from working as a railway porter, leading him to a stint as a Detroit nightclub bouncer.
From August 1949 to January 1950, he had six bouts in England, finishing with a 4-2 record. After back-to-back victories in Canada in June 1950, he traveled to New York, where he fell to Abel Cestac at St. Nicholas Arena and Jimmy Slade at Madison Square Garden.
Before 10,000 fans in Edmonton, Walls battled Rex Layne of the U.S. on June 3, 1953, in a non-title bout. He scored a knockout over Layne, an eighth-ranking prospect, in 1:10 of the first round. The contract called for a rematch in Salt Lake City within thirty days. Walls once again stopped Layne by knockout in round six of their rematch on September 8, 1953. Walls had begun training under Dan Florio starting with the Layne bouts.
He retained his Canadian heavyweight boxing title against James J. Parker in front of 6,500 fans at the Maple Leaf Gardens. The twelve-round battle was ruled as a controversial draw.
In 1955, on track to be the second Canadian after Tommy Burns to claim the world heavyweight title, he was ranked fifth in the world and seemed destined to face Rocky Marciano. He had accepted a $10,000 offer to fight South Africa's 7 ft 2, 300-pound Ewart Potgieter in London but later pulled out during the same week of his scheduled flight. At 27, Walls made his retirement from boxing official on November 2, 1955.
During his pro career, Walls knocked out 27 opponents, including 14 in the first round.
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