Harry Wills (606)

Was Reading a piece on Dempsey in Boxing News and Wills cropped up so I did a bit of reading up on him. 

He was considered the biggest victim of the 'colour line' as he was denied the opportunity to fight for the heavyweight title despite being number 1 contender for a long time. Dempsey avoided him like the plague and forfeited a 50 grand guarantee for a fight with Wills to face Tunney instead. Apparently his level of opposition was comparable, if not better than Dempseys, who many consider to have been overprotected. He finished up with a record of 103-79-10-4 (49 ko's). He also fought 14 no contests with Sam langford and beat him 6 times.     

For those familiar with Will, how do you think he would've faired against Dempsey if they'd met? Or Tunney for that matter, and how do you rate him generally?

Dempsey for me gets a real bad press on this one. Whilst there is no doubt Wills deserved his shot from what I have read Dempsey was willing to accomodate him but the problem was firstly finding a city willing to put the fight on and secondly promoter Tex Rickard was loath to put the fight on with the aftermath of Johnson Jeffries, which he had promoted still fresh in his memory.

Worth remembering Dempsey often employed black fighters such as Bill Tate as sparring partners and even run into trouble in the deep south for staging sparring exhibitions with Tate. As to how the fight goes, have not seen enough of Wills to really comment but think he would certainly have lost to Tunney solely because he was some way past his best when this was viable. As for Dempsey, at his best I think Jack gives most everyone fits so could well do for Wills.

Thanks for bringing this one over, Sugar Boy.

Little doubt that Wills was an awesome physical specimen and a very fine fighter. At around 6ft.3ins. and 210lb. he was a very big man for his day, and he packed a wallop to match.

Notwithstanding, I'd fancy Dempsey to have beaten him. Dempsey was well accustomed to fighting bigger men, such as Fulton, Morris and Willard, and we also have evidence of this in sparring footage against Big Bill Tate. Very few hit like Dempsey, and as we see in the Paolino Uzcudan fight, an admittedly past his best Wills wasn't terribly difficult to hit. Uzcudan dropped Wills as though he had been shot, and Uzcudan was no Dempsey in the firepower stakes. Jack Sharkey who, on his day, was a superb boxer, also boxed Wills' ears off and frustrated him before winning by DQ.

Much of Wills' reputation derives from his winning series against Sam Langford but, even then, it doesn't hold up to the closest scrutiny. Sam won their first encounter by kayo in 1914 at which point he ( Langford, ) was thirty one, ( six years older than Wills, ) and it wouldn't be until after Langford had lost the sight in one eye from a detached retina in the Fulton fight of 1917 that Wills would really run away with the series. Also significant is that in 1924, when a bout with Dempsey had been scheduled but had fallen through, Wills fought a twelve round no decision against Firpo, whom Dempsey had decimated a year earlier.

All in all, I can't see past Dempsey knocking out Wills in fairly short order, but for everybody's sake it's a great pity that the fight never happened.

Nice one Sugar Boy

Wills met Langford nearer the end of Sam's career Sugar boy, but were some of Sam's hardest fights, i believe Sam would have fared better had they been earlier in his career but there's no taking them away from Wills, he gave Sam hell in a few of them, he was a great fighter.

Jack Dempsey was a great fighter, no doubt. I am currently in the process of reading The Fearless Harry Greb and i don't blame Demsey for not fighting Harry. He constantly signed to fight people Harry Greb had beaten, some of who Harry had beat two, three times already. There sparring sessions were dominated by Greb and probably were the reason they didn't meet, along with his incredible record, Greb would have defeated Dempsy in a wide points decision, thats my opinion anyway.

Harry Wills is someone i don't know a lot about, but definitely someone i will be looking to learn more about, one for the who needs him club, and back in a time when top black fighters were easily avoidable. The only fight of his i've viewed so far is the Paolino Uzcudun one where he seems to be smashed with an elbow or forearm, before then being KO'd on the ropes, i will post the link blow.

Paolino Uzcudun vs Harry Wills 1927
http://fightfilmcollector.blogspot.com/2010/07/paolino-uzcudun-vs-harry-wills-1927.html