Harry Wills

He gets extra credit because he beat better fighters than Dempsey too

 

I feel that Dempsey gets extra credit because he DID duck Wills. I dont feel that Dempsey is all some people make him out to be.

 

They were suposed to fight in 1924. Both were at the end of their good years. I think Wills may have pulled it out, but I can't say that with full confdance.

 

I think he could have beaten Dempsey but ,both at their best ,I pick Dempsey ,and by ko.
Did Dempsey want to fight him?
I don't think he was in any rush to do so but ,had the fight successfully been made I doubt he would have worried about facing" The Panther."

 

Kearns also said dempsey used plaster of paris, so i wouldn't take anything he has to say as the truth.

 

And by and large they beat him too, until they aged.

 

Very few people are.

 

This could be a good thread. :good

 

What BS, what was he something like 17-2 against Langford? And he won the first fight, the first 2 were split if I remember rightly

 

I don't know about that. In other alleged cases of alleged "ducking" (for example, Bowe and Lewis, and Mayweather and Pacquiao) there was apparently a great deal of money readily available. On tap and upfront from TV.

There was career-high money available for Dempsey against Wills too ... IN THEORY .... but no one ever reveals any ACTUAL high offers for an actual fight in these threads anyway.


Dempsey always said "if a promoter can come up with a good offer", which rings truer and truer every time we see these threads.
I daresay it got to a point where Wills had a fairly high fee in mind too.

 

It's all about the risk-reward ratio isn't it. Team bowe were probably pissed that lewis was am actual mandatory and had some control over the purse split. With pac-floyd that's a unique drug testing holdup which ultimately comes down to one side wanting the power and the other not wanting to concede it.

But noone can tell me Bowe was physically scared of Lewis nor can they tell me Floyd is scared of Pac. I've far too much respect to believe fear is the reason these fights don't come off. Poor management, unreal expectations, not real desire all those I can buy. But fear I cannot.

 

Wills.v Langford
16 Fights
16th w10 SL was 41
15th w15 SL was 39
14th w15 SL was 38
13th w10 SL was 38
12th w8 SL was38
11th w ko SL was 37
10th w ko SL was 37
9th d SL was 36
8th w10 SL was 36 This was a fake.
7th w 8 SL was 35
6th w10SL was 35
5th w20 SL was 35
4th w 20 SL was35
3rdw 10 SL was 34
2nd lko SL was 33
1st d SL was 33


Wills never beat a prime Langford.


Wills fought Jeff Clark 7 times he drew the 1st won the rest ,and increasingly dominated him through the years.

Wills v Joe Jeannette. 3 fights
3rd w 8 JJ was 41
2nd d10 JJ was34
1st d10 JJ was 33

Wills never beat a prime Jeannette.


Wills v Sam Mcvey.
5 fights
5th was a fake both slung out.
4thwko SM was 34
3rdw12 SM was 31
2nd l10SM was 31
1st l 20SM was 30

Wills never beat a prime McVey



I rest my case.

 

Until the fight with fulton, I think sam was a prime fighter.

 

No and Yes

 

Towards the end of the series Langford was an empty shell, and Wills might have been carrying him to preserve his meal ticket.

The final reckoning of 17-2 is not a fair reflection of Langford's performence, in the part of the series where there was something to argue about.