I am curious to how Willard would even win a round. He has no jab, no skill, no speed, no movement, he can't hook, his right is his only decent punch which comes telegraphed from miles away
I could see either man losing to the other. Page had his brilliant fights, very few and had talent and some good right hand power and when conditioned was above average. Willard was strong, had good stamina and size...it would depend on what night, how many rds and respective conditions
No jab , no speed, no skill ,no movement? Sounds a bit like a certain little stubby Italian of the 1950's? Against both Firpo and Floyd Johnson, Willard displays a jab.
No! It is a battle of resumes, even if you don't think era's are equal! I do not think that all era's are equal, but where I argue for a difference, I assume the burden of proof!
Just went back and watched more film of Willard. He looks horrendous He skated by back in his day but if he had to compete against the large heavyweights today whom had extensive amatuer backgrounds, weight training nutrition full commitment to boxing, he wouldn't compete
If it is a discussion of greatness, then certainly resumes come into question. If it is head to head, one must assess the level of opponent upon which the combatant in question is exhibiting his dominance. Now, I know it is heresy, but I contend the era of athletes and their particular training in the sport of boxing from the 1980's was far superior of that of the 1910's. Call me silly.
Interestingly, Jess Willard might be on Page's side in this one. By the time of Joe Louis, it seems according to this article at least that Willard thought that the skill levels had progresed. http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/art...=Jess Willard training Schedule&searchLimits= I am not sure what Willards training was like, but according to Nat Fleisher he trained down from 320lbs for the Jack Johnson fight. http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/art...=Jess Willard training Schedule&searchLimits= This is interesting, it is Jess Wilards training schedule after he beat Johnson and was rumoured to be ballooning up with inactivity. I would have to say i think he would struggle to compete in the 80s with this. ' http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/art...edule&searchLimits=l-decade=191|||l-year=1917
Not sure who to favor really, but the myth that Willard didn't train was that a myth, sort of, In his rise to the title, he train and was in shape, He was well train to outlast Johnson in that 45 round bout. Say what you will about how far Johnson decline, you still have to be in amazing shape to last as long as they did, in that burning heat. Once he won the title, that was really about the end of Willard as a train fighter though, yeah he got back for Moran in that ten rounder, but by the time Dempsey show up, Willard didn't look as the "film voice over said" Willard didn't look in the rock hard shape he was against Jack Johnson 4 years earlier." Willard was using the title to lived the high life, which he did.
He couldn't even get that right. At least Dempsey lived the high life properly during his inactivity.
Willard was in shape to box. He just never worked on the art of boxing technique. He didn't have amateur experience, he wasn't groomed. How many rounds did he spar during training? How often did he work on his footwork and hitting speed bag for coordination? How often did he do mitt work? His skills were lacking big time When he fought Dempsey though he wasn't even in shape and 3 years of inactivity at age 37 took a lot out of him It wouldn't have mattered