Very hard to say. Both are fighters who were basically good at everything, but successful against a wide range of styles. I don’t think that a stoppage is likely, so it probably turns on who outboxes who. If you put a gun to my head I would say Holyfield.
Holyfield without a doubt, Wills wasn't that good. Holyfield woulda banged him good and proper. Wills boxed in the old style squared with his right hand across his chest. He didn't have much of a jab or a hook. Holyfield wasn't a one punch guy so it would go rds of pure punishment.
Here is a post by boilermaker: Re: Jack Dempsey and The Color Line... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/ar...&searchLimits= There is a bit of a different take on Harry Wills, suggesting that for 4 years he was avoiding the best fighters.
We only have an old Wills to view on camera ,allowing for that he does look slow and upright, with little mobility.I think Evander stops him as I believe Dempsey would have.
holyfield wasn't a one punch guy (see douglas, mcdounagh, dokes, rodriguez)? he was a little bit of everything. not sure about wills though, so can't honestly comment on that one. could he have withstood a holyfield left-hook?
If we even up the score and put Evan Wills up against Holyfield, he may triumph over the futuristic roided dinosaur.
Not to knock Dempsey in a thread that has little to do with him and his style doesn't completley correspond to that of Holyfield's, had him and Wills met in the ring, we'd have a much better idea of how this one might go. Being more accustomed to fighting long distances, I think the work rate of his opponent may not be too much of a problem. Holyfield didn't have freakish power, well not in his era anyway, but his combination punching and accuracy more than makes up for it ... a mix of 3 key assets that I'm not so sure Wills could handle