Harry Will s in place of Jersey Joe Walcott. From the Wills who beat Gunboat Smith challenging Joe Louis for the first time then the rematch. And wills against Charles and Marciano?
Louis stops him late, then mid rounds rematch Charles UD's him 3/4 times, stops him once I shan't not say what prime Marciano would do to an older Harry Wills
Interesting idea .Wills would be what 27/28 years old? From then on he didnt really face too many "killers" ,an old Langford,Firpo ,out of shape,[his fault not Harry's,]Weinert.Madden,Norfolk and Clark.I dont think he does any better than an aging Walcott did,in fact I doubt he does as well. I think I'd take all of them to beat him and maybe some stop him into the bargain. I don't think he could box as well as Walcott and Charles,nor hit as hard as Marciano,and Louis still had something left for the Jersey Joe fights.I suppose I don't really rate Harry that highly when I look at my remarks. Probably plenty of others will disagree, as is there right,but that's my thoughts on it.
I'm inclined to agree, I think Dempsey would have stopped him.Which of course doesn't excuse a matchup between them for not happening,
None of us have a clue except no one with a stake in Dempsey wanted them to fight, those who do know say he was a terror and those who write him off use the 35 - 37 year old version as their reference point ..
This is fair comment .But here we are judging the Wills from the Smith fight onwards,and I ask myself who did he beat in those years before he fouled out to Sharkey to save himself from a beating, that any number of other champs couldn't have done?
The only films we have Wills does not look impressive. Certainly a static target and he appears not very quick.
Any version of Wills loses to those guys. Wills was a strong contender of his era had a share of good wins and had a share of losses but in good company. However Louis chops him down I think before the 5th rd. Harry throws but gets countered. Marciano breaks him down and stops him about 6-8th rd. Walcott outboxes him and may drop him and stop him over the course of the later rds
Arcel watched Dempsey as early as 1916. He attended Dempsey’s bout with John Lester Johnson. Arcel was intimate with the boxing scene during the teens and twenty’s. Arcel was also by most standards boxing’s greatest trainer. He termed Wills a “good journeyman”.
I'll go with this, can see Wills running close with Louis in the first fight, in the rematch Joe catches him mid way and nails him. He'd take Charles to the end but lose by decision every time. Then against Marciano?.. I can't see Harry seeing the seventh tbh, and it would be brutal.
Wills had hardly any losses. A DQ and a loss from braking a wrist, and a couple against Langford in McVea were all he had even close to his prime. He was far more dominant than Walcott.
