Is Harry Wills Resume overrated?

In 100 years people will look back and see that a world champion was uncomfortable fighting against a transgender person or something and claim they’re undeserving of a place in history. Perspective and context is key.

Sullivan doesn’t appear in my top 10 heavyweights though, for the record. I only care to put thought into 10.

1. Louis
2-5. Marciano, Dempsey, Johnson, Ali,
6-10. Holmes, Liston, Lewis, Charles (top 10 pfp), W. Klitschko

 

These forums exist so that guys can put asterixes next to the wins of the fighters they don't like, and realistically, almost every fighter has some wins that require them. Sure, Wills' best victories were not at their best when he got them, but he fought the best he could get in front of him, and he won.

 

I think Harry Wills resume is typically underrated.

I agree that some of the "names" on his win resume should be viewed in the context that they weren't prime, but this should be offset by the astonishing depth of his win resume. A very rough ordering of his best 32 wins:

1-13 Sam Langford (this is a little lazy of me, the last few wins over Langford should be further down this list)
14 Fred Fulton
15-17 Sam McVea
18 Luis Angel Firpo
19 Joe Jeanette
20 Willie Meehan
21 Gunboat Smith
22-28 Jeff Smith
29 Battling Jim Johnson
30 Kid Norfolk
31 Charley Weinert
32 Denver Ed Martin

Many past prime, in particular Langford by the end of their series, Jeanette & Martin. People may disagree with my very rough, off the top of my head, ordering of his best wins, but regardless, how many HWs, for e.g. 22nd best win would be better than Wills's 22nd best win? How about 28th best win? 31st best win? etc.

Now, I'm being deliberately provocative to an extent, I wouldn't give equal credit to beating the same fighter 13 x times as I would to beating 13 x different equally accomplished opponents, but nevertheless, his win resume is deeper than is reflected in his typical all time ranking at HW, imo.

Following his DQ loss to Battling Jim Johnson aged 27, he went on a 36-0-2 run, before losing to Bill Tate by DQ aged 32.

The only fights Wills lost during what I consider his prime years were to Langford (who we went 13-2-2 with in total), Sam McVea (avenged x 3, for a 3-2 final ledger) and that DQ loss to Battling Jim Johnson (2-1). i.e., he had a winning record against every opponent he faced during his prime.

 

Gunboat Smith too was totally washed up.

 

I do not know if Wills beats Dempsey or not and no one else does either because he was ducked, period. The reasons why blur and while I very much doubt Dempsey feared him he did not fight him ..a very strong argument could be made that Willard ducked him as well .. there is little doubt Wills fought and defeated "at least" as good opposition as Dempsey did .. the arguments that Wills looked bad on film in his mid to later thirties after 100 fights and using that to airbrush history and make him another big, slow guy tailor made for Dempsey is simply ignorant of fact or revisionist by design. Here's for sure, Kearns and Rickard wanted no part of Wills for Dempsey and they were incredible cagey guys who always wanted the big bucks. To me it shows at the least they feared a possible upset ..