I struggle to think how this fight may have gone. Big Jess with a huge size and weight advantage against the powerful hitting Bob Fitzsimmons. And prime Willard, not the one jack knocked seven shades out of. 15 rounds, give me a winner and a how.?
Might be able to make him quit but I think the physical advantages would be too great. Plus, Willard knew how to box big. He was good at staying in his lane.
Bob was 5"11 with a 71 inch reach, Jess was 6'6 and a half with a huge reach advantage and outweighed him by half a ton. Bob was a much better fighter but like he was cracked by Jeffries and Jack Johnson a prime Jess simply has too many advantages and Bob ain't Jack Dempsey.
He was like 50 when Johnson beat him, and Willard had nowhere near the offensive arsenal that Jeffries had. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fitz had at the very least comparable power to Dempsey, and Willard was there to be hit.
There is a massive size difference, but there is also a quality gap. So is the size simply too great? The answer to that is not necessarily. Gunboat Smith seems to have been 180lbs when he won a controversial decision against Willard, Fitzsimmons real as opposed to reported weights, were probably not that much less.
Think this is the correct answer. Bob had the superior power but he's at a massive disadvantage Here.
Bob was 36 when Jeffries 1st ko'ed him and 44 when Johnson beat him I believe Johnson was 37 when he was ko'ed by Willard
Jess would def. be looking to simply outlast Fitz - so he’d likely be looking for a schedule well in excess of 15 rounds. Johnson agreeing to 45 rounds against Jess was crazy. By most accounts, even old Jack had Jess beat over 20 rounds.
