Harry Wills quote

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by HOUDINI, May 25, 2026.


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  1. HOUDINI

    HOUDINI Boxing Addict Full Member

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    The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York) - Harry Wills quote, Saturday 20th December 1958:

    “It wasn’t Jacks fault we never fought. He wasn’t scared of anyone.
    He was a great fighter. It was the racial issues of that time. I guess that fight just wasn’t in the cards.””

    “Dempsey was great and we were both very popular. We would have drawn a 5 million dollar gate and broken all records. But, Chappie, that’s all water under the bridge.”

    Asked if he could have beaten Dempsey Wills replied, “That’s a secret Chappie, I’ll tell you this it would have been one hell of a fight”
     
    HOUDINI, May 25, 2026
    HOUDINI, May 25, 2026
    #1
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  2. SwarmingSlugger

    SwarmingSlugger Active Member Full Member

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    Any idiot would know Dempsey never ducked the fight it was all Kearns, it's too bad the fight never came off.
     
    SwarmingSlugger, May 25, 2026
    SwarmingSlugger, May 25, 2026
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  3. HOUDINI

    HOUDINI Boxing Addict Full Member

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    The history clearly points to this as fact. Dempsey signed to fight Wills three times in 1922, 1925 and 1926. He actively pursued a fight with Wills once he broke with Kearns which was an unheard of activity for any heavyweight champion.

    Dempseys own personal correspondence from the 1925 time period clearly show his anger and dismay regarding the 1925 contract.

    Wills own words, decades later, in the end tell the tale and are difficult to refute.
     
    HOUDINI, May 25, 2026
    HOUDINI, May 25, 2026
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  4. Seamus

    Seamus Proud Kulak Full Member

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    The worst, most egregious duck in the history of the sport.
     
    Seamus, May 25, 2026
    Seamus, May 25, 2026
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  5. ETM

    ETM I thought I did enough to win. Full Member

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    Jack didn't duck Harry Greb either.
     
    ETM, May 25, 2026
    ETM, May 25, 2026
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  6. Woller1

    Woller1 Member Full Member

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    I cannot see a Dempsey - Wills fight draw 5 million dollar gate. Dempsey feared no man, but no promotor would touch that fight.
     
    Woller1, May 25, 2026
    Woller1, May 25, 2026
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  7. RockyValdez

    RockyValdez Active Member Full Member

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    Wills was smart enough to know which side his bread was buttered on. He wasnt going to run down the white mans hero in a white mans world. Look what happened to Larry Holmes when he did it.
     
    RockyValdez, May 25, 2026
    RockyValdez, May 25, 2026
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  8. McGrain

    McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member

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    One of the worst failures to fight by any champion at any weight. He has another hideous failure to fight in the form of Harry Greb.

    Wills here gives the reasons for the failure fight, it does not contradict the occurrence of the failure to fight. People were talking about Wills being Dempsey's first defence. He was arguably the number one contender for almost Dempsey's entire reign. As soon as Dempsey actually met a number one contender in the form of Tunney, he was utterly thrashed.
     
    McGrain, May 25, 2026
    McGrain, May 25, 2026
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  9. SwarmingSlugger

    SwarmingSlugger Active Member Full Member

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    Ok so it's listen to Wills or some clod hack on the internet, not a hard choice.
     
    SwarmingSlugger, May 25, 2026
    SwarmingSlugger, May 25, 2026
    #9
  10. Seamus

    Seamus Proud Kulak Full Member

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    Or read the newspapers from back in the day and see the massive amount of ducking and diving and switching of narratives from the Dempsey camp to avoid Wills, Jack going so far as to say Wills will never get a shot after Harry tried to get an injunction on Dempsey for defending against hype job Firpo. Wills remained the second biggest draw of the era yet somehow the bout is impossible to finance according to Dempsey's promoter.
     
    Seamus, May 25, 2026
    Seamus, May 25, 2026
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  11. HOUDINI

    HOUDINI Boxing Addict Full Member

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    No. Dempseys private correspondence proves he wanted to fight Wills plus the fact he signed three times to fight him and that Wills himself in the end never blamed him.

    The issue with Greb was twofold. One, Dempsey was never offered his going rate to fight him. Secondly, the lack of public interest (the reason for the lowball purse offers). It was termed THE GREB PROBLEM by writers from that time. “Greb was winning at heavyweight but not in spectacular fashion to drum up public interest”.

    It’s not mentioned but when Dempsey sparred with Greb they wore large pillow gloves.

    To quote a writer from that time “To think Greb stands any chance with the hard punching champion is the next thing to being ridiculous”.
     
    HOUDINI, May 25, 2026
    HOUDINI, May 25, 2026
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  12. jdempsey85

    jdempsey85 Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Cant duck anyone if you aint allowed to fight them.Everything was set Brennan III but no.Błocked.Did Dempsey pay him off aswell?

    So who the hell was gonna allow Harry Wills to fight for the Worlds title? Nobody in that race obsessed nation who's billionaire industrialists funded the Nazi war machine throughout the 20s & 30s, (And unbelievably during WW2) The Dulles Boys,The Bush empire,Hitlers hero Henry Ford,Loads more
     
    jdempsey85, May 25, 2026
    jdempsey85, May 25, 2026
    #12
  13. RockyValdez

    RockyValdez Active Member Full Member

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    Yeah its just a shame that Tex Rickard was so afraid to promote mixed race contests that he prevented Tiger Flowers from getting a title shot. It was also the crime of the century that in France they protected the biggest star in the world from losing his title to Battling Siki. Yeah, Wills-Dempsey could have never happened no matter how badly Dempsey wanted it. Instead the only guys around were white light heavyweights. Hook line and sinker. Hit me up for some affordable swamp land if you are in the market.
     
    RockyValdez, May 25, 2026
    RockyValdez, May 25, 2026
    #13
  14. jdempsey85

    jdempsey85 Well-Known Member Full Member

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    This content is protected


    And Profited
     
    jdempsey85, May 25, 2026
    jdempsey85, May 25, 2026
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  15. jdempsey85

    jdempsey85 Well-Known Member Full Member

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    This was the Worlds Heavyweight Title,The most prestigious accolade a human could gain.It was literally figuratively completely on a different scale to other weights

    Its like comparing Roger Corman b-movies to The Godfather
     
    jdempsey85, May 25, 2026
    jdempsey85, May 25, 2026
    #15
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