Harry Greb vs Jess Willard

Brennan weighed around 190 to 195 pounds though. Willard would have been a big leap and Greb did recognize this by never taking on the likes of Wills or Fulton.

 

All I can add is the ring would have to be massive,,,,, I am not disrespecting Greb, but this thread is an insult to Willard,.... we are talking about a goddam giant here,... not Brennan and Jess could hit hard,.. he may even knock Greb out..... there are people who think that Marciano, Louis, Dempsey, Liston, Foreman, Frazier and Tyson are incapable of KO'ing Greb............................. Now who's wearing a Superman suit ????

 

I dont think Greb would hurt Willard either (unless he cut him, which isnt out of the realm of possibility) but thats not the point. You dont have to hurt someone to beat them in boxing. Greb was a master of this. He was all about piling up points, and like I said, Willard was a slow moving, clumsy fighter who fought at a fairly measured pace and wasnt overly physical. If he didnt get ahold of Greb and try to maul him, wrestle him, and lean his weight on him I could easily see Greb simply working in and out on him and making Willard look slow and confused. He did it to a lot of guys faster than Willard. It all depends on how Willard uses his size. I dont think punching power, Willards or Grebs, comes into the equation.

In fact, despite the credit people are giving Willard for his punch, almost every fighter he faced that was anywhere near the top twenty went the distance with him barring an old Johnson and Floyd Johnson (which is one of Willards most impressive wins IMO despite Johnson not really being that good a fighter). Some of the guys who went the distance with Willard werent a whole lot bigger than Greb in either height, or weight or both.

 

Gunboat Smith had faults,.. his awesome power wasn't one of them,,,, Gunboat hit a lot harder than Greb...... I just can't see how Greb can hurt Willard..... I say that power is needed.... a pre-requisite.

 

We arent exactly talking about a well schooled, athletic, coordinated giant. We are in fact talking about a guy recognized as one of the worst HW champs in history. We are talking about Willard, not Dempsey, Louis, Marciano or any of the other names you mentioned. Yes Willard was big but watch him fight. He is a straight up and down, long range fighter, who fights a measured pace and is very uncoordinated. That type of fighter is going to mesh very well with Greb's style and physical attributes. If I had to pick one giant HW that Greb had a decent chance of beating Id pick Willard, even moreso than Carnera who was at least athletic, and athletically coordinated, as well as possessing some decent classical skills.

 

It would be if Willard were an aggressive fighter, or a guy who went in there trying for the KO all the time. He wasnt though. Tom McMahon who started out as a MW and wasnt a big puncher even there outpointed Willard over 12 rounds and he only stood an inch and a half taller than Greb and wasnt anywhere near Greb's level. George Rodel managed to beat him once also and while Rodel was bigger than Greb he wasnt a puncher either and had a glass jaw to boot, so a guy with little power and a glass jaw not only survived Willards power but outpointed him...

 

You didn't upset me at all :smoke.

But power was never a must for Greb in ANY fight, even when he fought heavyweights. So why would it now?

 

History shows us that the bigger a guy was, the easier a time Greb had with them (Tunney and Norfolk being the exceptions). Heavyweights were practically shut out by Greb. The trend to dominate more conclusively in proportion to increasing size of opposition is obvious by a glance at his record.

That being the case, I pick Greb to easily get in and out on Willard, avoid his ponderous blows and beat him by a wide UD. How could Jess even get set against such a hypermobile opponent? If Jess landed a big shot I have no doubt that he would be unable to follow up. Greb had some of the fastest legs in the game.

 

Over 10 or 15 rounds I favour Greb big time. I don't really rate Jess, he certainly struggled with smaller boxer types far inferior to Greb, I actually cant see a way for Willard to win on points unless Harry stayes inside but as he was very schrewd I cant see him doing that. In a finisg fight Willard cant lose, Harry cant stop him or outlast him.

 

10, 12 or 15 Rounds - Greb by Decision based on v.big advantages in skill And workrate. :bbb

'finish fight' - The Crude Caveman Willard eventually stops Greb in Round 25 or something.

 

I confess I'm not too knowledgeable about them but yes, they're from here..

 

It's simply a matter if Willard could him Greb at all ...

Willard is one of the most misunderstood of champions. He started so late, he never really developed ... despite this he had some terrific natural skills and could have been a very fine fighter ..

It's a real Mutt and Jeff match up and a lot depends on the ring size and the ref ... There is little shot of Greb being able to hurt him ... if Willard jabs and holds and roughs him up on the inside he wins ... honestly, who knows ... ?