Heard Bert Sugar saying this. Could find nothing about it. Bert isn't known for 100% accuracy, so I wanted to see if anyone here knows if there is anything to it.
He killed a guy back in 1913 with a punch to the head in the 9th round. The fighters name was John "Bull" Young. Willard was charged with 2nd degree murder...but he was found not guilty by a jury in 1914.
From Boxrec: "On August 22, 1913, Willard fought the match that would secure his early reputation as a brutal puncher. In Vernon, California, he was matched with another gigantic fighter named William "Bull" Young. Young was not a particularly talented fighter and had already lost to Willard once by this point, but the spectacle of these behemoths going at it generated enough dollars for a rematch. In the second fight, Willard floored his over-matched opponent with a right uppercut in the eleventh round. The next day, Young was dead. The true cause of death had been the cerebral hemorrhage caused by his head hitting the floor in the eleventh, but the press attributed the tragedy to Willard's punching power. Willard himself was devastated. He never enjoyed boxing to begin with but now "I hated it as I never hated a thing previously." Still, the paychecks were getting bigger and he had mouths to feed. After beating charges of second-degree murder for his part in the Young debacle, Willard showed evidence of how traumatic the whole experience had been for him. In his very next match, against over-matched South African George Rodel, whom he outweighed by fifty pounds, Willard fought cautiously and let the bout go the ten round distance, never once throwing his fearsome right hand. Similar performances followed. His star began to fall in the eyes of the public."
Wow, surprised that this story is real. Thanks fellas. And I never thought of Willard with this context. It's interesting how every little detail about a fighter can help me form an opinion, yet something so significant in the background story of Jess Willard just whizzed right by me.
I think, at least to a decent extent, Willard's career in the eyes of many fans began with the Johnson fight and ended with the Dempsey one. His narrative gets lost in the shuffle. Honestly, this isn't too surprising given the larger-than-life nature of the two Jacks that sandwiched his reign, but it is unfortunate. The fact that an ex-circus strongman who didn't take up boxing until 27 was able to win the championship is astonishing.
After this tragedy of killing Bull Young Willard never put all his weight into a punch understandably. I have read many pieces years ago that in training sessions no fighter ever could even "buzz" his chin no matter how hard they landed on him. An iron chin had Big Jess...Picture Willard today on steroids ?. WOW. P.S. This says a lot that a young 180 pound finely trained Jack Dempsey could shatter Willard's chin and floor him in the first round with one left hook thrown upwards to even reach Willard's head. This version of Dempsey who flattened Fred Fulton and Jess Willard was as great a P4P fighter who ever lived, not withstanding his naysayers who deny 90 years later what the boxing fraternity saw with their own eyes. Sad Rez....
Lmao so now willard is a brutal puncher. Since now shavers,foreman,tua and tyson are jimmy YOUNG in the hitting power departament . Janitor will tell you that willard is a top 10 punchers in order to give more crédit to dempsey lol
I think the point is that Willard had respectable power on him which has been forgotten because he is only remembered for his performance against Dempsey.
The "restored" Willard vs JJohnson fight film shows Willard landing a strong right hand on Johnson's jaw knocking Johnson out.
Insane Burt. Jacks left that downed Willard the first time is probably the nicest punch I've ever seen. It's the only punch from the 20's you can truly feel 100 years later.
I asked if Willard killed someone. They confirmed it. Obviously he had a hard punch. Do you hate the person that explains this? Makes no sense. Be proud of the past, be proud of the present.
