Why was Willie Meehan a thorn in Dempsey's side?

Why was Willie Meehan a thorn in Dempsey's side?

5'9". "heavyweight'.
84-29-39 Record

Went 2-1-2 against Dempsey in the 1917-1918 era.
(4 round fights)

In 1919, Dempsey wins the Hvyweight title 1 year after Meehan
beat him (last loss for Dempsey until the Tunney I fight).

You wonder why Dempsey never gave Meehan a 'title shot".

(In 1918, the New York Sun wrote: "Meehan is so fat that blows make no impression upon him and he is so awkward that even the cleverest of opponents cannot figure out a way to reach him effectively. Despite the ludicrous appearance he makes in the ring, Meehan really knows a great deal about the game of fisticuffs and he is far from being the easy mark he looks.")

 

Sometimes fighters just have another fighter's number. There's something about their style that makes it particularly hard for a specific sort of boxer to deal with. I don't think there's any footage of Dempsey / Meehan, but if there was I bet Willie is a bobbing, weaving, clutching, flurrying kind of guy. Sort of a poor man's Greb

IIRC Dempsey fought only short fights vs Willie. I bet that over a longer haul Meehan wouldn't have had such a fun time because Dempsey's power would have caught up with him. Looking at pics of him he doesn't seem very impressive.

Disclaimer: ^ This post is heavy on speculation

 

Lmao at 'this post is heavy on speculation' lol

 

Well known:

Short duration bouts so less time to catch the tricky boxer.

 

Meehan went 4 rds with Langford and Jeff Clark beating them both ,drew with Billy Miske over 4 ,and beat Jack Dillon over 6rds.

 

I saw a pic once of Meehan and he had the kind of look like a Claude 'Humphrey' McBride or Butterbean Esch. I recall when Butterbean moved up to a 10 rounder and he got beat, and he promptly went back to 4 rounders where he would not fatigue as quick. This could be similar for Meehan. He could probably be a real spoiler for a couple of rounds. But again, as had been previously stated, this is speculation.

 

Disclaimer: ^ This post is heavy on speculation

It is, but it makes sense cos Meehan was fat and was awkward, and you're right about the short distant vs a longer distance fight. Willie seemed to be a survivor type guy, who could frustrate a puncher over the short route
If this is speculating do some more cos from what I have read, you are pretty accurate.

 

Speculation yes but seems to be dead on about Meehan. I would say anything not a fact is are speculative in nature. But what's good we can all speculate yessir!

 

But with Dempsey's speed, you'd figure he would be able to catch the fleshy Meehan.

Why he was out boxed by the likes of Meehan is an issue, and later in his career Dempsey had a world of trouble vs Sharkey ( Until the low blow /hook to the jab combination ) and with Tunney.

 

50 of Jack's 69 fights went 4 rounds or less. It's not like he didn't have experience over that distance.

 

Willard explored a title defense against Meehan mainly for doing well against Dempsey.

 

Styles different styles. If I remember correctly Butterbean was the "King of the 4rdr's", so was Meehan it seems. Butterbean was a fat puncher who couldnt fight, Meehan was a fat awkward boxer who knew how to fight. Butterbean never beat anybody of consequence Meehan did. Here is a report with an interesting comment.
Los Angeles Herald, Number 271, 13 September 1918

What the 4=Rounders Are Doing

Local fans believe Jack Dempsey has some job on his hands when he meets Willie Meehan at San Francisco tonight in Jim Coffroth’s big boxing show. The fat sailor Is capable of giving any man in the world all the trouble he wants for four rounds, and Willie will be giving the best he has In order to flatten that statement Jack Kearns gave out in the East that Dempsey’s record shows a K. O. over the Naval Reserve hero. There will be many Angelenos in the crowd pulling for the portly mixer.

 

The comparison between Butterbean and Willie Meehan as fighter is extremely superficial at best. Yes, both Butterbean and Meehan had pudgy builds and fought in lots of four-round bouts. But that is essentially where the comparison ends.

Butterbean was essentially a circus act who was matched against a carefully selected collection of "stiffs" in four-round bouts. With his massive bulk and poor condition, Butterbean was as slow as molasses and had very little stamina, which may have been why he was in scheduled four-round bouts rather longer ones.

It is true that Meehan was far from being a top fighter and sometimes acted and looked somewhat comical. But compared to Butterbean, Meehan was a much better fighter who faced vastly superior competition with some success and had a massive advantage in boxing skills, stamina and mobility. In addition, Meehan fought competent fighters in quite a few bouts lasting ten to twenty rounds with some success. One reason why Meehan fought in so many four-round bouts was that he lived in California, a state in which the law mandated that bouts had to be scheduled for a maximum of four rounds (unless the bouts took place on federal installations) from late 1914 to the beginning of 1925.

- Chuck Johnston

 

"Mendoza, But with Dempsey's speed, you'd figure he would be able to catch the fleshy Meehan.

Why he was out boxed by the likes of Meehan is an issue, and later in his career Dempsey had a world of trouble vs Sharkey ( Until the low blow /hook to the jab combination ) and with Tunney.

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Chuck1052,The comparison between Butterbean and Willie Meehan as fighter is extremely superficial at best. Yes, both Butterbean and Meehan had pudgy builds and fought in lots of four-round bouts. But that is essentially where the comparison ends.

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Butterbean was essentially a circus act who was matched against a carefully selected collection of "stiffs" in four-round bouts. With his massive bulk and poor condition, Butterbean was as slow as molasses and had very little stamina, which may have been why he was in scheduled four-round bouts rather longer ones.

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It is true that Meehan was far from being a top fighter and sometimes acted and looked somewhat comical. But compared to Butterbean, Meehan was a much better fighter who faced vastly superior competition with some success and had a massive advantage in boxing skills, stamina and mobility. In addition, Meehan fought competent fighters in quite a few bouts lasting ten to twenty rounds with some success. One reason why Meehan fought in so many four-round bouts was that he lived in California, a state in which the law mandated that bouts had to be scheduled for a maximum of four rounds (unless the bouts took place on federal installations) from late 1914 to the beginning of 1925.

This content is protected