1897 Fitzsimmons vs 1915 Willard: Finish Fight

"I'd give my left nut to go back in time and"

Oh, my. Boxing never had a more devoted fan.

 

Fitzsimmons may have been the hardest p4p puncher in history. He was still was only a 170 lber, and it is a legitimate question whether he stops the very durable Willard in a finish fight. Fitz probably wins a 20 round decision. A finish fight? The biggest good fighter Fitz stopped was Ruhlin, at about 195 lbs. The bigger guys, such as Dunkhurst, didn't have much on the ball. Also, the Willard of 1915 was a much tougher proposition than the old, fat Willard Dempsey slaughtered.

Without much conviction, I pick Willard in a finish fight.

 

I know Fitz was a THREE division champion, and he is an all-time great fighter... However, he does NOT generally rank high within the lineal line of champions from 1887 thru 2008.... Fitz is NOT in the top-10, or even 15, in my book....... Cheers....

MR.BILL

P.S.

Neither is Jim Corbett, Marvin Hart or Thomas Burns..... Yet, all were good guys for their day and age....

 

I'd say he's easily top 5 hardest punchers, maybe top three.

 

Fitz via massacre. :yep

 

Jack Johnson?

 

The Jack Johnson prior to 1904 was still green and coming into his own as a fighter / boxer.... Despite being at a good age of 26, Johnson didn't really peak until the ages of 29 thru 33.... SO! The heavies who supposedly "Schooled" Jack Johnson or taught him a lesson in sparring back around 1900 thru 1904, do not really grab my attention all that much... At the turn of the 20th century, Jack Johnson was a green fighter still learning his trade....

Jack Johnson would NOT have beaten Jim Jeffries in 1902 had they fought during that Summer, instead of EIGHT yrs later in 1910..... Jeffries had already kicked Fitz' ass rather hard a couple of times, as well as Jimmy Corbett's narrow ass, too...... Johnson, in 1902, was as green as the Jolly Green Giant on television.... Jim Jeffries was a bad-ass dude from '99 to 1905.... Peace...

MR.BILL

 

I used to think like that but I came round to believe the hype for various reasons.

I used to think that Fitz was a great middleweight but as you say an ordinary heavyweight. Now I think he was a top 20 all time heavyweight and one of the best heavyweight finishers of all time.

I dont think he would beat the fighters you have listed (Johnson, Dempsey Tunney etc) but the champions between Tunney and Louis were not thought to be in Fitzsimmons class in their own day. As I have learned more about him I have gone from ranking him beneath most of the 30s champions to ranking him above most of them.

 

I dont thank Fitz could have beaten willard of 1915 in a Fight to the finish He would beat willard over 20 some rounds but after that the Size and stregth of Willard Takes it toll on Fitz's stamina and Willard would Take Control until the fight ended

 

I'll sit this one out for obvious reasons... but the posts so far are quite interesting-been so damn busy lately no time to post my two cents anyway, hell barely time to read the board:fire

 

Fitz was an exceptional fighter, one of the true pound for pound all time greats .. he was a murderous puncher and laid out many heavyweights including Mayer and Sharkey .. does he stop a prime Willard ? Hell of a good question .. a prime Tyson couldn't stop a huge, very strong, iron chinned, hugging Smith ...

 

Fitz was an alltime great puncher ,but Willard had a very good chin Gunboat Smith said he showed no reaction to his best Sunday punch .I can see two scenarios Fitz methodically butchering Willard like a steer ,or Willard wearing the Super Middle down and despatching him with a right uppercut late on.Toss up.

 

I see Willard wearing the much smaller man down with pressure and size..... Fitz would do well early on, while he's fresh, but he'd begin to wilt after he tires... Fitz is not gonna stand and trade with Willard.... Forget about Toledo for Christ Sake. In 1919, Willard was just a fat cowboy milking the fight game for some cash flow to preserve a farm in Kansas... I'm talkin' about 1915, when Willard was coming up and hungry to kick some ass.... In '15, Willard was a well trained / groomed 230 pounder; but '19, Willard was a soft 245 pounder for Jack Dempsey..... BIG DIFFERENCE! Cheers....

MR.BILL

 

Could Bob Fitzsimmons have beaten Ezzard Charles in a time machine? Hell, NO! Fitz' style was 19th century, and Fitz never really saw a whole lot of truly "Gifted" fighters with skills like Charles.... Still, I'm not so sure I'd bet on Charles of 1950 to beat Willard of 1915..... I just don't really know there..... SIZE / STRENGTH does ACCOUNT for something... Peace...

MR.BILL