1973 George Foreman vs 1915 Jess Willard

A lot of the time when people get brain damage it seems to be when they get concussed and recover repeatedly.

 

Well, perhaps Dempsey didn't hit as hard as everyone liked to pretend. That's another read on the situation.

 

Maybe, but I think there's a lot more evidence for Dempsey being a big puncher than Willard having a bad chin.

 

I like Foreman and believe he was a fascinating physical specimen, perhaps the naturally strongest man to ever hold the title but also find both incarnations of him to be very over rated .. phase one excelled against certain styles but was very vulnerable to other styles ... Phase two the same ... if there was a way to combine the best of the two we may have had the one some believe we had .. the Willard who fought Johnson was 6'6" , 235 , had a rock chin, terrific strength in his own right and was country hard ... if Foreman did not get him early he would certainly tire Foreman out, outlast him and stop him. I'd make him a very live shot ..

 

Which round do you think it will be in the middle of? The first or the second?

 

Willard had a good chin, and in 1915 was hard to catch clean. He's unlikely to be stopped in the first 2 rounds.

 

I hate to break it ya, but the sport came along way from 1915 to the 70s.

George ****in kills him.

 

Yes, Willard would have his moments in the first 30 seconds or so, and it would be impressive. Putting together size, power, stamina, speed, and heart into a potent attack, he would dazzle. Then George would punch him in the face in an amazing come-from-behind KO around the 45-second mark.

 

He had a good chin against the kind of guys he faced. But, really, who are the great punchers he lasted against? And in regards to his own power, how does a 175 pound .500 fighter last 12 rounds with WIllard and take a resounding newspaper decision? Langford pounded out the same scrub in 6 just a few months later.

Willard never met a fighter who combined the athleticism, size and power of a Foreman. Not even close. This is a mismatch.

 

Because Willard took the fight on short notice
Because Langford never pounded him out, the police stopped it
Because McMahon was rarely stopped, only 4 times in 88 fights, 3 of which in his last 6 fights, the other being the police stoppage against Langford, which aren't normally counted as KOs.

 

This

 

Some say tomato, some say tomahto.

Some say pounded, some say hammered.

Fergus County Democrat 11/12/14

"Sam Langford Gives M'Mahon Severe Beating When Fight Is Stopped in Sixth Round.

In the fifth Langford seemed to take a real interest in the fight and he hammered McMahon to standstill.

... Early in the sixth round Langford knocked McMahon down, who took the count to nine and then arose... Langford gave McMahon a sever beating, ending with the knockdown.... Because of the rather brutal slugging toward the end the crowd took the constables action with good natured tolerance."

 

Clutching at straws here. We all know who wins this fight in brutal fashion