This is open to hypothetical outcomes should you choose, but I am more interested in what others feel the impact this fight would have had on the legacy of each fighter and/or their historic place among boxing greats. Had Dempsey fought and beat Wills how much would that impact his ranking? Many here (me also) have him top 10, some (not me) top 5, and others top 15...with a few even lower 15+...Had he fought and beat Wills what would that do for him? Had he fought and lost does that oust him from the top 10 for most???? Wills while ranking very high on Boxrec (not my favorite source) appears in very few top 15 lists amongst posters here. What would a win over Dempsey have meant for him if that scenerio occured? And what would a loss have meant, possibly excludeing him from top 20 conversations entirely?/ How much import would this fight have had?
If Dempsey wins then it silences many of his critics on this site. It would be his single best win and it would have polished his record nicely. If Wills wins then he takes his place among the all time great heavyweights which he probably deserved. For my money the historical impact would be more important than the impact on each fighters resumes. Regardless of the outcome of the fight it would have seen the colour bar off for good. If Wills won then he would have been a less confrontational champion than Johnson and white America would have seen that having a black champion was not the end of the world.
Should Wills win, I think he would become a consensus Top 5, maybe top 3 ATG heavy. Dempsey himself is a uniform top 10 as it is and I feel Wills resume is deeper than his. A Dempsey win emphasises his position but probably doesnt do too much to raise it. As Janitor has stated i think the historical ramifications are huge and Wills as an historical icon becomes immense
Dempsey it was reported wanted to fight Wills so badly because in his words "It was an easy fight". Too bad it never happened. Had Wills beaten Dempsey, he's among the top 5 all time for heavyweights.
Dempsey thought he would beat Wills easily. He might have been misguided in thinking that, but that is what he thought.
It would've had a huge impact, for three reasons: -He would be the second black man in a relatively short period of time to receive his title shot. -Win, lose or draw, Wills would get a huge boost in popularity, and as a consequence, historic standing. Right now his resume is that of at least a top15 ATG, possibly top10. But mediocre by comparison fighters like Firpo, Gibbons and Miske are better known and remembered 100 years later, for the simple reason that they fought Dempsey; and they didn't even win. -It would be the case of two prime, top15 heavyweights of all time squaring off, which is extremely rare. The only cases i can think of are Ali/Frazier/Foreman, Holyfield/Bowe (Bowe/Lewis was possible) and Liston/Patterson I/II. Jeffries/Johnson was another one that could've happened.
If Dempsey loses, i think he drops well out of the top 10 and probably out of the top 20. Willard also drops markedly. Conversely, Langford rises a little and Wills also goes up. Saying this, i dont think that this puts him anywhere near top5, particularly if he knocks Dempsey out, as it would combine with the flynn loss and people would suggest that Dempsey had a poor chin. Where he would have his chance for top 5, would be in that he would get to earn a ranking by defending the title and who knows how his reign would then play out. If Dempsey wins, he goes up only marginally also. It is a good win, maybe his best, but in all honesty, most people consider Dempsey the best of his time anyway. I think he stays in the top 10 but probably towards the lower end.
