Firpo vs Harry Wills (1924)

Dempsey had Firpo out of there inside 4 minutes. He knocked him down 9 times and several of those were legit non-fouls.
Yes, he fouled a lot, as he Firpo, as did Wills.
That's just boxing. They were all known as rough fighters.

I certainly wouldn't whine about it. You seem to whine the most about fouls, when it comes to Dempsey anyway.

I wouldn't criticize Wills' performance either. By all accounts he dominated the fight, and he was way past his best. But the ONE SINGLE knockdown he scored was a sucker punch on the break. That's just an observation.

 

They both beat Firpo and were both clearly much better than Firpo, so it's laughable that people on either side will try to use either of those performances to make a negative assessment of either fighter.

Wills was WAY past his best. And might have even been carrying Firpo to lure Dempsey into making a fight wih him.

Dempsey was having only his second fight after a two year lay-off and had gone back considerably since 1919 due to inactivity and his ongoing film career. And he went into the fight having already declared he would deliberately brawl with Firpo to impress the press and fans after his dull win over Gibbons.

Dempsey and Wills were much better than Firpo and the fights prove it.

 

Lol, like I said, whining and hand wringing.

Like I said, hand wringing and whining. One fighter dominated Firpo and beat him easily. The other had his hands full. People can characterize it all they want, and there has been a lot of characterizing, but the idea that Wills' performance was somehow lesser because he didnt have a knockdown drag out fight a wild, lumbering oaf and instead made an easy night of it is silly, so at least we agree on that point. However my initial point stands. If you are going to criticize Wills for hitting Firpo on the break then you damn well better hold Dempsey to the same standard because had the rules been enforced in his championship fights his career might look a lot different. So yes, Im going to draw attention to that fact. Dempsey gets a pass because he is so beloved but the guy was dirty as hell, not rough, dirty. He always lobbied to have his friends referee his fights so he could do as he pleased and when he couldnt win that argument his star power usually won out the day for him. People go ape **** over his fights with Willard and Firpo and how brutal he was in those fights. Would those fights look the same if he wasnt allowed to stand over those guys and hit them upon rising? Rabbit punch? Hold and hit? Would we have seen a Long Count and Dempsey had been called on his numerous low blows against Sharkey? The odds are 50/50 at best. So yeah, without Dempsey being given his own set of rules its a strong possibility that he isnt the legend he is today. Nevermind the fact that he was allowed to duck his number one contender for 7 years and his deluded fanboys use a 3 minute of said contender taken 5 years into that 7 year duck as evidence that a defense against Wills would have had a foregone conclusion anyway. Its ludicrous.

 

You're whining. Extreme whining.

I never said Wills' performance was lesser. They both beat Firpo easily. It's a matter of taste which one is prefered.

It's not a criticism to say Wills hit Firpo on the break. It's an observation. Same with observing Dempsey's fouls. Nothing wrong with noting Dempsey's fouls. Lots of fouls
But if someone wants to use that as a reason to devalue Wills or Dempsey as fighters, and imply their success rested largely on getting away with fouls, that's a different matter.
There records and the footage suggests they were superior talents.

Dempsey was just a much better fighter than Willard and Firpo.

 

I'm sure you are aware of it but I think its worth pointing out that Firpo was not in the same shape for Wills as he had been for Dempsey. Dempsey did not go to a neutral corner when he dropped an opponent,did Firpo or Tunney start for one after dropping him? Wills was disqualified 3 times Dempsey never was,did he have his own referee in all his fights?

 

I certainly don't give him a pass for not fighting Wills, and I never claimed it was a foregone conclusion.