Harry Wills fought 43 fights from 1919 to 1925 who really had a chance

The point is a poster said the reason Wills didn't fight these guys is because they "wanted no part of him".
I've just pointed out that they fought plenty of dangerous contenders including two that Wills wouldn't fight Tunney and Godfrey. How they got on is irrelevant its about their readiness to fight tough opponents. And I've asked for some concrete proof that they avoided Wills ,seems reasonable enough to me.:huh
You're like a dog with a bone with this, I'm beginning to think you do have a bias.

 

None of the reporters thought it a foul.
Hype Igoe: "Wills, I must say, fought with splendid fairness."

 

Well, who did Williams beat who is rated historically as high as Langford or McVea?

"It's not as if this guy was putting on scintillating and devastating displays."

He sometimes did--for ringside commentators. For example, Fulton, Norfolk, and Weinert.

"great fighter"

subjective, the basic question is was Wills the best contender out there? and both by record and contemporary opinion he was.

 

"I've asked for some concrete proof that they avoided Wills,"

What would that be? You expect them to announce in the press that they wouldn't fight him.

But also, do you have concrete proof most of these guys really did want to fight him prior to 1925 or so when he was obviously aging.

And my point is just that the guys who did fight him lost.

I wonder why fighting Weinert, who was rated higher than any of them other than Gibbons in the 1924 Ring Ratings, doesn't count much for Wills. Just another "gimme"

*McVey--on these threads the various points made by posters against Wills tend to merge with me sometimes. That might be my weakness. The point of this thread seems to be that Wills wasn't fighting anybody, but he fought about as many of these top men as anyone else did--only he beat them all.

 

1920-07-28 The Boston Post (page 10)
Boxing Gossip by Doc Almy
As for material gain, while Wills has gathered a bundle of shekels, and must have raised Cain with the gamblers, his triumph may be but temporary, as there is no sign that Dempsey will stake his title and fight him. As the other white heavies have been giving Wills the sidestep for a long time, it is not improbable that they will continue to do so. At this writing it would appear that Mr. W. had fought himself back into the "Black League," all of which is tough on Wills, who with the exception of Dempsey, appears to be about the best of the whole heavyweight flock.

 

I'm sorry you can't come up with anything but the lamest, regurgitated yarns that even Burt Sugar wouldn't repeat (GRHS). Perhaps it's best for you to rest on the sidelines on this one.

If you have a problem with what Wills said, dig up his corpse and tell him so. Otherwise, I am just an erstwhile reporter of the thoughts of one of the major players in this drama. You should be thanking me for adding substance to the discussion.

 

Read the rest here, if the link opens:
https://www.newspapers.com/image/57542719/

 

There's a story that Wills was a Black slaver who broke in virgins in brothels ,he is also said to have impersonated Bill Bojangles Robinson to avoid the draft in WW1,and carried a 2lbs rail spike in his glove when he ko'd Fulton.Of course it could be just some. unverified bullsh*t, happily repeated by some numpty who has an agenda against Harry.:think

 

What is your chosen speciality subject, the bloody obvious?

 

If I was on, shall we say ",the Wills side," in this debate ,[and I'm neutral here,] I would seize on the fact that Wills had 43 fights over 6 years and for 5 of those years was undefeated ,the exception being a dsq. I would then say that this was emphatic proof that he was at least a top contender if not in the top 2 ,along with Greb.

 

Dempsey’s critics have carried out a historical overcorrection against him, and that seems to have resulted in a counter overcorrection against Wills.

What has struck me since I started looking into the matter is not that Dempsey was worse than I had thought, but that Wills was better than I had thought.

 

The point is, according to boxing expert of Boston Post there were multiple white heavyweights who were avoiding Wills in 1920 and before. George Almy wrote for several Boston newspapers since mid-1890s, including being a sporting editor for Boston Traveler, and a boxing editor for Boston Post since at least 1913 until 1951.