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

"Wills blew his chance"

Tex Rickard didn't think so.

The New York Times, January 12, 1925

"Tex Rickard ranks 90 leading boxers"

"Says Wills tops Dempsey"

"Rates him first because champion was inactive."

"Rickard gives only complementary positions to Jack Dempsey and Benny Leonard at the top of the heavyweight and lightweight divisions, respectively, because of their inactivity during 1924. Dempsey did not defend his title at all, while Leonard was injured in his only important match, a bout at Cleveland with Pal Moran. Rickard makes it plain his rankings are based on last years actual performances, and on that basis, puts Harry Wills at the top of the heavyweights and Terris first among the lightweights."

 

Rickard is often painted as the villain in all this, but he doesn’t seem to have been consistent in trying to obstruct Wills.

 

You can f*ck off for a start!

Trouble makers R s!

 

He may legitimately have feared race riots and being the cause of deaths, and the idea that "Washington" ordered him to prevent this fight could very well be true.

Kahn painted him in a negative light on race, but in fact Rickard promoted fights with black fighters, both mixed matches and all-black matches, throughout his career. And boxers like Wills and Norfolk ended up financially secure after it was all over.

 

Just on journeyman, there is a definition on Wikipedia

"In boxing and mixed martial arts, a journeyman is a fighter who has adequate skill but is not of the caliber of a contender or gatekeeper. Hence, when applied to them, a 'journeyman' implies a fighter who is no longer a novice, and has the sufficient degree of boxing skill that my be expected from a professional, but who does not have the mastery possessed by the contenders."

"Journeymen are said to have little or no expectation of winning fights against contenders or gatekeepers, but this does not preclude them from having a winning record against less skilled fighters."

I don't know who wrote that,

but it is precise about what most folks have always thought a journeyman boxer to be.

 

"Wills would have been an underdog in the betting"

So was Tunney.

This is exactly why there should be fights to determine who really is the best.