How impressive of a victory was This? wills broke 3 of fultons ribs. Prior to the match, World Heavyweight Champion Jack Dempsey said he would like to meet the winner, even if it were Wills. The very next day, it was announced that Dempsey would fight Billy Miske. Within 24 hours of Wills knocking out Fulton Dempsey signs to fight Miske. Newspapers are quick to note that Miske was the recent inhabitant of a hospital bed and had already been defeated by Dempsey. Bill Penhallegon writing for the Decatur Herald referred to the Miske fight as "a so-called title bout" "Miske has been out of the ring for over a year on account of illness and for a time was thought he would never be able to box again. He says he has left his illness well behind him and believes he can give the champion a run for the title but it looks like Dempsey has picked a soft one" "Harry Wills stands forth today as the real contender for Dempsey's heavyweight crown." Arthur Duffy of the Boston Post says that Wills is "just about as good as they make em in the fight game these days" and that it would be no cinch for Dempsey if they ever met. Dempsey complains bitterly about Wills' victory stating "The result was just the opposite of what I wanted. I was rooting for Fred to win, and the fact that he lost means probably $100,000 to me. If he had done what Wills had done, and he should have done it, he would be a tremendous attraction again, and I would have whipped him again as easily as I did that afternoon at Harrison." Ted Hooks, in discussing the Fulton-Wills contest, says Wills has won the right to fight Dempsey. The Kansas City Sun says that Wills rates with Sullivan, Peter Jackson, Jeffries, Corbett, Fitz and Jack Johnson and is the only logical contender for Dempsey. Thomas Rice states that by his victory over Fulton Wills "has brought the question of color back into boxing" intimating that Wills, like Jackson and Johnson before has now become the outstanding challenger for Dempsey Nat Fleischer says: The best man in the field at present is Harry Wills, who probably would knock out Dempsey and Carpentier. All the topnotch heavyweights have barred Wills because the negro outclasses the field in cleverness and heavy hitting. He undoubtedly would score a knockout over Gibbons
Are you sure Wills did that, I remember Klompton saying Fulton was a really tough guy and couldn't believe some Aussie dude could stop or beat him, so I am wondering if Wills could possibly have done such an incredible thing.
A good win for sure. Fulton had enjoyed success after Dempsey and some after Wills. He's a very interesting contender. In Dempsey's auto he dismissively claims Fred had a weak jaw, but that, while it seems to have been the case, doesn't explain the all the quality work he did. Clearly he wasn't easy to flatten as from 1914-1923 (if you believe the 1922 Miske fight was fishy), he was only stopped by Dempsey and Wills in a nine year period. When it came to punching Fulton hit like a truck. If you couldn't get to him you were in trouble.
Well it seems a certain bloke we both know a bit about, one Les Darcy actually managed to make Fred quit in a sparring exhibition in early 1917........... Mick King said he was there and that Darcy made Fulton look very ordinary and I find no reason to doubt this, of course I can't be %100 sure but it does seem pretty factual, I don't rate it as a true knockout as the reports clearly say that Fulton retired while on his stool AFTER the end of the second round, there is no doubt Darcy was a lot better that day than Fred was, Dempsey also talked about this event years later.. even though he wasn't there it shows the event had become known to quite a few people.
It was probably the best win that he could have got, outside of beating Dempsey himself. You might argue that Dempsey had given him the blueprint for doing it of course.
