Wills was too close and more of a Hopkins style pick em puncher. Not really a boxer either so I favor Tua in this one. Btw how come nobody gives Wills sh*t when he knocked down Firpo but they give Dempsey hell for his knockout of Sharkey?
Wills woulda ducked Tua, cos he was already #1 for seven yrs and didn't have to fight Tua, so there, nah!!
All kidding aside, Tua would have been too aggressive and powerful for Wills. Being aggressive is the key cos Wills liked to stand back and watch what's coming in. If he did that with Tua, it would be too late for him to watch anything but Tua's boys come in for a landing on his chin. Wills just didn't have the tools needed to stop Tua from coming in.
If Rahman could outbox Tua, then I see no reason why Wills couldnt. Put their records together, and you end up saying that he probably does.
I don't think he was a real filthy fighter he pulled a few strokes ,but in the main he was pretty reasonable. He seems to have been a pretty nice guy, never in any trouble, never smoked or drank ,or ran around.Just a trifle overated imo.
People are so caught up in the fact that Dempsey drew the color line that they forget how good Harry Wills even was. Which wasn't as impressive as some would like to make out.
In these head to heads I think it would be easier to compile a list of heavyweights who we think could actually beat Tua.