Bad match-up for Wills, who was by all accounts a plodder and would not deal well with Marciano's two-fisted, hundred punch a round blitzes. But I will say this much, Wills has the kind of record where you couldn't count him out. Langford, McVea, Jeanette, Fulton, Meehan, Gunboat Smith, Firpo, Norfolk, Denver Ed Martin, Battling Jim Johnson... No joke of a record, even if they weren't all at their best.
Weird, Harry Wills is everything you want him to be as a HW on this forum, strong and powerful - a solid inside fighter, from the era of inside fighting. Very proven, boogeyman reputation… is it because he lacks a criminal record or big pecs? You’d think he’d be loads more popular.
They weren't. Martin was 40 ,Jeannette was 40,Everett was 39. Wills first beat Langford when Sam was 32 and weighing 205lbs. Fulton was damaged goods after Dempsey annihilated him inside a round. Norfolk was conceding 36lbs. Firpo was 14lbs overweight. Smith totally washed up." I just went down for the boat ride." Wills was a great fighter but he held a sizable advantage in stature over the likes of. Clark Norfolk Langford Jackson This is usually where Klompton marches in to defend Harry, rudely slagging off all and sundry, in the process.lol
I got that, but its still worth something, right? Boxing history is full of these asterixes, but like Marciano himself, he fought the best he could get his hands on.
A real tough call. Wills was a fighting machine at his best, but so was Marciano. Here is Wills himself giving his opinion on Marciano and Archie Moore. You can take Rocky Marciano or Archie Moore in their upcoming heavyweight championship fight at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 20 - but Sam Langford would have taken them both in one night. That's the opinion of Harry Wills, the erstwhile "black panther" of another era. And while he should know, having boxed Langford a total of 22 times, he voices the thought rather reluctantly. "Just don't want to hurt anybody's feelings," he explains. Yet, with prodding, Wills holds forth firmly that there were a merciless half dozen in his day who would have made mincemeat out of the current crop of whales. These he ticks off rapidly by naming such as Langford, Dempsey, Sam McVey, Joe Jeannette, Jim Flynn and Frank Moran and ignoring the fact that he more than held his own in this group. "When they hit you they like'd to kill you," recalls Wills, still an erect and robust six-foot-two, despite his 63 years. "And the greatest hitter of them all, bar none, was Langford. "I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings," he adds, "but Langford would have taken the top half-dozen heavyweights around today in one night. That man could really take you out." Wills, who owns several apartment buildings and "keeps in shape running up and down the stairs trying to get the rents," vividly remembers the Langford firepower. "I fought that tar baby in Los Angeles in 1914 and I had him down nine times for a count of nine in the first four round," he muses. "I thought I had him, but in the 14th round he hit me one punch. When I woke up the crowd was gone." Ageless Harry isn't one of the old-timers who sneeringly insist that the youngsters of today aren't the men their fathers were. "We have a lot of good heavyweights around," he asserts. "The difficulty is that they aren't taught to box properly - or to train properly. They're not in condition and when they're hurt they can't recuperate. "They fight once and quit work for months. We used to have a 20-round fight and do roadwork the next day. They simply don't fight well, or often enough." Will's record bears this out. Often he boxed twice in on week and it wasn't unusual for him to fight four times a month. It was only after 17 years in the ring that he called it quits. https://imgur.com/ML5bW71
Lol. If you are going to bring me up at least have the balls to include me in the conversation. Was this the same 40 year old Jeanette that Dempsey was scared to have an exhbition with? The same 32 year old Langford that Dempsey literally ran out on his contract with his manager and blew out of New York at high speed rather than fight? The same Norfolk Dempsey wouldnt even spar? Fulton was damaged goods after Dempsey? Is that why he went undefeated in the 18 fights he had between Dempsey and Wills scoring 14 KOs? Was he damaged goods after Palzer and Morris stopped him BEFORE Dempsey got to him? Was he damaged goods when Wills knocked him out in sparring BEFORE Dempsey got to him? You know excuses are like assholes, everybody has one. Its weird though that you always have so many for your hero.
This isn't a tough call at all. Marciano smokes him. This would be a rare case where Marciano has a significant size advantage over his opponent.
Correct, I was thinking of Langford. My apologies. I still think Marciano smokes him, though I admittedly don't know much about Wills.
How have I not included you? Your hatred of Dempsey vies with Mendoza's for Johnson. The difference being he is a fool,and you have a deal of info you can impart,the problem is your info comes at a very high price, The condescending kneel down and worship me I know everything price,and I for one am not prepared to pay it! In case you missed it this thread is a matchup between Marciano and Wills. Dempsey is not fighting. Don't worry about my balls, at 74 they are still there and functioning. Pity you couldn't restrain yourself on the hatred of Dempsey and sneering dislike of me long enough to answer the question posed by the OP. My prediction of your reaction was spot on wasn't it! lol
