Harry Wills

Two questions there:

With regard to the first, I think that he was of such a calibre that we cannot rule out the possibility of him beating Dempsey. The only way to be sure would be to have held the fight.

The second question is open to considerable interpretation. Some contend that Dempsey went to extreme lengths to avoid him, wile others think that Dempsey did not regard him as a very serious threat, but bowed to external pressure not to fight him. Either scenario is plausible.

That is the bottom line on both questions.

 

Dempsey was a fighter, if the money was right then there would be a fight. Rickard, is the one who didn't want the fight.
Many experts or people that should know said Dempsey could have beaten Wills, they were there and we weren't, so I listen to their take on the subject. Isn't it amazing that Dempsey fought in the '20's and we are still talking about him. Really who gives a dump, and who really cares.

 

Many experts were also worried that Ali would get seriously hurt by Foreman. That is why they fight the fights... unless you're Dempsey.

The way Dempsey fans act about his chances against noteworthy contemporaries is akin to the way Floyd fans act about fantasy fights against some of the more noteworthy fighters he missed during his time. Even if their estimations and predictions are most likely accurate. That is not the point. The point is they can not excuse or undermine the potential because of what most writers may have said. It's the #1 and #2 fighters of an era pitted against each other. Dempsey showed he was capable of losing, and it's almost impossible to say for sure who might've won between the two fighters. These assumptions... it's as if Dempsey fans are trying to write history.

 

wow......

 

Wills absolutely could beat dempsey just as he could beat any man who ever laced them up. Jack would have been a favourite but without adequate footage I have no idea who i'd have favoured myself. Who was better inside? Who was better outside? Who had the better defence? Too many questions I can't begin to answer.

Like most cases of ducking, dempsey would have gone through with the fight had circumstances fell into place, he just didn't want it enough to force the issue. I think pretty much every case of ducking falls into this category because I can't imagine any prizefighter being scared of another.

 

Wills was as legitimate a threat to Dempsey as anybody he ever fought.

 

you guys need to read on what happened here. it had absolutely nothing to do with dempsey, who wanted the fight and did press it

 

Eugh new posters.

Dempsey would have fought Wills, of that i've no doubt.

But if he desperately wanted the fight above all else he could have forced the issue even if it meant fighting for a pittance in cuba or somewhere else.

 

I would have put my money on Dempsey to win. However, Wills would have been his best opponent behind Tunney. Jack had easier ways to make dough and ensure he continued to hold the title and thus make more dough in the future.