Has Harry Wills been airbrushed out of history?

This deserves to be a well posted thread .
Sharkey ,being interviewed in Heller's "In This Corner",admitted that Wills was past prime when he got to him,I just some times wonder if ,Langford,Jeanette,et al ,were not in the same boat?
Maybe ,just maybe,Wills caught some of these legends at the right time?
Comparative results with Dempsey, vis a vis, common opponents,seem to flatter Jack.

 

Hmmm......

I was of the same thought; I believed Wills to be a very respected fighter, despite his race. I didn't realise they were so out of hand to him, and I didn't realise he was perceived as a fighter that needed to be 'eliminated'.

Although to be fair, was this publication particularly extreme? Are there any other accounts that maybe paint Wills in a more favourable light?

 

No doubt Wills was a hell of a fighter. A good case could be made for including him in an all-time top 15 Heavyweight list. I think Dempsey would have beaten him, though it wouldn't have been an easy fight...just my opinion. I do agree that he doesn't get the credit he deserves now.

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The newspapers at the time seemed to be biased against Harry Wills. After he lost to Sharkey, it was felt that he had been "exposed" and that he was never any good to begin with. There were no mentions of him being close to 40 years of age.

 

Pretty much, not many people know about Wills, he was 1 of the last top20 HWs I learned about

 

It's ironic that not only contemprorary papers, but some still today use the loss to Sharkey as an argument that Wills wasn't really all that. He was one years older than Ali was when he lost to Leon "Neon" Spinks, for god's sake. 37 years was ancient back then.

 

Wills was a terrific fighter who defeated much better opposition than Dempsey. Eventhough he was much older, Dempsey and Team clearly ducked him ... What else is there to say except the quote from of all people John L. Sullivan .. (paraphrased) whenever the color line is drawn there is a white fighter ducking a black man ...

I give Shaqrkey credit for fighting Wills and Godfrey ... Let's keep in mind Wills was puching 37 and Sharkey was in his prime .. as far as Godfrey goes, ity was a razor close decision given to a white man in Boston in the 1920's ... I have not seen the fight but I am curious ...

 

Was Doc Kearns blacklisted for refusing to allow Dempsey to fight Wills though? Which makes me assume that if not the media than the Boxing bodies recognised his place.

 

I think Wills got shafted by historical circumstances, but he was tailor made for a motivated Dempsey. Big, slow of foot, a bit plodding and ponderous. Certainly no walk in the park, but just the wrong style.

That said, a much less skilled fighter who was also big and ponderous almost ended Dempsey's reign so it was a historical injustice that he didn't get the chance to fight.