How Good Does Wills Look Here?

Start with his age and compare it to others at that age ..

How did Louis look at 35 and compare him to the Louis that destroyed Max Baer .. How did Ali look at 35 ?

I simply don't like how many conveniently choose to position Wills as just another slow , large guy made for Dempsey in the Morris, Fulton, Willard, Firpo mold and then use a tiny segment of film of him at 35 plus to back it up ..

I'll make a call .. I'll that the 35 year old Wills v.s. Firpo over a 35 year old Dempsey ..

 

Well, in the two fights we have of Wills during Dempsey's reign he dominates the two opponents hes in with (one of whom had Dempsey down three times and out of the ropes during the same duration) and doesnt lose a second of the footage we have. Against Firpo, whose chief asset was his size and strength, Wills walks him back and handles those assets with ease. Against Madden, whose chief asset was his durability, he had blood coming from numerous cuts on his face, his ears, closed his eyes, and sent him to the hospital afterwards. Not really sure why people try to denigrate these performances, especially considering they came four years into Dempsey's duck. Had Dempsey actually decided to fight him when he should have we wouldnt need to make conjectures based on footage of an old Wills.

 

I don't think Wills looks good in the footage. However 35 is old man for the time. He may have been much better than this in his prime.

 

And I'll take Bernard Hopkins over Ray Robinson both in their 40s
any day. But SRR at his prime beats Hopkins any day.
In boxing fantasy fights we intend to match up fighters at their zenith best...Joe Louis of the Marciano fight, Jack Dempsey of the Tunney fights, Ali of the Holmes, Berbick fights, and yes Harry Wills of the Uzcudun fight were mere shells of their primes...
But of course some fighters can maintain some of their skills to a later age than fighters who would have beaten them in their respective primes...

 

He was considered faster and many accounts of these fights say that he was finally getting old and had lost a lot. Whether thats true or not is hard to say because in both fights Wills fought to preserve his hands. He had very bad hands and eventually travelled to Europe to see a specialist about them. He was very cautious by this point about breaking them.

 

Harry Wills looked terrible on virtually every front. It's the 1910-20's.

 

I'm not pointing my comments against you Mc .. it's a valid question .. I'm just offering my thoughts on the topic .. I think he is obviously slower at 35 than when he was at 25 .. All being said I think he looks big, strong, well conditioned and in charge .. I also think Firpo looked to be in much better physical condition for the Dempsey bout than the pudgy version that showed up against Wills ..

 

Look who his contemporaries were .. A still very dangerous Langford, a still very good Jeannette and McVea .. he was doing pretty good against Langford from day one .. I'd pick that group over Miske, Brennen, Meehan and company ..