How well would Sam Langford do today?

In that scenario, it would be easy to make a case for him as a top five all time heavyweight.

That would be easier said than done of course.

I think that in a division that worked fairly, Dempsey might well have ended up challenging him for the title!

 

I think I'd have him around number eight. Lower half of the top ten region, but you're right, you could make a case for top five.

And I agree, Wills probably should've been champ before Dempsey was on the scene.

 

Wills reminds me Wladimir a lot with his consistency and longevity. The only difference is that with potential Dempsey win, he'd have deeper resume than Wladimir.

I think he'd belong to top 10 with the title.

 

Yeah, definitely. Winning the title then as well is more impressive IMO. Simply due to the fact that there's only one title.

 

That aside, in the days of the color bar, the caliber of the best fighters who didn't hold the lineal title, was significantly higher.

Men like Peter Jackson, Sam Lanford, and Harry Wills, were significantly better than the B tier champions of their day!