If Johnson and Willard had fought over 15 rounds

Johnson would've won; that is, if the fight was on the level. If the fight was fixed, Johnson would have gone down earlier.

Yes, boxing history would have been changed because Johnson and Dempsey would have "officially" met. There are rumors that they did indeed face each other, but nothing that I know of to prove such a meeting.

 

Johnson would win over 15 easily but the 1919 version of Dempsey would have blown him away just as quickly as Willard. Johnson would have been in his early forties by then if he was still champ. Of course he could have lost it to someone else like Fulton, Wills or even Langford before Dempsey got near him.

 

I don't believe Wills nor Langford would have gotten the chance. There wasn't as much money to made against another black fighter challenging for the title.

 

They "DID" fight over 15 rounds. And Willard won.

 

Interesting twist

 

That is pretty funny.

 

Humorous and factual! It's silly to assume a guy couldn't have done more in fewer rounds when nothing is there to state that he couldn't have. I've nothing against Jack Johnson or Willard, I think both get the short end of the stick at times, as it were.

 

The thing is, both Willard and Johnson KNEW they had had 45 rounds to go from round 1. So they fought at the pace one should, after Johnson tested Willard's chin in hopes of getting him out early, Johnson settle down and it became a battle of stimia. Willard imo, can be hell for about any fighter for 45 rounds. At his best of couse.
I not sure how Jess would do in a 12 rounder or 15 rounder.

 

Precisely, they were conditioned to fight 20, 30, 40 rounds or whatever. To think that Willard would automatically lose in a 15 round or less fight is silly as both would have been conditioned to fight in fewer rounds were it the mandate of the time.

I'm not saying Johnson wouldn't have beaten Willard in a fewer round fight. Simple fact of the matter is we will never know because that isn't what was in place at the time.

As you said Dempsey, Willard fought him for 15 rounds and won... end of boxing history on that one!

 

Less rounds, more torrent the pace,,,,these men were fit so if they could go 20, they could go15 faster and more intense, same result

 

It's fair to say the likes of Jess Willard would have only won the title if scheduled for that amount of time. By 'outlasting' the champ, as his talents were rather poor. But, fair play to him, there can't have been too many better 45-round fighters than him in history.

 

Jack Johnson would have prevailed by decision, and held on to the title another couple of years.Dempsey still might have beaten him, however by 1919.