Is Jess Willard Underrated?

Willard was one of those physical outliers that had mediocre skills that came along at the right moment to exploit a weak division.

Sort of the same way I view Baer and Wilder.

He was good enough to make his physical advantages count until he ran into an ATG. Same as happened with Baer meeting Louis.

 

Baer destroyed Schmeling before Louis fight, so I disagree that's the same.

 

You're right. Baer lost to Braddock, so he didn't need an ATG to show him up

 

I think that you would have to conclude that he is a little under rated today.

Basically his reputation never recovered from getting trounced by Jack Dempsey.

He had some tremendous physical gifts.

I don't know if any super heavyweight has ever had a better combination of power, durability, and stamina.

He also had some glaring weaknesses, both technical and temperamental, that prevented him from fulfilling his potential.

 

No. In fact he's overrated

 

In his prime, around the time he beat Johnson, I don’t think any other fighter could have beat Johnson. Let’s not forget, Willard beat a still good fighter there. Legitimately knocking him out.

Without Willard Johnson might have kept going until Dempsey came along.

 

Have you seen some of the things that people write about him here?

You would have to have a really low opinion of him to think that he was over rated!

 

I agree with what you said.

While my opinion of his skills is pretty low, he was a huge guy, a tough-as-nails type of fighter with great stamina and heavy hands. That much nobody can take away from him.

 

No

 

He has a good chin, not great, good. Excellent stamina but other than that he was pretty poor. Other than that hes nothing special

 

A super heavyweight only has to draw two or three variables together to be something special!

 

You can have all the stamina in the world but if you can't do anything else, over 12 rounds you'll get beat.

 

Willard did quite decently in his prime footage (against Johnson and Moran), he wasn't just a guy who took beating over 20 rounds and then started to work. He was decent at covering himself with small gloves and he was extremely strong. He had nice uppercut and decent jab (though not used enough). A lot of power, though unrefined puncher.

 

He had power, he had a chin like an anvil, and yes he had stamina.

How many super heavyweights throughout history have been top notch in all three of those?

His weaknesses were lack of killer instinct, variable work ethic, and lack of imagination.

We can't deny that his style works, because Vitally Klitschko has had considerable success with an almost identical style.

Somehow he just couldn't pull it all together though!