Jack Dillon came prety close to being matched against Jess Willard for the title following his rapid destruction of Tom Cowler. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C00E1D71E38E633A25750C0A9649C946796D6CF Prior to that Dillon had a streak of wins against larger fighters including Porky Flyn, Charlie Weinert and of course Cowler.
Yep. I have a short article where Dillon describes the right hand punch he planned to use to knock out Willard (hmmm...) and also a litte bit about the prayer he says before every fight begins. They certainly talked money, but the same article (or page, can't remember) speculates as to whether or not Jeffries could be enticed to referee the Willard-Moran bought...so make of that what you will.
Dillon Weinert http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9800E3D8133EE733A25751C0A9679D946496D6CF
The Willard options 1915. Frank Moran was seen as the frontrunner, but there was interest in the Weinert Dillon match. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F02E2DA1239E333A25752C0A9679D946496D6CF
Dillon would have had a decent chance against Willard because he was quick, skillful, and he could punch. Rather obscurely, Les Darcy also. When Les arrived in America it was a point of note that his fists were actually bigger than gigantic Jess' and a speculated match was on the tongues for a time for the middleweight. In actuality, they were probably as close as getting a match with the reluctant champion as they were of touching the bottom of the ocean. Fulton was as qualified and logical as a contender could be, but despite numerous attempts to make ends meet it simply never happened; a result of which is largely to be blamed on Willard's behalf.
Oftentimes when i'm reading about Willard, contemporary reports seem to suggest that Fulton was seen as to inexperienced for a crack at the title in 1915
I might be one of the few here, but I dont think Dillion even with the nickname Gaint Killer, would beat Willard. Or at least the pre Dempsey Willard. I cant help but think of his size and jab, that Dillon would have to over come. Also Willard look pretty flawless vs Moran in Jess's only title defense.
I think it would have been difficult for him for sure. The press at the time wasn't particularly convinced. Willard himself was afraid of looking foolish (but then he was famously worried he might kill depmsey). One thing is for sure, Dillon wouldn't have fliched from the chance. Numbers were supposedly agreed, Willard's 30k to Dillon's 10k.
Dont get me wrong, I never say Dillon was a coward or would have turn the fight down, I just think Willard would win is all lol. Willard is pretty much underrated for the most part, and I had a fear people would have just went with Dillon base on being the greater fighter pound for pound. But Willard was pretty skilled for a big man.
His chances would have depended on the scheduled number of rounds, imo. It's very unlikely he could have stopped Jess. Outpointed him over <16-rounds? Possibly. If a 45-rounder, I.e. effectively a fight to the finish, as per Willard's fight with Johnson, his chances diminish significantly.
Yes the 2nd Weinart title fight wasn't a HW title fight but it was a title fight at HW. Going into that fight Weinart had a New Jersey HW belt that he won in New York when the sport wasn't legal in New Jersey(this makes sense somehow).
