Who beat better opposition Dempsey or Wills?

From what I've read on here Dempsey gets no free passes for ducking Greb and Wills?

 

Yes Wills fought at a high level earlier than Dempsey, that's true.

I was talking more of their overlapping years at the top.

I know being favourite doesn't mean everything, I'm just saying that whilst both at the top, Dempsey was always ranked higher and always favoured to win.

Of course the two fighting each other in say 20-22 would be better, I thought that was too obvious to bother stating.

 

By who though, Joe Bloggs in the street who bought into the Dempsey propaganda machine and had never actually seen Wills box? Or a newspaper reporter who's never boxed stating his opinion while being on good terms with Rickard?

There are also articles from the time calling Dempsey a coward and scared of Wills too while mocking his opposition.

Aggressive punchers are usually favourites, if we think about Hopkins Trinidad or Mayweather Corrales or even Tunney Dempsey, but we've seen time and again the boxer taming them.

 

Sam Langford accused Dempsey of ducking Wills, but still favored him to win.

 

I'm not disagreeing.

 

And there are articles saying Wills eliminated himself from contention with his performance against Firpo. Did Rickard pay for them too?

 

Yes, Dempsey gets a pass. But Jack Johnson's pass is even bigger as he avoided the 3-4 best as champion from 1909-1915.

Wills has his share of ducks too. He wanted no part of George Godfrey, and declined a match with Tunney later in his career.

 

Those Wills "ducks" were in 1925 and 1926 when time was obviously growing short for him getting a title shot.

And, in Tunney's case, I wouldn't be surprised if the challenge wasn't more for publicity purposes. I wonder if Tunney would have found a reason for the fight not to happen if Wills said "Yes."

 

Langford called Dempsey the greatest heavyweight he ever saw.

 

"Who would he have met then?"

Uzcudun, most likely.

It could have been sold as a fight with the European champion.

 

I thought you have been saying he was blind when discussing his fights with Wills going back to 1914.

 

I think there would have been no further room for anyone to wriggle don't you.If Wills had beaten Tunney He would have beaten Dempsey imo.But he for whatever reasons refused the fight .
I wish Harry had met Dempsey because I think Jack would have sparked him.I don't think Wills had Dempsey's whiskers and I'm not positive he had the ticker for a knock down drag out with Jack.He fouled out to Sharkey to save himself a beating and he looked like he could have gotten up against Paulino.
True he was an old man for the ring by then but we have seen others as old take their lumps Fitz ,Johnson ,Willard,Jeffries,Moore,Ali ,Louis etc

 

"he fouled out to Sharkey to save himself a beating"

If he wanted to save himself a beating he could have fouled out long before the 13th round, I think.

He lost the fight on a foul. Beyond that I don't think anyone knows what was in his mind. Wills certainly wasn't unique in fouling off the old films, but some like Dempsey (against Firpo) and Baer (against Schmeling) were not disqualified. Without film, it is hard to judge if Wills' fouls were more flagrant or not.

Seriously, though, it is not surprising if Wills couldn't focus for the Sharkey fight. Tunney had just won the title and publicly drawn the color line. Rickard was blackballing Wills. After all those years of chasing a title shot, he was back at square one even if he beat Sharkey.

It must have been pretty hard for a 37 year old veteran to get up for the fight.

 

I think he had some sight or do you suppose he went into the ring with a guide dog?
Langford's vision began to go the Fulton fight
I don't say Dempsey was the greatest heavyweight ,Langford did. And he saw everyone up to Louis.