Who beat better opposition Dempsey or Wills?

Sharkey was an inconsistent headcase at his best. I wouldnt be very confident of ranking him on any all time list. He might very well show up on his best night and surprise me but he is just as likely to be a moron and blow it somehow.

 

Sharkey was a headcase, but that doesn't tell the whole story.

Between 1926 and 1930, we have a four year period where he fights 20+ times, and only looses to Jack Dempsey and Johnny Risko.

I submit that it was very hard to post a win over him during this period.

It seems to be fairly routine to asses Mike Tyson based on his prime run, and things that happened outside his prime run, so why not do the same for Sharkey?

 

A few Jack Dempsey quotes to lighten the mood:

A champion is someone who gets up when he can't.

Tell him he can have my title, but I want it back in the morning.

Tall men come down to my height when I hit 'em in the body.

Nobody owes anybody a living, but everybody is entitled to a chance.

All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him.

A good fighter usually knows, to within a very few seconds, when a three-minute round is going to end.

I was a pretty good fighter. But it was the writers who made me great.

 

Fixed for accuracy

 

I can go with that.

I tend to think Wills is a much better more accomplished boxer than give credit for in his own right. His earlier fights with Langford would be great to watch. His later fights aren't really but he shows good technical skills, short straight punches, good shift of bodyweight and defensive nous. I think he was pretty good for his time.

 

I am amazed at Johnson abilities but totally bored with what I have seen of Wills. Big man and in shape but I see an easy target which usually means trouble when you fight Dempsey.

 

What did he do that was so special during that period? His best wins by far came against lhws moving up in weight and he still managed to have several inconsistent performances during this so called prime.

 

You nailed it when you say Sharkey was inconsistent, on his best night I don't think Tunney would have had an easy time with him.
Drawing with Heeney, a man Sharkey should have comfortably beaten meant that Tunney could bow out outclassing the Kiwi.Sharkey lost his crown to one of the worst champions , and only drew with Walker.You just never knew what version of him would show up.

 

From 1920 to 1925, I would think that Jack Dempsey, Georges Carpentier and Benny Leonard made more money than Harry Wills. A recent biography of Mickey Walker says that the Toy Bulldog made $240,000. on an annual basis for making payoffs for a bootlegging operation for a period of two-and-a-half years during the 1920s, but it is my understanding that the author of the book apparently failed to list his sources to a great degree.

- Chuck Johnston

 

It's more than that. During the period 1925 until he beat Schmeling for the title he won 22 bouts, lost 3 and drew twice. He was a solid performer during that time and a very tough hwt to beat. If you watch him fight he had all the skills aside from a huge Ko punch.

 

That is a very packed schedule, that includes a lot of world class operators, and very few losses.

I don't think that a lot of other fighters could have replicated it to be honest!