A thread has just been made asking about the bona-fides of the Johnson v Willard fight , it got me wondering how the Sam Langford of 1915 would have fared against the Pottawatomie Giant? So this is the Willard of the Johnson fight versus the Langford of that year ,[1915]? Thoughts please? NB same distance ,45rds.
I'd say Willard. He was an extremely tough man to beat over those 45 rounds at that time. He was much bigger than Langford. Langford had great power but I think Willard's chin would hold up and he'd keep Sam at bay for the most part. The 1915 Jess Willard gets seriously under-rated, imo. His win over Johnson is unfairly disregarded or diminished. (as much as his loss to Dempsey is unfairly taken as representative of his abilities).
Obviously Willard has just about every physical advantage but who did he beat apart from an old Jack Johnson?
I can contribute my findings from boxrec and my opinion... Langford in 1915, notable fights: W NWS 10 Battling Jim Johnson L PTS 12 Joe Jeannette W NWS 10 Battling Jim Johnson L PTS 12 Sam McVea W TKO 1 Jack Thompson D 20 Sam McVea W PTS 15 Battling Jim Johnson D NWS 10 Sam McVea L NWS 10 Harry Wills Worth noting that he KO'd Wills within both 2 months before and 2 months after the calendar 1915. I would certainly have to go with Langford for his known skills, smarts, and toughness, and largely on the grounds of a resume comparison that McVea, Jeannette, and Wills and his other repeated foes are loads better than anybody Willard ever faced aside from Dempsey and Johnson (with honorable mentions to Moran, Johnson, and Firpo). Dimensions though are something to point out: Willard- 6'6.5", 83" reach Langford- 5'7.5", 72" reach Looking back at Willards' resume, it is better than I once thought. That said, if I had a gun to my head I'd have to pick Langford.
One of the wins against Jim Johnson was given as a draw by some papers,as was the Mcvey fight. If you want to include the win over Wills in 1914, perhaps you should include the decisive loss a month earlier to light heavyweight Jeff Clark? It's also worth noting that Langford was on the floor multiple times against Wills in that fight, and ,a month before he beat Wills in 1916 he lost a convincing points fight to him. Worth noting too is the fact that Langford never fought past 20rds. Langford had 12 scheduled 20 rounders he finished one in the 19th rd of the others he won4, so 5 wins out of 12 over 20 rounds. 45 rounds with Willard giving away height, reach, weight ,and probably durability is a different kettle of fish.
