He was short and fat. But he had deceptively quick feet, and was one of those slap and run type of fighters with an awkward but effective type of defense. Meehan defeated Dempsey (2-1-2 vs Dempsey! ), Langford, and Dillion. How many past and present champs would you pick to stop him inside 4 rounds?
many guys with a four round plan can win fights, Willie Meehan beat some great fighters and I would imagine he could beat many others...Ray Mercer is one, Lamon Brewster, even some great ones that were slow starters but I doubt they would fight Willie over 4 rds
How would Meehan have done with the modern "king of the 4 rounders",...Butterbean? I believe he would have beaten the Bean, the same way he beat everyone else...
With the exception of an elderly Larry Holmes and a somewhat competent fighter named Billy Zumbrin, Butterbean invariably fought absolute stiffs during his career, losing to some of them. In comparison, Willie Meehan rarely fought anybody who was completely incompetent, winning his share of bouts in the process. As a result, I would pick Willie to beat Butterbean. - Chuck Johnston
