The media often has a tendency to romanticize athletes, events, or outcomes, particularly back in the day when there wasn't a way to fact check or debunk a lot of what was written, whether good or bad.
In reviewing what limited footage is available on some of the great fighters of the late 19th and early 20th century, I have to question the "greatness" of some of these fighters and wonder just how much they were dare I say overrated, even for the era in which they fought.
Harry Wills was a large HW for the time, and considered somewhat slow and flat-footed. In the footage here, he is shown slugging it out with Firpo, scoring a second round knockdown that comes during the break of a clinch by the ref. Not sure if that was legal then but it doesn't appear to have been enforced by the ref. Firpo went the distance and the fight was a No Decision.
We also see a much smaller Bartley Madden (33-20-7) taking the fight to Wills and landing some good punches despite a considerable size disadvantage. Following that, the film shows Paulino Uzcudun KO Wills with a crushing blow.
Watching this footage of Wills I have to say that Wills would have stood little to no chance against Dempsey. There is even footage of the contract signing between Wills and Dempsey.
Sam McVea in the only footage I can find on him, is another smaller HW who was very strong, but lacked any sort of finesse. The footage of his fight with Battling Jim Johnson (who Dempsey KO'd in sparring) reveals a crude upright stance by McVea and little to no head movement at all. Jab and clinch for the duration of the fight. This one is like watching Ruiz/Rahman. Not very compelling and likely one of the reasons, outside of the color line, that McVea may have not been able to get big fights, he just wasn't very exciting to watch.
Joe Jeannette is shown here versus Sam Langford. Again, like McVea, not a lot of nuance here. Mostly jab, clinch and try to mug on the inside. Leaps in face first, no bobbing, weaving, ducking, or exceptional footwork. Very one dimensional.
Sam Langford seems to be the best of the bunch. Uses his jab, throws combinations, gets a lot of torque behind his punches though many of them are telegraphed. He has a better sense of distance, timing and movement than most fighters of that era. He is seen here in his third outing with Fireman Jim Flynn. Though he often chose to stand in the middle of the ring and trade punches with opponents. Likely not a good idea versus a larger, stronger boxer/puncher like a prime Dempsey.
I'll post up some Johnson footage as well to discuss his style, which included great footwork, jabbing and power. However, he also had a tendency to keep his left hand out in front of him to keep his opponent at bay, and relied heavily on clinching and out-muscling smaller, less nuanced opponents.
After reviewing footage of the time, I have to go back to the old line from "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"--"when the legend becomes fact, print the legend".
In reviewing what limited footage is available on some of the great fighters of the late 19th and early 20th century, I have to question the "greatness" of some of these fighters and wonder just how much they were dare I say overrated, even for the era in which they fought.
Harry Wills was a large HW for the time, and considered somewhat slow and flat-footed. In the footage here, he is shown slugging it out with Firpo, scoring a second round knockdown that comes during the break of a clinch by the ref. Not sure if that was legal then but it doesn't appear to have been enforced by the ref. Firpo went the distance and the fight was a No Decision.
We also see a much smaller Bartley Madden (33-20-7) taking the fight to Wills and landing some good punches despite a considerable size disadvantage. Following that, the film shows Paulino Uzcudun KO Wills with a crushing blow.
Watching this footage of Wills I have to say that Wills would have stood little to no chance against Dempsey. There is even footage of the contract signing between Wills and Dempsey.
Sam McVea in the only footage I can find on him, is another smaller HW who was very strong, but lacked any sort of finesse. The footage of his fight with Battling Jim Johnson (who Dempsey KO'd in sparring) reveals a crude upright stance by McVea and little to no head movement at all. Jab and clinch for the duration of the fight. This one is like watching Ruiz/Rahman. Not very compelling and likely one of the reasons, outside of the color line, that McVea may have not been able to get big fights, he just wasn't very exciting to watch.
Joe Jeannette is shown here versus Sam Langford. Again, like McVea, not a lot of nuance here. Mostly jab, clinch and try to mug on the inside. Leaps in face first, no bobbing, weaving, ducking, or exceptional footwork. Very one dimensional.
Sam Langford seems to be the best of the bunch. Uses his jab, throws combinations, gets a lot of torque behind his punches though many of them are telegraphed. He has a better sense of distance, timing and movement than most fighters of that era. He is seen here in his third outing with Fireman Jim Flynn. Though he often chose to stand in the middle of the ring and trade punches with opponents. Likely not a good idea versus a larger, stronger boxer/puncher like a prime Dempsey.
I'll post up some Johnson footage as well to discuss his style, which included great footwork, jabbing and power. However, he also had a tendency to keep his left hand out in front of him to keep his opponent at bay, and relied heavily on clinching and out-muscling smaller, less nuanced opponents.
After reviewing footage of the time, I have to go back to the old line from "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"--"when the legend becomes fact, print the legend".
Dr Z
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