Jess Willard boxer

Jess Willard boxer
bouts
28
won
22
lost
5
draw
1
Status
inactive
Division
heavyweight
Debut
1911-02-15
Height
6′ 6½″/199cm
Reach
83″/211cm
Age
86
Born
1881-12-29
Death
1968-12-15
Nationality
USA

Jess Myron Willard (December 29, 1881 – December 15, 1968) was an American world heavyweight boxing champion billed as the Pottawatomie Giant who knocked out Jack Johnson in April 1915 for the heavyweight title. Willard was known for size rather than skill, and though held the championship for more than four years, he defended it rarely and was in person reserved. In 1919, when he was 37 years of age he lost the title in an extremely one sided loss by declining to come out for the fourth round against Jack Dempsey, who became a more celebrated champion. Soon after the bout Willard began accusing Dempsey of using something with the effect of a knuckle duster. Dempsey did not grant Willard a return match, and at 42 years old he was KO'd, following which he retired from boxing, although for the rest of his life continued claiming Dempsey had cheated. Ferdie Pacheco expressed the opinion in a book that the surviving photographs of Willard's face during the Dempsey fight indicate fractures to Willard's facial bones suggesting a metal implement, and show he was bleeding heavily. The matter has never been resolved, with contemporaneous ringside sports journalist reporting by the NYT that Willard spat out at least one tooth and was "a fountain of blood" increasingly discounted in favor of a view that he had only a cut lip and a little bruising.Jess Myron Willard was born on 29 December 1881 at Saint Clere, Kansas. In his teenage years and twenties he worked as a cowboy. He was of mostly English ancestry, which had been in North America since the colonial era. The first member of the Willard family arrived in Virginia in the 1630s.A powerfully built .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}6 ft 6+1⁄2 in (1.99 m) and 245 lb (111 kg), Willard did not begin boxing until the age of 27, but proved successful, defeating top-ranked opponents to earn a chance to fight for the Championship. He said he started boxing because he did not have much of an education, but thought his size and strength could earn him a good living. He was a gentle and friendly person and did not enjoy boxing or hurting people, so often waited until his opponent attacked him before punching back, which made him feel at ease as if he were defending himself. He was often maligned as an uncoordinated oaf rather than a skilled boxer, but his counter-punching style, coupled with his enormous strength and stamina, proved successful against top fighters. His physical strength was so great that he was reputed to be able to kill a man with a single punch, which unfortunately proved to be a fact during his fight with Jack "Bull" Young in 1913, who was punched in the head and killed in the 9th round. Willard was charged with second-degree murder, but was successfully defended by lawyer Earl Rogers.On April 5, 1915, in front of a huge crowd at the new Oriental Park Racetrack in Havana, Cuba, he knocked out champion Jack Johnson in the 26th round to win the world heavyweight boxing championship. Johnson later claimed to have intentionally lost the fight, despite the fact there is evidence of Willard winning fairly, which can be seen clearly in the recorded footage, as well as the comments Johnson made to his cornermen between rounds and immediately after the fight, and that he bet $2500 on himself to win.page neededpage needed Willard said, "If he was going to throw the fight, I wish he'd done it sooner. It was hotter than hell out there." Johnson later acknowledged lying about throwing the fight after footage of the fight was made widely available in the United States. Shortly after the fight Jack Johnson had actually accepted defeat gracefully saying "Willard was too much for me, I just didn't have it."page neededJohnson found that he could not knock out the giant Willard, who fought as a counterpuncher, making Johnson do all the leading. Johnson began to tire after the 20th round, and was visibly hurt by heavy body punches from Willard in rounds preceding the 26th-round knockout. Johnson's claim of a "dive" gained momentum because most fans only saw a still photo of Johnson lying on the canvas shading his eyes from the broiling Cuban sun. No films of the fight were allowed to be shown in the United States because of an inter-state ban on the trafficking of fight films that was in effect at the time. Most boxing fans only saw the film of the Johnson-Willard fight when a copy was found in 1967.Willard fought several times over the next four years, but made only one official title defense prior to 1919, defeating Frank Moran on March 25, 1916, at Madison Square Garden.

Date Opponent Last Opponents' Results Place Result
1923-07-12 Luis Angel Firpo WWWWWW Boyle's Thirty Acres, Jersey City LOST
KO
1923-05-12 Floyd Johnson WWWWDW Yankee Stadium, Bronx WIN
Technical knockout
1919-07-04 Jack Dempsey WWWWWW Bay View Park Arena, Toledo LOST
Corner retirement
1916-03-25 Frank Moran LWWWW Madison Square Garden, New York WIN
1915-04-05 Jack Johnson WWWDWW Oriental Park, Havana WIN
KO
1914-04-28 George Rodel WLLWWW Orpheum Theater, Atlanta WIN
KO
1914-04-13 Dan Dailey WDWWWW Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo WIN
KO
1914-03-27 Tom McMahon LWWLLL Grand Opera House, Youngstown LOST
1913-12-29 George Rodel LDWWWW Casino, New Haven WIN
KO
1913-12-12 George Davis LDWLDW Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo WIN
KO
1913-12-03 Carl Morris DWWWWL Madison Square Garden, New York WIN
1913-11-24 Jack Reed LLLLLL Princess Rink, Fort Wayne WIN
Technical knockout
1913-11-17 George Rodel LLLWLD Elite Rink, Milwaukee LOST
1913-08-22 Bull Young WLL Pacific A.C., Vernon WIN
KO
1913-07-04 Al Williams LLWLLL Moana Springs Arena, Reno WIN
Technical knockout
1913-06-27 Charley Miller DWLLDW Dreamland Rink, San Francisco DRAW
Points
1913-05-20 Gunboat Smith WWWWWW Eighth Street Arena, San Francisco LOST
Points
1913-03-05 Jack Leon WL Princess Rink, Fort Wayne WIN
KO
1913-01-22 Frank Bauer L Princess Rink, Fort Wayne WIN
Technical knockout
1912-12-27 Soldier Kearns LWLWWL Madison Square Garden, New York WIN
KO
1912-12-02 Sailor White WLWWLW Miller's Hall, Buffalo WIN
KO
1912-08-19 Luther McCarty WWWWWL Madison Square Garden, New York DRAW
1912-07-29 Arthur Pelkey WDWDW Madison Square Garden, New York WIN
1912-07-02 Bull Young WL South Chicago WIN
KO
1912-05-29 Frank Bauer debut Irwin Hall, Saint Charles WIN
Technical knockout
1912-05-22 Bull Young W Princess Rink, Fort Wayne WIN
KO
1911-10-09 Joe Cox WWWLW Landers Theater, Springfield LOST
Technical knockout
1911-08-10 Mike McKimminsky debut Hammon WIN
Points
1911-07-04 Frank Lyons debut Elk City WIN
Points
1911-05-15 William Schiller LLLL Outdoor Arena, near Oklahoma City WIN
KO
1911-04-14 Al Mandino L Benevolent A.A., Oklahoma City WIN
KO
1911-03-24 Lewis Fink WWL Benevolent A.A., Oklahoma City WIN
KO
1911-03-07 Ed Burke debut Jackson's Pavilion, El Reno WIN
KO
1911-02-15 Lewis Fink W Sapulpa LOST