BoxRec

This may seem a bit random but I'm wondering if anybody on this forum knows of an Australian ex boxer named Joseph Wills. I can't find him in the boxrec database, and I'm wondering if anyone on here knows anything about him. He is currently deceased (I think he died in the mid/late 90s), and I believe he boxed in the 1950s and possibly 1960s and competed at heavyweight. I think he fought in the Northern Territory and Victoria, and lived in Tennant Creek. It's probably a long shot but I was just hoping someone on here knew him or knew of him.

In those days, I suspect he was most likely Jimmy Sharman's tent fighter

Heavyweights were pretty rare in Australia in that time. Most big men with athletic ability played Rugby League or Australian Rules. It was not uncommon for the Australian heavyweight Championship to be held by a light heavyweight or even a middleweight.

Bobby Dunlop was Empire Light Heavyweight Champion for nearly two years but the only Australian title he won was the heavyweight.

Yeah I thought it would be a long shot, but it was worth a try on this board. And I believe he did fight in travelling tents or something like that... lol. If it helps I think he was the Victorian heavyweight champion but retired young.

The Victorian heavyweight title was only fought for once (officially) in the 1930s. Leo Bandias beat Fred Young for the vacant title but never defended it. It was not fought for again until 1974 whey Marc Ecimovic beat Tony Coyne. Australia was in depression for most of the 1930s so there could have been unofficial title fights.

Bandias later went to England for a couple of years and later returned to Australia his last fight in 1933. Could Joe have used an alias in the ring? Many of us did. Hardly anybody who trained with me used his real name.

It is possible he used an alias but I honestly wouldn't know :(. And I didn't know that about the Victorian title... I'm probably mistaken about him being the champion in that case. Thanks all the same though.

No worries. Good luck in your search.

What information did you want to know about him and why?

Its painstakingly time consuming but try searching, manually, the old newspapers via http://trove.nla.gov.au/