BoxRec

September 6th, 1924

This would have been the date that a black man, for the second time in history, would have challenged for the HW championship of the world.

In one corner 'The Manassa Mauler' Jack Dempsey who had defended his title five times, most notably against Luis Angel Firpo, Georges Carpentier and Tommy Gibbons. His savage three round thrashing of Jess Willard was by far the most brutal and devestating affair in HW history, at least up until that time.

In the other corner, the most dominate black fighter of that time at HW, the legendary Harry Wills, who defeated the likes of Sam Langford, Joe Jeannette, Sam McVey, Fred Fulton, Gunboat Smith, Denver Ed Martin, Kid Norfolk, among others before his scheduled match with Dempsey.

But.....it never happened. For whatever reason, whether it be racial tensions, fears that a black man would win the HW crown again, or as team Dempsey claimed: it was safer and bigger money to fight the former LHW contender Gene Tunney who was campaigning as a HW.

I want peoples picks of who they think would have won this match, had it of happened. I will place up a poll to get your votes and in time, post up what the computer thinks would have been the more obvious winner using the 1,000 simulations turning out percentages method.

IrishRufusMurphy wrote:September 6th, 1924

This would have been the date that a black man, for the second time in history, would have challenged for the HW championship of the world.

In one corner 'The Manassa Mauler' Jack Dempsey who had defended his title five times, most notably against Luis Angel Firpo, Georges Carpentier and Tommy Gibbons. His savage three round thrashing of Jess Willard was by far the most brutal and devestating affair in HW history, at least up until that time.

In the other corner, the most dominate black fighter of that time at HW, the legendary Harry Wills, who defeated the likes of Sam Langford, Joe Jeannette, Sam McVey, Fred Fulton, Gunboat Smith, Denver Ed Martin, Kid Norfolk, among others before his scheduled match with Dempsey.

But.....it never happened. For whatever reason, whether it be racial tensions, fears that a black man would win the HW crown again, or as team Dempsey claimed: it was safer and bigger money to fight the former LHW contender Gene Tunney who was campaigning as a HW.

I want peoples picks of who they think would have won this match, had it of happened. I will place up a poll to get your votes and in time, post up what the computer thinks would have been the more obvious winner using the 1,000 simulations turning out percentages method.

The should have fought in 1919-21, not 1924. In 1924 Wills was shot.

Yeah but that was the date Wills was supposed to get his title shot. I imagine that Wills was shot by that time, considering after the Dempsey match fell through he fought Luis Firpo and it was a 10 round no decision.