Jess Willard


Jess Myron Willard was an American world heavyweight boxing champion known as the Pottawatomie Giant who knocked out Jack Johnson in April 1915 for the heavyweight title. He was known for his great strength and size for the time, although today he is also known for his controversial title loss to Jack Dempsey.
Willard held the championship for more than four years. Today his reign is considered the 11th longest in the heavyweight division. He lost the title to Dempsey in 1919 in one of the most severe beatings ever in a championship bout. Willard was knocked down for the first time in his career during the first round and another seven times before the round was over; some reports claim that he suffered broken ribs, shattered jaw, broken nose, four missing teeth, partial hearing loss in one ear along with numerous cuts and contusions, but these reports are highly disputable. Willard fought for two more rounds before retiring on his stool because of the injuries he received in the first round, relinquishing the title.
At and, Willard was the tallest and the largest heavyweight champion in boxing history. He lost that title on June 29, 1933 to the Italian Primo Carnera, at 6 ft 5 1⁄2 in and. Then in 2004, the Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko won the WBC title at. And finally the 7 ft Russian Nikolai Valuev won the WBA title in 2005 and remains the largest heavyweight champion today.

Early life

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.

Boxing career

Willard first began boxing at the age of 27. Despite his late start, he 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.

Jack Johnson fight

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. 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 the 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."
Johnson 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.

Jack Dempsey fight

At age 37, Willard lost his title to Dempsey on July 4, 1919, in Toledo. Dempsey knocked Willard down for the first time in his career with a left hook in the first round. Dempsey knocked Willard down seven times in the first round—although it should be remembered that rules at the time permitted standing almost over a knocked-down opponent and hitting him again as soon as both knees had left the canvas. Dempsey won the title when Willard was unable to continue after the third round. In the fight, Willard was later reputed to have suffered a broken jaw, cheekbone, and ribs, as well as losing several teeth. His attempt to fight to the finish, ending when he was unable to come out for the fourth round, is considered one of the most courageous performances in boxing history. However, the extent of Willard's injuries have been highly disputed, since contemporary reports show that only a few days after the fight, there were few traces of any damage other than a couple of bruises:
Contemporaries also reported that Willard had lost no teeth, and that his jaw was not broken. A day after the fight, the New York Times interviewed Willard at length, and speaking would have been very hard if his jaw really had been multiply fractured. Willard said:
; Plaster of Paris theory
Shortly after the fight rumors of foul play from Dempsey's corner began to spread. The rumours appeared to be confirmed years later when the January 13, 1964 issue of Sport's Illustrated contained an article titled "He didn't know the gloves were loaded" in which Dempsey's manager, Jack Kearns, confessed to loading Dempsey's gloves with plaster of Paris disguised as talcum powder, without Dempsey's knowledge. Kearns claimed he had bet $10,000 at 10-1 odds that Dempsey would win in the first round and couldn't afford to lose. However, this story has been disputed. Nat Fleischer, later founder of The Ring Magazine, was there when Dempsey's hands were wrapped: "Jack Dempsey had no loaded gloves, and no plaster of Paris over his bandages. I watched the proceedings, and the only person who had anything to do with the taping of Jack's hands was Deforest. Kearns had nothing to do with it, so his plaster of Paris story is simply not true. Deforest himself said that he regarded the stories of Dempsey's gloves being loaded as libel, calling them 'trash' and said he did not apply any foreign substance to them, which I can verify since I watched the taping."
Historian J. J. Johnston ended all discussion on that subject when he pointed out that "the films show Willard upon entering the ring walking over to Dempsey and examining his hands. That should end any possibility of plaster of Paris or any other substance on his hands." And if the extent of Willard's injuries was exaggerated, as contemporary sources indicate, there is nothing to explain about Dempsey's hands. Furthermore, tests performed by Cleveland Williams, Hugh Benbow and Perry Payne for the magazine Boxing Illustrated proved that the plaster of Paris would have crumbled in the intense heat experienced on the day of the fight, rendering it useless for the purpose of inflicting damage or pain on Willard.
; Concealed metal object theory
When interviewed by Harry Carpenter of the BBC Sport in the 1960s at his house in California, Willard said to the reporter, "I'll show you, how I was beaten." He then drew a metal bolt from a cardbox, saying that Dempsey held the bolt in his hand, not within the glove but at the palm of it, attached to the thumb sideways, and used the bolt rather for cutting-and-slicing-like moves to inflict blood-spilling cuts and pain, relinquishing it just as the bout was stopped, and according to Willard, the bolt was found on the floor of the ring at the end of the fight and he kept it. Mike Tyson, who studied the case in-depth and very thoroughly, later joined Carpenter to discuss the subject. Tyson, a great admirer of Dempsey, admitted that "he just did whatever Jack Kearns told him to do," and "in those days anything could have happened" for that there was no agency or other legal authority at the time, which was officially empowered to oversee and protect fighters from violations of such kind.

Comeback

After losing his title fight with Dempsey, Willard went into semiretirement from the ring, fighting only exhibition bouts for the next four years. On May 12, 1923, promoter Tex Rickard arranged for Willard to make a comeback, fighting Floyd Johnson as part of the first line-up of boxing matches at the newly opened Yankee Stadium in New York City. 63,000 spectators attended the match, which the 41-year-old Willard was widely expected to lose. However, after Willard took a beating for several rounds, he came back to knock down Johnson in the 9th and 11th rounds, and Willard earned a TKO victory. Damon Runyon wrote afterward: "Youth, take off your hat and bow low and respectfully to Age. For days and days, the sole topic of conversation in the world of sport will be Willard's astonishing comeback."
Willard followed up this victory by facing contender Luis Ángel Firpo on July 12, 1923. The fight was held at Boyle's Thirty Acres in New Jersey, in front of more than 75,000 spectators. Willard was knocked out in the eighth round, and then permanently retired from boxing.

Later years

Willard parlayed his boxing fame into an acting career of a sort. He acted in a vaudeville show, had a role in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, and starred in a 1919 feature film The Challenge of Chance. In 1933, he appeared in a bit part in a boxing movie, The Prizefighter and the Lady, with Max Baer and Myrna Loy.

Death

Willard died on 15 December 1968, in Los Angeles, California, from congestive heart failure. He had been admitted to a hospital a week earlier for a heart condition, but left against a doctor's advice. He returned again after suffering a stroke and died 12 hours later.
Having died at age 86, Willard was the longest-lived heavyweight champion in history until he was surpassed by his old foe Jack Dempsey, and then by Max Schmeling.
Willard's body was buried at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Tributes

In 2003 he was inducted posthumously into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Cultural references

Willard and a dispute he had with Harry Houdini is the topic of Andy Duncan's Nebula Award nominated novella "The Pottawatomie Giant." In 2020, a television program Antiques Roadshow - Crocker Art Museum, showed a photograph from his 5 April 1915 championship winning match, and the commemorative pocket watch Willard carried which was estimated to be valued between $15,000 and $50,000.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
34Loss25–7–2 Luis Angel FirpoKO8, 1:5512 Jul 1923 Boyle's Thirty Acres, Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
33Win25–6–2 Floyd JohnsonTKO11 12 May 1923 Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York, U.S.
32Loss24–6–2 Jack DempseyRTD3 4 Jul 1919 Bay View Park Arena, Toledo, Ohio, U.S.Lost lineal heavyweight title
31Win24–5–2 Frank MoranNWS1025 Mar 1916 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.Retained lineal heavyweight title
30Win23–5–2 Jack JohnsonKO26, 1:265 Apr 1915 Oriental Park, Havana, CubaWon lineal heavyweight title
29Win22–5–2 George RodelKO6 28 Apr 1914 Orpheum Theater, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
28Win21–5–2 Dan DaileyKO9 13 Apr 1914 Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo, New York, U.S.
27Loss20–5–2 Tom McMahonNWS1227 Mar 1914 Grand Opera House, Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
26Win20–4–2 George RodelKO9 29 Dec 1913 Casino, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
25Win19–4–2 George DavisKO2 12 Dec 1913 Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo, New York, U.S.
24Win18–4–2 Carl MorrisNWS103 Dec 1913 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
23Win17–4–2 Jack ReedTKO2 24 Nov 1913 Princess Rink, Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.
22Loss16–4–2 George RodelNWS1017 Nov 1913 Elite Rink, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
21Win16–3–2 Bull YoungKO11 22 Aug 1913 Pacific A.C., Vernon, California, U.S.
20Win15–3–2 Al WilliamsTKO8 4 Jul 1913 Moana Springs Arena, Reno, Nevada, U.S.
19Draw14–3–2 Charley MillerPTS427 Jun 1913 Dreamland Rink, San Francisco, California, U.S.
18Loss14–3–1 Gunboat SmithPTS2020 May 1913 Eighth Street Arena, San Francisco, California, U.S.
17Win14–2–1 Jack LeonKO4 5 Mar 1913 Princess Rink, Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.
16Win13–2–1 Frank BauerTKO5, 1:5022 Jan 1913 Princess Rink, Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.
15Win12–2–1 Soldier KearnsKO8 27 Dec 1912 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
14Win11–2–1 Sailor WhiteKO1 2 Dec 1912 Miller's Hall, Buffalo, New York, U.S.
13Draw10–2–1 Luther McCartyNWS1019 Aug 1912 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
12Win10–2 Arthur PelkeyNWS1029 Jul 1912 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
11Win9–2 Bull YoungKO52 Jul 1912 South Chicago, Chicago, U.S.
10Win8–2 Frank BauerTKO3 29 May 1912 Irwin Hall, St. Charles, Missouri, U.S.
9Win7–2 Bull YoungKO6 22 May 1912 Princess Rink, Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.
8Loss6–2 Joe Cox5 9 Oct 1911 Landers Theatre, Springfield, Missouri, U.S.
7Win6–1 Mike McKimminskyPTS1010 Aug 1911 Hammon, Oklahoma, U.S.
6Win5–1 Frank LyonsPTS104 Jul 1911 Elk City, Oklahoma, U.S.
5Win4–1 William SchillerKO4 15 May 1911 Maize Theatre, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
4Win3–1 Al MandinoPTS4 14 Apr 1911 Benevolent A.A., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
3Win2–1 Lewis FinkKO3, 1:1324 Mar 1911 Benevolent A.A., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
2Win1–1 Ed Burke3 7 Mar 1911 Jackson's Pavilion, El Reno, Oklahoma, U.S.
1Loss0–1 Lewis Fink10, 0:4515 Feb 1911 Sapulpa Air Dome, Sapulpa, Oklahoma, U.S.