Greater fighter, Harry Wills or Sam Langford?

[billeau2]

I'm shocked by the results of this poll. If the question was greater heavyweight, then maybe Wills. Better all time fighter, not even close.

Yeah me three...Easy question to answer actually.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Yeah me three...Easy question to answer actually.

I so wish the poll was public.. Interested to know who voted for what

[rightsideup]

I so wish the poll was public.. Interested to know who voted for what

i voted for sam

[Rspen46]

I've done my best over a several months times to try to figure out based on all the information to be found on the below named fighters when their Prime years most likely were, before they began going downhill or losing it in some way, in my opinion these are the Prime years of these guys, or at the least very close as I examined any film on all of them that was available, I've read everything I could find on them and evaluated and added all info together to reach my conclusions on their Prime years if anyone wants to attempt to figure out if they could have fought each other, when Langford started leaving his Prime in his series of bouts with the other guys like Wills he fought, looks like to me, both were in or around their Prime for maybe 1 or so good years at the same time, if I'm not mistaken they had 1 Draw and Langford Knocked Wills out in the other one.
Joe Jennette 1906 – 1912
Harry Wills 1914 – 1919
Sam Langford 1903 – 1914
Sam MacVey 1909 – 1915
Jack Dempsey 1917 – 1920
Harry Greb 1916 – 1924
Gene Tunney 1919 – 1924

[Rspen46]

I give Dempsey 4 good years of Prime 1 reason due to his long layoff before fighting Tunney, and other factors I found when looking at him.

[jack p]

Can't people even look at dates and do a bit of reasoning first? Langford was washed up before Wills started beating him regularly?

. They almost signed once. I believe it was exterior pressures rather than Tunney's preferences that scrapped the fight.

They almost didnt sign Tunney agreed to the match verbally with the winner to face Dempsey but Wills and his manager refused. Which if Wills would have won he would be given the Dempsey fight. You know Tunney never fought a black fighter in his career?

[travestyny]

They almost didnt sign Tunney agreed to the match verbally with the winner to face Dempsey but Wills and his manager refused. Which if Wills would have won he would be given the Dempsey fight. You know Tunney never fought a black fighter in his career?

I have serious doubts that Wills would have gotten the fight even if he took on Tunney and won. Dempsey said himself that he would never give Wills a shot at the title at that time, because he was upset about being dragged to court by Wills trying to get him to fight.

Wills deserved his shot, no doubt. I don't blame him for not taking Tunney and trying to force the Dempsey fight instead.

[jack p]

I have serious doubts that Wills would have gotten the fight even if he took on Tunney and won. Dempsey said himself that he would never give Wills a shot at the title at that time, because he was upset about being dragged to court by Wills trying to get him to fight.

Wills deserved his shot, no doubt. I don't blame him for not taking Tunney and trying to force the Dempsey fight instead.

Wills totally deserved a shot. That is on of Boxings greatest injustices in the history of the sport..

[GhostofDempsey]

The greater of the two was Langford by far. Sam was a middleweight fighting between middleweight and heavyweight. He fought and defeated better fighters P4P, and from what limited footage we have if the two of them in the ring, Langford is clearly a better boxer. Despite his losses to Wills, who was a much larger man, he still managed to KO Wills in two of their earlier fights while Langford was closer to his prime. Wills, like Johnson, was usually the much larger man in the ring and feasted on smaller opponents.

[Ivich]

how many h2h fights was Langford blinded in against Wills?

From the 1917 fight with Fred Fulton which damaged the optic nerve in Sam's eye.