Why Does Jack Johnson Get a Pass on Opposition while Marciano Does Not?

[Mr.MojoRisin']

That is not what that says at all. lol. You seem to purposely be twisting it to say "We have to pay him" when in fact the entire point of it is "See, the money is right here for you Dempsey. Just like we said in the contract. Where you at?"

Recheck the post, you replied while I was editing it.

[Dempsey-Louis]

I just noticed the title. Did you really just write "Wills ducks Dempsey in 1931"????

lol. Bro. Really?


He claimed he wanted him since 1919. He finally was getting around to it in 1931? Their children could have probably put on a better match then they could have by this time! Wills was 38!!!

I love it because Dempsey is yelling across the court room.

[travestyny]

I love it because Dempsey is yelling across the court room.

LOl. I do think that must have made for quite a show. Would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that one.

Bet he wouldn’t say that if Wills were there!!!

Lol. Just fcvkin with you bro!

[travestyny]

No. I get what the quotation says, I'm talking about the impression I got from what you said about it. Either way it doesn't matter anymore, I understand that it was right before the Tunney fight that Dempsey said he would fight Wills after he fought Tunney.



It could all still be a lie but I'm not going to debate that because it doesn't mean Dempsey was ducking, it means he was willing to fight Wills but Wills lost to Sharkey very badly.

If Dempsey ducked then you have to say Wills ducked because there were numerous negotiations between 1922 and 1926 with some falling through because Wills was asking for an unreasonable amount of money.

You have any details on the unreasonable amount of money he was asking for?

He obviously accepted the deal for the contract that Dempsey breached. I haven’t heard anything about him asking for an unreasonable amount of money.

[Mr.MojoRisin']

You have any details on the unreasonable amount of money he was asking for?

He obviously accepted the deal for the contract that Dempsey breached. I haven’t heard anything about him asking for an unreasonable amount of money.

It's in Dempsey's autobio.

What do you think of this?

In early 1922, a national poll placed Harry Wills as the preferred next challenger for Dempsey, just edging out contenders Tommy Gibbons and Bill Brennan. It suggested that the public was ready for an African-American to fight for the heavyweight title once
again. Negotiations began. Dempsey himself lobbied for the fight, writes Roger Khan in the biography A Flame of Pure Fire, and his handlers relented, but conditionally. On June 11, 1922, Dempsey and Wills put pens to contracts. But the powerful New York Commissioner William Muldoon did not want the fight to take place in New York. To complicate matters further, Muldoon and promoter Tex Rickard clashed over, of all things, ticket prices. Muldoon wanted 40,000 tickets fixed at $2.00 for the “working people.” Rickard refused. In retaliation, Muldoon blocked the Dempsey-Wills fight from taking place in New York, even threatening to halt all heavyweight fights until prices came down. Frustrated, Rickard traveled to several states—even north to Montreal—to find a welcoming venue. None wanted the fight or had the money to host the event. When the contract deadline ran out, Wills sued. From then until 1926, as the legal proceedings dragged on, a potential Dempsey-Wills fight was often in the news as either under consideration, being planned, or “scheduled for next year,” but never became a done deal.

http://www.boxing.com/the_trouble_with_harry.html

[travestyny]

It's in Dempsey's autobio.

What do you think of this?


http://www.boxing.com/the_trouble_with_harry.html

Are you asking me about that as an unrelated issue....because I don't see anything there about Wills pricing himself out.

[Mr.MojoRisin']

You have any details on the unreasonable amount of money he was asking for?

He obviously accepted the deal for the contract that Dempsey breached. I haven’t heard anything about him asking for an unreasonable amount of money.

In the meantime, there were many other fighters other than Wills in competition for Dempsey’s title, and the contenders battled one another for position. But Wills and his manager Paddy Mullins choose not to fight and thus eliminate any of his leading rivals including Tommy Gibbons, Billy Miske, Georges Carpentier, Jim Maloney, Harry Greb, Young Stribling, and Jack Delaney, none of whom drew the color line.

What about this? Wills refused to fight these guys.

In early 1926, Wills was offered $250,000 to fight Gene Tunney in a title eliminator, with the winner to meet the champion. Wills turned it down.

Wills ducked Tunney. If he fought Tunney he would have had Dempsey right in the bag.

Still there seemed no end to the claims, even as the Dempsey-Tunney fight approached. On August 6, 1926, the Evening Independent reported that a Chicago matchmaker, Doc Krone, announced that a $300,000 check was waiting for Dempsey in a Chicago bank. On August 22, the Telegraph Herald reported that Wills’ manager Paddy Mullins tried to bluff Dempsey once more into a contract, and then reportedly “failed to come forward with $150,000” saying, “We’ll post the money immediately if Dempsey will sign to fight Wills before September 23.” It was all too late. The public wanted Dempsey back, and he was in the ring with Gene Tunney three weeks later.

[Mr.MojoRisin']

Are you asking me about that as an unrelated issue....because I don't see anything there about Wills pricing himself out.

Kind of unrelated.

[travestyny]

What about this? Wills refused to fight these guys.

From my understanding, he refused to fight them because he was still waiting for his chance at the championship and refused to get stepped over. But if you want to paint that as a duck, sure. Go for it.

Wills ducked Tunney. If he fought Tunney he would have had Dempsey right in the bag.

If you want to say he ducked Tunney, then by all means go for it. I doubt that would mean he had Dempsey in the bag, though. If the fight didn't happen since 1919 and Dempsey breached a contract, not sure why a fight with Tunney would have done the job.

[travestyny]

Kind of unrelated.

Well I didn't see the problem with cheaper tickets for working class people. Not sure why that was a breaking point except perhaps to pad Rickard's pockets more...?