Jess Willard
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Jess Willard
 |
|
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Jess Willard |
| Nickname(s) | Pottawatomie Giant |
| Rated at | Heavyweight |
| Nationality |  American |
| Birth date | December 29, 1881 |
| Birth place | Pottawatomie County, Kansas |
| Death date | December 15, 1968 (aged 86) |
| Death place | Los Angeles, California |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 35 |
| Wins | 26 |
| Wins by KO | 20 |
| Losses | 6 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 2 |
Jess Willard (December 29, 1881 – December 15, 1968) was a world heavyweight boxing champion.
A working cowboy, he did not begin boxing until he was almost 30 years old. Despite his late start, Jess Willard proved successful as a boxer, defeating top-ranked opponents to earn a chance to fight for the championship. On April 5, 1915 in front of a huge crowd at the Vedado Racetrack in Havana, Cuba, in the 26th round he knocked out champion Jack Johnson to win the world heavyweight boxing championship.
Johnson is said without evidence to have spread rumors that he intentionally lost the fight,[citation needed] but Willard is widely regarded as winning fairly. 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 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. Following the fight, Willard was heralded as "The Great White Hope".
At 6 ft 6½ in (1.99 m) and 245 pounds (111 kg), Jess Willard was the tallest and the largest heavyweight champion in boxing history, until the 270 pounds (120 kg) Primo Carnera won the title on June 29, 1933, and the 6 ft 7 in (2.0 m) Vitali Klitschko won on June 23, 1999. At age 37, Willard lost his title to Jack Dempsey on July 4, 1919, in Toledo, Ohio. 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, winning the title when Willard was unable to continue after the third round. In the fight Willard suffered a broken jaw, cheekbone, and ribs, as well as losing several teeth.
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.
On his passing in 1968, Jess Willard was interred in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
In 2003, he was inducted posthumously into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Professional boxing record for Jess Willard from Boxrec
- Biography of Jess Willard
- Jess Willard's Boxing Gear at Kansas Museum of History
- ESPN.com article (2008)
| Preceded by Jack Johnson |
World Heavyweight Champion 1915–1919 |
Succeeded by Jack Dempsey |
