Description
Jess Willard
Alias Pottawatomie Giant
Record: 22-5-1 20 KOs 3 KOs
Division heavy
Bouts 28
Career 1911-1923
Debut 1911-02-15
Nationality USA
Residence Pottawatomie, Kansas, USA
Birth place St. Clere, Kansas, USA
Born: 1881-12-29
Died: 1968-12-15 (Age 86)
Career Overview
A massive, hard-hitting heavyweight champion for his era, Jess Willard is sometimes maligned as simply an uncoordinated oaf lucky to have stumbled his way into the title. Although no paragon of athleticism, Willard was a capable fighter. He had a devastating right-hand punch and a seemingly endless reserve of stamina and courage. He was not among the most talented men to wear the heavyweight crown, but he fought two of the sport’s true immortals, Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey, and had the credentials to secure himself enshrinement in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
