Jess Willard vs Buster Douglas?

Question

Douglas

38 (KO 25) + lost 6 (KO 5) + drawn 1 = 46

Willard

won 26 (KO 20) + lost 6 (KO 3) + drawn 1 = 35

Both fighters in prime condition.

Answer 1

Galactus - you say Willard "really couldn't box" but that counter he KO'd Johnson with was really very neat. He actually boxed very well in his fight with Johnson and was moving out of the way of Johnson's punches while countering very well and effectively for all 23 rounds. He wasn't throwing combinations as he was going for single counters, and had the time with the fight scheduled for 45 rounds. Having said that I really don't know enough about Buster Douglas to call the fight - I expect it could go either way if they were both in top condition.

Answer 2

dont know, but nobody could of beat douglas the night he blasted tyson down.. he looked real good that night..

Answer 3

bare fist...i don:t think buster could handle four rounds...boring no!

Answer 4

This match-up is almost comical.  People STILL dont realize how inept Willard was.  He never boxed for the reasons most boxers do.  You must understand the way of thinking of the times.   Lets consider a few things.

1. Jess is famous MOST for the @$$ kicking he took from Jack Dempsey, even more so than for removing the spectre of Jack Johnson from white America.  

2. Jess was hand picked to take Johnson.  You must consider the conditions and terms of the fight.  Scheduled 45 rounds was already a thing of the past at that time.  The heat and other factors would favor a young "Jack and the Beanstalk" over an OLD boxer.   Willard played a role.  He had little to do with the direction of his career.

Willard REALLY wasn't much of a fighter.  

That given,  I will assume that both men arrive in shape.  Buster wasn't a bad boxer.  Many people know TWO Buster Douglas'  The first is the one who beat Tyson.   What were the odds of that?  FORGET the bogus 49-1.  That was just TV and Media numbers.    8-1 in 1964 means MUCH MORE than 49-1 in 1990.  Douglas was a very good boxer when prepared.

IF both are in shape the fight would last about 8 rounds with Buster winning ALL of them before stopping Jess.  Willard COULDNT Box.  He was just a lumbering Giant of a man.   The ONLY reason ANYONE paid attention to him is because they needed SOMEONE to remove Jack Johnson.  Jess played a role.  It's that simple.  

Douglas wasn't the most motivated fighter.  He fought in the shadows of his father who, tho he never won a title, made more of boxing than his son.  Then Buster beat Tyson.

Buster had THAT JAB.   I DARE say that, if he had taken boxing more seriously,  Buster would have made it MUCH further than he did.   He had a Jab that would not measured to that of Larry Holmes but was better than most.  He USED his TOOLS against Tyson and won.  Tyson was out of shape but, given the particulars,  Buster SHOULD beat Tyson.  

Not much to compare here.  

Douglas by TKO in 8

Answer 5

Interesting matchup here.  I watched recently on youtube some old boxing footage of the Willard vs Johnson fight in Cuba in 1915.  Johnson was out of shape but still fought hard against the lumbering Willard.  Willard actually had a pretty decent jab and could take a punch.  He obviously had endurance knocking out Johnson in the 26th round.  I actually saw the punch and it was not a fluke as many have maintained through the years as Johnson was never one to give an opponent any credit.  I also just saw Buster Douglas on cable the other night in his upset victory over Mike Tyson and again there was nothing lucky about it.  He took the fight to Tyson and beat him soundly before knocking him out.  I believe that Douglas has the superior boxing skills and speed over Wilard.  Willard in condition is probably physically stronger with more endurance than Douglas.  I believe that Douglas would dominate this matchup and be far busier than Willard who would land an occassional jab or two.  As the fight went on, Willards face would have all kinds of cuts and bruises with possibly a swollen eye.  In about the 9th round with Willard unable to see out of one of his closed eyes, the ring physician would advise the referee to stop the fight with Douglas the winner by technical knockout.

Answer 6

I saw tape of both fighters and Buster is the better boxer. He throw combinations while Jess was throwing one punch at a time. So unless Jess got lucky and land the big right, Buster should be able to outbox the slow moving Jess Willard.