I have had my fling at the title. I was champion for four years. And I want to assure you that they'll never have to give a benefit for me. I have invested the money I have made.
"Jess Willard" was a List of heavyweight boxing champions/world heavyweight boxing champion known as the Pottawatomie Giant who knocked out Jack Johnson (boxer)/Jack Johnson in April 1915 for the heavyweight title. He was known for his great strength and ability to absorb tremendous punishment, although today he is also known for his title loss to Jack Dempsey.
Willard held the championship for more than four years. Today his reign is considered the 11th longest in the heavyweight division. He lost the title to Jack Dempsey in 1919 in one of the most severe beatings ever in a championship bout. Willard was knocked down for the first time in his career during the first round and another six times before the round was over; he suffered broken ribs, shattered jaw, broken nose, four missing teeth, partial hearing loss in one ear along with numerous cuts and contusions. Jess fought for two more rounds before retiring on his stool because of the injuries he received in the first round, relinquishing the title.
At and , Willard was the tallest and the largest heavyweight champion in boxing history, until the Primo Carnera won the title on June 29, 1933, and the Vitali Klitschko won the WBC title in 2004 and the 7 ft Nikolai Valuev won the WBA title in 2005.
More Jess Willard on Wikipedia.In the first round when Dempsey hit me with a left hook, I tried hard to continue, but I was rapidly losing my strength. My eye closed at that end of the third round and I realized that it would be useless for me to continue, as I could hardly see. It was hard to admit defeat, but Dempsey is the hardest puncher I ever faced.
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