Brunch Boxing Remembers: Harry Wills
- Matthew Brown
- 9 minutes ago
- 3 min read
02/07/2026
Harry Wills fought in many great battles, but history remembers him most for the championship opportunity he was denied. A boxing lifer once said that many powerbrokers believed Wills would have beaten World Heavyweight Champion Jack Dempsey, and that fear kept the fight from ever happening.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana on May 15, 1889, Harry Wills, known as the Black Panther, stood as one of the most dominant heavyweights of his era. He boxed from 1911-1932. His record tells the story of both excellence and injustice. Wills finished his career with 70 wins, 9 losses, 3 draws, 30 no contests, and 54 knockouts. Despite being widely regarded as the top heavyweight contender of the early 1920s, he was never granted a shot at the world heavyweight title because of the color line in boxing.
An intimidating figure at 6 feet 4 inches and around 220 pounds, Wills combined size, patience, and crushing power. From 1924 through 1926 he was ranked as high as number one contender and never lower than number six. He consistently fought and defeated top opposition, including Willie Meehan, who had beaten Jack Dempsey twice and drawn with him twice, Gunboat Smith, and Charley Weinert. He also met Luis Angel Firpo in a bout that ended with no decision.
Like many elite Black fighters of the period, Wills was repeatedly matched against the same small circle of contenders who were excluded from title opportunities. This reality defined much of his career. He fought Sam Langford an astonishing 22 times, compiling a record of 6 wins, 2 losses, and 14 no decisions. Both losses came by knockout. Wills defeated Langford three times for the World Colored Heavyweight Championship, while Langford reclaimed it twice. Wills was later forced to vacate the title after his 1926 bout with Jack Sharkey ended in a disqualification. Wills also defeated Sam McVey three times and fought Joe Jeannette twice in no decision bouts.
Wills remained active against top white heavyweights as well. In 1926 he faced future heavyweight champion Jack Sharkey and was being decisively outboxed before being disqualified in the thirteenth round for excessive holding. The following year he was knocked out by Paolino Uzcudun, a bout that effectively ended his reign as a serious title contender.
The fight that defined Wills’s legacy was the one that never happened. He was widely viewed as the most deserving challenger to World Heavyweight Champion Jack Dempsey. Public pressure was immense. In a poll conducted by more than 500 newspapers, Wills was the fighter fans most wanted to see face Dempsey, receiving 131,073 votes and finishing well ahead of Tommy Gibbons.
Plans for the bout repeatedly collapsed. Dempsey at times said he was willing to fight Wills, but promoters and officials resisted a mixed-race heavyweight title fight. Tex Rickard, Dempsey’s promoter, refused to promote it, citing the deadly riots that followed Jack Johnson’s victory over James J. Jeffries in 1910. Political pressure also played a role. The New York State Athletic Commission, under chairman James A. Farley, deemed Wills the number one contender and threatened action if he was denied the fight. New York Governor Alfred E. Smith ultimately blocked the bout, fearing racial unrest.
In 1925 Wills and Dempsey signed an agreement with Midwestern promoter Floyd Fitzsimmons for a 1926 title fight. Wills received $50,000 for signing, while Dempsey was promised a much larger guarantee that never materialized. The deal collapsed when Fitzsimmons failed to produce Dempsey’s money. Wills later attempted to sue for breach of contract. By the time the dust settled, Dempsey had lost the title to Gene Tunney, and Wills’s loss to Sharkey closed the door for good.
Wills retired in 1932 at the age of 43. He died from diabetes complications on December 21, 1958.
In 1992, Wills was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, a long overdue acknowledgment of a heavyweight great who was kept from his rightful place in the ring.
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