Boxing's Heavyweight Championship Lineage
- <
- Jack Johnson
- Jess Willard
- Jack Dempsey
- Gene Tunney
- >
Jess Willard
1915-19
At 6-foot-6½, Willard held the distinction of being the tallest heavyweight champion in history for nearly 100 years. A working cowboy, "The Pottawatomie Giant" took up the sport at age 27, eventually knocking out Jack Johnson in 1915 to win the title in Cuba. Willard defended the title just once in the next four years.
Then, in 1919, Jack Dempsey overcame a 58-pound weight disadvantage to knock down the 37-year-old Willard seven times in the first round en route to a third-round TKO. Willard reportedly suffered a cracked skull, broken ribs, a shattered jaw, a broken nose, missing teeth and partial hearing loss in a savage beating.
Advertisement
ESPN Video
- 00:43
High schooler with Down syndrome sinks 3-pointer
Leslie County (Ky.) High School's Ethan Wolfe, who has Down syndrome, checks into the game and knocks down a 3-pointer.
- 02:04
Hurts surprises family with donation toward a new home
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts surprises a family, whose child is battling cancer, with a $30,000 donation to go toward a new home.
- 01:25
Ron Rivera rings the bell after final day of cancer treatment
Washington coach Ron Rivera receives an ovation as he walks down the hospital hallway to ring the bell after his final day of cancer treatment.
