107 years ago
Sam Langford vs Harry Wills
Date: 11th February 1916
Venue: Tommy Burns Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Title: World Coloured Heavyweight Title
Promoter: None
Sam Langford
(
114
-
14
-
31
)
Weight: lbs
Harry Wills
(
27
-
4
-
4
)
Weight: lbs
Sam Langford is regarded by many historians as one of the greatest boxers to ever pull on a pair of gloves. Born in Weymouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, the 5ft 7 Inch Langford made his home in Boston, Massachusetts.
This meeting was the third in a row with Wills' Coloured World Heavyweight Title on the line, all in the space of three months. Three world title fights in three months would and could never happen now but that's only a small part of the rivalry between Langford and Wills. The pair actually met a total of seventeen times between May 1914 and January 1922.
Wills had Langford's number it seems, winning thirteen of their meetings, but on the 11th February 1916 it was Langford who prevailed by knockout in the 19th round of a scheduled 20 rounder.