How washed up was Jim Jeffries

Certainly possible.

Corbett moved. Johnson didn't. Johnson never had the mobility to outbox Jeffries like Corbett did, although he might find other ways to outbox him.

If anything, Johnson was more like a physically stronger, weaker-punching version of Fitzsimmons.

 

Common sense should tell us that Jeffries was washed up, but actualy we don't know how much he had left. We know what he had done between the Munro fight and the Johnson fight, and we know what happened in the Johnson fight.

The problem is that Johnson was the fighter best able to capitalize on any limitations he had developed as a result of his layoff, or had always had.

How telling might it have been if he had fought sombody like Al Kaufmann afterwards? He might have had enough left to beat a significant contender, or he might have gone off into the abyss completely and lost to a no namer.

 

Jeffries did indeed have to lose a ton of weight. As this picture below, taken two years earlier, clearly illustrates:

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I like your answer and agree with it full heartedly.

Just to use another example to support what you're saying, if Larry Holmes had stayed retired after his comeback attempt against Mike Tyson, we all would have been convinced that he had nothing left. But returning to the ring years later to beat a string of opponents, including a rated contender, plus taking the current champ the distance, told us otherwise. It would have been interesting to see how well Jeffries might have done, had he launched a comeback properly by taking on several opponents prior to facing Johnson.

 

There is no argument Jeffries was a diminished version of the tank he had been .His retirement years had no doubt robbed him of a significant degree of his stamina.

At 227lbs, Jeffries was only 8 lbs more than when he made his last defence against the hapless Munroe, but as I stated in a thread concerning Johnson recently, imo a cursory look at comparable weights does not tell the full story.
Jeffries had around 18 months to ready himself into condition for a return to the ring, it was his own fault that he spent so much of that time travelling ,doing stage work and ,appearances he was making an absolute fortune ,as the" returning undefeated hero", and he readily cashed in on it.
That he neglected to apply himself and ,utilise all the year and a half to harden himself into ring shape ,can be laid at no one's door but his own.

Jeffries should have had better sparring,he should have taken a warm up bout,he should have done a lot of things, instead he he went along with the circus because it profited him to do so.

When it became apparent to the likes of Corbett and ,Sullivan that Jeffries was not the dreadnought he had been ,and would never be again, they counselled him to change his sparring regime, use younger more mobile partners but Jeffries stubbornly refused.

Jeffries was a gruff , taciturn , man at the best of times ,capable of totally ignoring wellwishers and friends if he felt like it,as the fight drew nearer the pressure got to him and he became, sullen, unbearable,uncommunicative, and unpredictable in his behaviour.
There is speculation that he was on the verge of a nervous collapse because of the pressure.
Whatever the truth, the man was palpably no longer the " Grizzly Bear", but he did his best ,and got a hearty thrashing for his pains .
To be honest,he had it coming, its just a pity the racist Corbett screaming obscene epiphets at Johnson from ringside, could not have shared some of Jeff's pain.
Johnson obviously felt so ,he not only outclassed Jeffries physically in the ring he outclassed Corbett verbally outside it.
"just as soon as I finish with Mr Jeff, you can come in here,and I'll fix you up too".

Johnson allowed Jeffries to move him backwards, but he manouvered the ex champion at will , at one point he called laughingly called out to Corbett, "where do you want him ? "

Johnson easily contained the old warhorse in the clinches ,grinning,smiling and all the time ripping in short punches to Jeffries torso and , threading cruel uppercuts into his face with the accuracy of a surgeon.
When it was seen that Jeffries vaunted strength was not only matched by the champion's but proven to be inferior, the writing was on the wall ,even to the most partisan of Jeffries white supremist supporters .

Jeffries must have been the first to know, to his credit he kept doggedly plodding forward , stoically taking the punches from a man he despised.

The crowd fell silent ,not ready for the obvious fact that a black man was the best fist fighter in the world, neither of course was America,as the subsequent banning of the fight film dramatically emphasised.
Can you imagine the distribution the film would have received if Jeffries had won?
Land Of The Free ? That allways makes me **** myself.


Prime for prime? Johnson by unanimous decision. in a great, hard fought but, ultimately decisive win for the first black heavyweight KIng.

 

Jeffries,as your photo shows had to be well over 300 pounds.
P.S. He was refereeing the 1908 bout where Billy Papke kod Stanley Ketchell heading out of the ring,in your above photo...

 

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In 1909 Jeffries returned to the gym, and boxed some. According to the man who helped him early ( D. Van Court ) Jeffries looked awful. So we know how he looked then.

 

According to fight reports ,[and footage reinforces this,] Jeffries had only ONE big round ,the 4th.
.
I love it when you say things like, " I have seen several rounds" .
Like Moses coming down from Mt Sinai.
Do you think the rest of us haven't?atsch
Do you seriously doubt Johnson could not have finished Jeffries earlier?
Johnson beat the shell of Jim Jeffries,but Jeffries beat a 37years old, alcohoic,tubercular , Peter Jackson who was in fine form.


In a year or so you will have convinced yourself that Jeffries was in front before running into a lucky, desperation punch .
Poor old Jeff ,one things for certain,if he were around today he would not go short of a blowjob.
I bet you could disappear up your own arse, its a pity you don't ,instead of continually talking out of it.:rofl

 

He did have a few months EIGHTEEN of them to be exact.

 

The Corbett who was in front after 23rds , against Jeffries in their first fight ,was 33 years old,had been retired for 2 years and, had not won a fight for 6 years.

I venture to suggest that Johnson would have been a match in mobility for that version of Corbett .
The difference is that Johnson's reflexes meant that he did not have to move much.


Johnson seems to be moving a pretty well in this footage.

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=183974

 

Public pressure and $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.