Vitali and Lewis weren't exactly slipping each others punches all night either. Imagine how that fight would've turned out if it was in the 1890's. Probably wouldn't have gotten stopped that early, and probably would have gotten even uglier.
No they weren't ,both were sloppy Lewis being more so. But neither were being hit by a 39 years old come-backing super middleweight.
No, but Ruby Rob was no ordinary SMW. But he was 39, I see your point. At any rate, I give all the aformentioned fighters the benefit of the doubt on where they place their hands. These guys are the best of the best. No sooner do they need to change their guard than we need to change our perspective on what makes a good one. imo.
Jeffries the best of the best? Not for me he wasn't ,in Fitz he was fighting a past prime man 39 years old ,172lbs ,47lbs lighter, 13 years his senior,who had been retired for 2 years. Lewis was past prime, 37 years old, fighting a man 7 years younger. No comparison.
In this whole infallible indestructibility of Jeff narrative it is IMO actually Fitz who was the best of the best certainly not Jeff...he did absolutely nothing that says he could handle a real heavyweight with size, durability and power
I'm young enough to remember when I got my secondary degree and spoke like a twat, also. Don't worry. You'll get over it.
After their second fight reporters stated that had they been near the same size and age Fitz would have won. Jeffries was undoubtedly a toughman ,but Fitz is the greater fighter imo.
I used to think you employed flowery verbiage on occasion.You are not in this guy's class,he is out on his own! If his tongue was long enough he would lick himself!
McVey/others, I just watched Wlad v Joshua highlights. Wlad has the same low guard as vitali (much lower than jeffries had). I also watched Bowe vs Golota. They were not as amplified in the dropping of the front arm (Vitali and Wlad seem desperate to drop the left to the leg, but Golota and bowe definitely guard the rib cage with their left, like Jeffries does). To be fair, bowe probably had good reason and should have guarded lower. If i were fighting any of these guys, there is not way my left drops below head level. IN fact i personally think a high guard defends the body better than a left guard. I dont really know why any pro fighter would do this. But, if Wlad, Vitali, Lennox and Riddick (4 of the 5 best fighters of the last 20 years) and the 4 best true super heavys fight this way, why do you say that Jeffries doing the same thing prevents him from being competitive today? Who else today fights with the low left. I Just watched Haye Valuev last round. Haye has the low left/guard, if he uses any guard whatsoever. Valuev (is he to be held up as the modern example of a technical correct heavy?) Does use a high guard, but it switches to a low guard, as he struggles to hold up the weight of his arms, as the round progresses. Again, i just watched Toney (a former middleweight defensive whiz) v Ruiz, and both use that left hand guarding the leg. Both naturally smaller than Jeffries, yet competitive in the modern fight world. Who should i watch to find a modern fighter that doesnt drop the left?
I'm talking about a fighter who disdained to evade punches as reported by ringside journalists. I'm talking about a man who shipped extraordinary amounts of punishment in fights. I'm talking about a fighter who after just 24 fights retired with a thrice broken nose, a cauliflower ear ,and scar tissue above both eyes. Coming into your opponent with your lead hand below your waist is not a good idea. Haye had the reflexes to avoid the slow Valuev's punches and he knew it. Wlad had good feet for such a big man. Both the Klits only usually drop their left when they are out of range of incoming. Toney was an expert at the shoulder roll ,he could fight in the pocket ,off the ropes and not get nailed with anything significant.His fight with Jirov is a masterclass. Against Ruhlin Jeffries just plods after him accepting the punches,, no head,or body movement,and his gloves are fixed as if tied in that position. You never saw any of those you mentioned beaten up and cut to bits ,with the lone exception of Vitali v Lewis. Jeffries was regularly pounded like a piece of raw beef steak,and it wasn't the gloves.Corbett,Fitz,Johnson,Choynski never sustained those cuts and broken facial bones. Jeffries got insulted if you missed him!
His pedantic but unpersuasive prose screams grad student. He'll get over it (and himself) when he defends his dissertation and gets an assistant professor job somewhere.
This guy breaks it down a bit better. [url]http://fightfilmcollector.blogspot.com/2013/10/jim-jeffries-champion-lost-and-found.html[/url]
Not really. Rule changes in how the referee acts and scoring in the 10 point must system limits modern body punching a bit. But suppose the ref lets them in fight with fewer breaks, and the scoring was not round by round, but on the totality of the fight? You see more body shots, I think. These Days fighters do not prepare to take or deliver body shots as often. I also think the increase in glove padding and weight, combined with fewer rounds has taken the sting out of body shots a bit.
In Jeffries time fighters were often asked if they preferred to hit in the clinches and they then came to a mutual agreement about it. Burns agreed to it against Johnson ,thinking he would be the superior in-fighter.He later stated how much he regretted doing so, and said if he ever fought Johnson again he would insist on clean breaks. Ruhlin complained that Jeffries was hitting in the clinches but ,as Charlie White pointed out Ruhlin was the one initiating all the clinches. Ruhlin certainly did not relish taking Jeffries hooks to the body and it was with this tactic that Fitz ruined him.Ruhlin was 6'2"and fought in an upright style so it would have been logical to attack his body. Jeffries often laid his weight on fighters and bore down on them in close, he would have been a bit stupid if he hadn't taken advantage of his size,but he was a clean fighter. Ironically one of, if not the most dirty of his opponents Tom Sharkey accused him of fouling him in their second fight.
This is true but what kind of criticism is it? Bigger? Fact of life in heavyweight boxing. Years younger? Guesswork if any version of Fitz could have handled Jeffries. Fitz didn't even move into the heavyweights until in his 30's. Hands went? Yeah, hitting the big ox. Another fact of life, and did Fitz's hands go out in 1899 when he also lost by KO? "Jeffries absorbed a worst beating from Fitz than Willard did from Dempsey." And still knocked him out! Actually, this could be considered quite a tribute to Jeffries.