Jeffries Corbett II post fight testimony

The Police Gazzette, Saturday, April 25, 1903
FRIENDS NOT SATISFIED WITH JEFF'S CONDITION
-CORBETT TRAINING HARD FOR THE BIG MILL-
Champion's Mode of Living Leaves Much to be Desired in His Present Physical Make-up.
If determination and i cartfull attention to training prove to be factors in the forthcoming light for the heavyweight championship, then Jim Corbett's expectation of beating Jeffries will be more than realized. That he will enter the ring on Aug. 15 fit to make the battle of his life, there is no question. He thinks he can win, and realizing that it is his last chance to redeem himself, he purposes to make the most of his opportunity. Already he has been at work for nearly a month and he shows improvement. Corbett, in a letter received the other day, writes very freely of his chances and told of his training plans. He said :
"I now weigh about 18r pounds, but expect to enter the ring at 190. I am working a new plan. Instead of training down my training consists of building up muscles. I shall gain weight slowly but steadily from now until the fight. My road work consists of a walk at a good stift pace for ten or twelve miles. I don't tire myself out by a long run to reduce weight, and, in fact, I never break out of a good, fast walk.
"I use the swinging rings in the open air a good deal and put in much time on the mat. I have adopted a system of physical culture exercises which are doing wonders to build muscles and increase my wind. My chest expansion has been increased four inches by following this plan. Every day I box three fast rounds each with Sam Berger and Yank Kenny. Later I shall add rowing to my list of exercises."
Cornett freely admits that he is not as fast as he was as a youngster, but declares that he can hit much better than he ever could before. Yank Kenny gives convincing testimony as to the force of Corbett's blows when he shows his cut lip and damaged nose, both of which are due to them. The one-time champion is certainly devoting himself to work. He resists all attempts to induce him to spend his evenings in the city.
Jeffries has decided to change his training quarters and is located at Harbin Springs, where he trained lor Fitzsimmons. The big fellow yearns for retirement and concluded to seek the quiet of a country resort rather than to endure the gaze of thousands that would be thrown upon him were he to work at the picnic grounds near the city.
Jeffries will be assisted in ids preparations by Fitzsimmons, Joe Kennedy, the California heavyweight; Jack .leflries. his brother, and Billy Delanay. Kennedy and his brother will do the bulk nf the boxing with him, while Filzsimmons will do the road work and also occasionally don the gloves. Jeffries weighs at present 240 pounds stripped, and intends to enter the ring on the night of the fight weighing not more than 215 pounds.
While most of the Boilermaker's friends think he is in good condition, there are a numberwho are of the opinion that he is already on the decline one of them, in speaking the other day, stated that Jeff is not near so good as he was four years ago.
"He was rugged and comparatively spare then. " he continued, "whereas to-day he is big and flabby. He stands no longer erect, hut has a hanit of stooping over. These are bad signs.
It is known or a fact that tlie big fellow has not been living the most abstemious life since his recent victory over Fitzsimmons, and if he has weakened himself by excesses it is not a remote possibility that Corbett will beat him.

 

Jim jeffries the all time great fight to the finish, winner take all heavyweight !!!

 

This is interesting. But absent perhaps starting out underweight & having an exceptionally long training camp &/or using steroids, not invented until decades later, Corbett could not have added four inches to his chest measurement in that time.

 

I think it's chest expansion, not the actual size of the chest.

It seems dubious, and Corbett was never the best source of objective truth, to say the least.

 

Nor I.

 

It obviously had something to do with his performances, but I have to believe, like always, the press was making him larger than life to sell papers. Everybody loves a hero, especially indestructible one with lines like... NO MAN BEFORE OR SINCE CAN HURT NOR BEAT THIS PEFECT BOXING SPECIMEN. I mean, we can visually see some of the acclaim he got for things, he really didn't possess them in spades as they describe. So it begs the question... what else were they exaggerating about?

 

Jeffries didn't do himself any favors as he did not like the press. He was putting it all together and retired too young. He likely has many good years left in him 1905, 1905, 1907, 1908, and would have been on clear him. We were robbed.

A money motivated type of fighter, the prize money dried up to post Munroe. He would have fought Marvin Hart, who defeated Johnson in 1905 is there was demand for it and said so. There wasn't.

 

That is a fake news quote. It can't be found in an article and there is no context.

Jeffries clearly said if he was younger he would have beaten Johnson after he lost in 1910. He said he fought the fight that he had left in him. After that fight, which he was goaded into coming back to, he just wanted to be left alone.

 

I believe it was printed in the Telegraph, a UK paper and taken from an interview during Jeffries train ride home after the fight.

 

Not really on topic, but I don't think this is worth a thread.

The Police Gazette December 17 1904
JEFFRIES TO FIGHT AGAIN OR RETIRE IN THREE MONTHS
Continues to Draw the Color Line, but will Fight any white Man the Pugilistic Writers Select for Him.
Champion Jim Jeffries continues to reiterate that he will not fight a negro, ridicules the idea that he will be matched against Jack Johnson, and says he will allow the newspaper critics to pick out any opponent for him from iiniuni; the logical white aspirants for his honors and if one is not found within three months he will say farewell and retire from the ring. That he is not justified in taking such a course without first lighting Johnson is the consensus of opinion among the newspaper critics, and Sandy Griswold, of Omaha, srikes the keynote of the situation when he says.
"I suppose Jim knows his own business best, but it strikes me as rather ***** that the grandest fighter the game has ever developed should draw the line on an antagonist of any hue, let alone black, he has put up his mitts with negroes on several occasions, and taking this fact into consideration, as well as many others that could be mentioned, it seems ill-grace, indeed, for the champion to assume this nice attitude. Not that I think for a moment that Jell has the slightest apprehension as to the outcome with Johnson, for I believe he would be as easy as Jack Muroe, but his lofty stand is ridicnious in the extreme. Again I don't see how as shrewd a fellow as the big Angeleon is, could for an instant overlook the garnerlnu of such a harvest. he took down $12,000 for making a holy show out of that big Montana booby, and owing to the peculiar condition of things Just now. I think be would double the sum by showing up the ****."

 

True, which was the point I was making

True, which again begs the question why is some respects, when we can visually see something different. So why was there more for him than others?

Agreed, they were heightened, but not to that degree, and might I add, more deservedly so. If I saw a paper say Ali floated like a butterfly and that was no HW before or since that could match his speed. I can visually see that the flowery language is true. When I see a writer applaud Jeffries movement, speed, and defense I can visually see (even with the worse film quality), that they are exaggerating his adeptness at those things. I believe that is the stark difference in the two. One I believe is more accurate representation than the other imo.

 

It's striking that in the first fight with Corbett, the crowd was backing Corbett from when they were entering the ring,