Continuing with my early 1910s watching, this big fight was next on my list. I honestly didn't know what to expect. I knew it was famous fight, and culturally significant if nothing else, but was it good? I personally expected a the humiliation, then the beatdown, after watching Johnson dispatch Burns and Ketchel with ease. I was partially right. The fight was clinch-filled up until the 15th, when Johnson dropped Jeffries twice and then stopped him. But everything leading up to that was different from Johnson's knockouts of Burns and Ketchel. Like in those two fights, Johnson rather unnecessarily prolonged the outcome (except of course Johnson didn't know Ketchel would trick him), with lots of clinches controlled by himself, but in the Jeffries fight, the action was all Johnson (which was very little), with Jeffries initiating the clinches. But they were not Johnson-controlled even though Jeffries initiated them. The two pushed and pulled and tugged a lot when they were tied up. It was apparent to me that although Johnson was stronger, Jeffries had similar upper body strength to Johnson. Makes me wonder who would have won in a prime-for-prime bout btwn these two. Verdict: Everyone should see it just to find out what everyone is talking about, but I might ruin your dreams about it. It was a God-awful fight with a not-all-too surprising finish by Johnson in the 15th.
I seen 7 rounds of this fight. It was pretty much a clinchfest as you said with Johnson getting the better of it. I am not sure who would of won in there primes, though I think Jeff may of been stronger during the clinch.
Youth wore out age. A prime Jeffries may have reversed that outcome. John Ruiz would have dominated that era
Ruiz was born about a 100 years too late lol. Can you think of John Ruiz as the WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT Champ after he beats say Tommy Burns. Beats Johnson in a fight to the finish clinchfest classic, Only for Jack Dempsey to finally knock Ruiz out to claim the Title after 6 or 7 years of his rein. He be consider a all time great. To be real about the era, with them 40 plus rounds fights, the clinch was used as a main weapon. Did you see the Nelson Gans fight? A good part of that was clinch control as I like to call it. The little HL of Jeffries vs Sharkey was them getting ready to clinch war.
Yep no doubt about it, Jeffries was a strong guy. A prime one gives Jack a lot harder fight and stands up to his shots better. I still believe he loses to Johnson tho, Jack was in a different skill set league imo. A prime for prime fight he'd beat Jeffries on points, unless it was a totally bias ref /judges!
Since we have had exposure ( You Tube mainly ) to how the fighters of the 1900s to say 1920s stack up against the more modern fighters possible exceptions Tunney/Leonard , we have in the main been hugely disappointed, shame really, because before we saw the likes of : Johnson, Jeffries, Nelson, and in particular Kecthel, we saw them as , or read them as ! great fighters one and all, would have been able to hold their own in any era, sadly not the case, they fell short on many disciplines, defense, punch rate, mobility, and general ring nuance, sometimes whish I hadn't seen them, that they were confined to my imagination.
Maybe, but Johnson loved to Clinch and I really do see a Ruiz vs Johnson fight more like the Johnson Jeffries fight with LOTS of clinching. This one is going to be a hug fest.
Jack Johnson was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Even then...you got bread, a knife, slice the friggin thing!
The clinching is really over-the-top when you watch the unedited film. I kept an eye on my timer during one clinch and it ran over one minute. Rickard didn't seem to want to interfere at all. Perhaps wise, considering the emotions involved. Of course, he was also not a trained referee, as far as I know. What really struck me is that while Jeff is big enough to compete with Johnson, he seems to have no skill at all. Hard to see what that crouch was supposed to accomplish. Johnson couldn't miss him with the few jabs he threw, but didn't pump the jab like later boxers would have. Johnson was also a mile faster and to me looked dominant in the clinches. A fight of surpassing historical importance, if dull to watch, but a must see for any boxing fan.
