Jeffries should gave Denver Ed Martin a title shot in 1903

Jeffries Martin would have been interesting for sure.

I think Jeffries would have taken him eventualy because Martin had durability problems.

I do think that a lot of the white contenders of the era gave Martin a verry wide berth.

 

It's the same thing as the winner of Wills-Fulton or the winner of Lewis-Ruddock being promised a title shot. Jeffries and Dempsey could hide behind the color line, Bowe couldn't.

 

I'm sure Mendoza will comment in due course!

 

I do wish there'd have been a Jeffries-Martin.

I think, though, Jeffries gets too much guff for rematching Corbett. Corbett had made a darned good fight in his first challenge; then he got a (admittedly controversial) KO win over a good one in Kid Nichols. Also, I've seen a Police Gazette write-up of Jeffries-Monroe; there was talk of Corbett -Phil. O'Brien, and the opinion was Corbett should be an easy winner. If they still had this opinion of Corbett after his rematch with Jeffries, what do you think their opinion of him was before that fight?
I just see no reason why the public shouldn't have approached Jeffries-Corbett II with interest. Yes, Corbett showed himself to be a bit old; but the public can't be blamed for not having hindsight of the fight itself.
However, I do agree that Martin's greater recent activity made him a better qualified contender than Corbett.

 

The Public might have shown more interest if the rematch with Corbett hadnt taken over 3 years to happen,after their 1st fight Corbett had1 bout in those 3 years a fake with Kid McCoy ,the scandal of which resulted in the repeal of the Horton Law in NY State. It might also be remembered that Corbett hadnt fought in 2 years when he met Jeffries the 1st time ,and his fight before that was a very peculiar one with Tom Sharkey.Why did Jeffries take so long to rematch Corbett ? Why didnt he fight Martin? I'm sure Mendoza will explain.

 

The AP mentions lots of fights that never happened. In fact the press mentions many fights today that never happen. A fight was only really for a championship in those days when a promoter put up money. It was common for the fighters also put up a forfiet fee as well. There was no money up on the offer for Jeffries vs Martin.

Corbett was far more famous, and based on his showing in the first fight was a fine choice for a title shot / re-match.

Martin would be no match for Jeffries. Indeed he was KO'd six times in his career before round four, and flat out could not take a body or head shot.

After Jeffries beat Fitz, The two went on tours fighting scores of boxers that lurk in the defunct newspapers of the times.

 

Had the fight happened, I think Jefferies would have won it anyways. It wasnt like Jefferies never fought a black man ever. He fought Jackson and one or two other black men in his early career.

 

I am guessing that Denver Ed Martin's chances of a fight took a hit when he was knocked down 5 times in the 4th round of his rematch with Bob Armstrong later in 1902. I would also say that he was completely taken off the list of prospective contenders when he returned to the us later in 1903 only to be knocked out in the 20th by Johnson, followed by a 3 round KO in the rubber match with Armstrong and eventually a 1st round KO by McVey, all before the end of 1903. How can Jeffries possibly justify not fighting him and why did he he lose his right to challenge for the world titleatsch.

Incidentally, isnt there also an unconfirmed report that Jeffries actually fought and beat Denver Ed Martin early in his carreer.

 

Wow, who is next to be anointed as the great champ who could have been?This is a pretty sorry suspect for even the wildest imaginations.

It's like some folks are bending over backwards to find the unlikeliest candidates so they can profusely pat themselves on the for their cleverness.

 

How could Jeffries possibly justify defending against Jack Munroe and Jack Finnegan? atsch

 

Incidentaly Martin was scheduled to fight Jack Johnson when he was champion instead of Victor McLachlan but he never turned up.