Over on youtube there is a video called "Jim Jeffries speaks" I have never noticed it before. While Jeffries doesn't say anything particularly interesting in the video, it is the only time I have actually heard him speak on camera so one does get the feel of the man. I would assume it was made about 1930.
I found it and listened to it. That's the first time I ever heard Jeffries speak, too. I also clicked on a another link and heard Burns speak as well. Tommy gave his all-time heavyweight rankings. Great hearing them. Thanks!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wowJ_Pr-QJ4[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdkP5nAWO1s&feature=related[/ame]
Ah yeah I saw these a bit back, Does anyone know what they were featured in? They seem rough takes of something. There's a good one of Joe Walcott too
Funny how he left out Jack Johnson. Jim seems a little in denial about what happened, or he is too racist to give credit to a negro.
To be fair, fighters tend to focus on the guys they met in their prime when compiling "best lists", perhaps even interpret the question as "best guy they beat". Joe Louis for example left Rocky Marciano off his list of the best fighters he met. Jeffries was a racist in the same way as my grandma. He had been brought up in a racist era where racist atitudes were prevalent but he beasicaly took people as he found them. He was friends with black fighters like Bob Armstrong.
Boy, I ran across that years ago. I didnt know Jeffries was human when I saw that 3 years ago when he cought up that Noggy. lol.
That is one possiblity. Maybe he just thought Corbett was a better pure boxer. He did after all mover around better and possibly strike better. Perhaps technically (for the time) more correct, in the same way that most will tell you Walcott was a better boxer than Marciano. And perhaps, Fitzsimmons really was the best fighter ever, without a shadow of a doubt, despite losing to Jack Johnson as an old man and losing to Jeffries, also as an old man.
those are great I remember Rooster posted a rare video where you can hear Jack Johnson talking in his prime!! When I heard him speaking as a 60 year old, I thought history was wrong describing him as one with a "powerful" voice. But this recording is really something! It makes him 10X more intimidating after hearing hahaha