Could Heavys like Jeffries, Corbett, Fitz hang with the heavys over the last 40years?

There is NO FOOTAGE of Jeffries exhibiting fast footwork and evasive skills in an ACTUAL FIGHT.Sparring with your brother does not confirm your boxing ability.

 

So would Jim Thorpe have been a great boxer?
Daley Thompson?
Your statement has no relevance to boxing ability.

 

Since Jeffries only scaled over 220lbs ONCE in a defence , 240lbs when he was hog fat against the pathetic Finnegan ,and only once made 220lbs in a defence against Griffin, why would he gain 20-25 lbs today?
Jeffries best performance is probably his second fight with Corbett , for which he scaled 210lbs.Extra weight would only make him slower.
Going twelve rounds would indeed be a breeze for Jeffries,but would it be advantageous to his style of fighting?
Jeffries best wins were acheived over 20,25,23,and 11 rds,in wars of attrition.Over smaller lighter men.
Jeffries usually wore his opponents down, would he be successful trying these tactics against men ,not only his own size ,or bigger ,but his own age ,and men who were active boxers ,not coming off long lay offs?
The men of the last 40 years match him for size and he would be fighting his contemparies in age ,not his predecessors, as he was in Fitz and Corbett.
In short ,Jeffries would not enjoy 30-40 lbs in weight advantages ,nor 10-15 years in age, neither would he be taller ,and ,he probably would be matched in strength.
Jeffries would be facing, big athletic men, men who possessed both speed and boxing ability, men with fast left jabs ,and men who more than matched him in size .
Norton
Frazier
Shavers
Ali
Quarry
Lyle
Cooney
Tate
Foreman
Coetzee
Holmes
Liston
Weaver
Young

And, that' s just some of the 70's gang.
Add ,
Page
Dokes
Smith
Tyson
The Klits
Williams
Lewis
Bowe
Holyfield
Page
Thomas
Tucker
Jeffries was athletic for his time, today? :huh

 

I really dont think Johnson translates to other era's well. He mastered his own ruleset superbly but this does not bode well for cross-era match ups IMO.

John L. Sullivan - I think Sullivan can do well. He was a pressure fighter who could really fight when it came down to it. He definitly could be out-boxed and probably would but he would compete well, just losing to the best IMO.

James J. Corbett - I'm not sure on Corbett, he was definitly the prototype for a modern 'boxer' but that does not make him 'modern' himself, I think Sullivan would have more sucess than Corbett in todays game, as Corbett's skillset has been built on and improved whereas pressure fighting and brawling has been around forever and Sullivan was very good at it.

Bob Fitzsimmons - He suits any era IMO. Completly unique counter-punching style but also a very adept boxer and could slug it out when he had too.

Marvin Hart - Do not know enough about him.

Tommy Burns - Ditto

Sam Langford - I think he would suit well, but I really do not know enoughabout him.

Harry Wills - Do not know enough about him.

Jack Johnson - Covered above

Joe Jeannette - Do not know enough about him.

Sam McVea - Ditto

Peter Jackson - Ditto

James J Jeffries - I think Jeffries does well, he was a big athletic guy who had some modern techniques inhis arsenal. I do not know much past that but I think that is enough to be sucesful.

 

In all seriousness, Fitz would be absolutely unbelievable today, and i believe would still be considered the pound for pound greatest ever if he were around today, maybe more so.

For a start, at lightweight, he would have definitely won a world Title, with his power, he would have also got megafight world titles at welterweight (not sure if he would stick around long enough to unify or not), middleweight, where he would unify, and then the Supermiddleweight tournament, where he would KO the lot of them, easily. If this isnt enough to make him the greatest effort (how many world titles would he have), i would expect him to also fight for and win the light heavy title. I am not sure if he would bother going to cruiser, because there is not enough money.

With todays attitudes, you would expect that if he was to foray into the heavy ranks, he would bulk up like Adamek and others. With most fighters, this may or may not help. Imagine Fitz' power if he weighed in at 220 lbs. Particularly since by the time he finished with the Super 6 tournament and the light heavys, Wlad would be old and ready for retirement. I imagine that Fitz could have bulked up with weights, nutrition and steroid assistance. An old and Shakychinned long reigning champion who has lost his desire and is losing his speed punch and skills vs a decent sized (not huge) fighter with off the charts power. And if he beat an old Wlad and held the titles from lightweight to heavyweight (like he did in his own time) well, i can t imagine toomany people not putting him pound for pound no 1.

And here is an even scarier thought. With modern medicine he wouldnt have died from pneumonia, so he would have got to extend his career even longer. In fact, with modern AA programs and addiction controlling drugs, he may even have avoided the deadly drink a little better which could have meant that he didnt age as quickly! and retained his power even further into his old age.

 

I really dont think that Jeffries is going to hit a brick wall if you put him in with sombody like Norton, Cooney, Page or Ramhan.

Its true to say that he did enjoy at least some weight advantage in all of his key fights, but there is nothing to suggest that he particularly strugled against bigger fighters. Rather the reverse in fact. The three best menche fought who were over 200lbs were Kennedy, Ruhlin and Munroe, and they all took a one sidede beat down.

I suspect that he would have been rather effective against the good but not great heavies that were power brokers in the divisions of the 70s 80s and 90s. Once you get past them it comes down to you and the big boys.

 

As usual on this subject, your post is filled with "if....", "then probably...".

In this super duper weak era of heavyweights, why are the supermiddles and lightheavies not prominent in the rankings?

 

To play devils advocate:

Perhaps its because they can gain titles and adequate remuneration for fighting in their natural weight classes.

It would be verry interesting to see what would happen if we reset the heavyweight division at 154lbs tomorrow.

 

No, bra. Pacquiao and Mayweather at WW would hit every single freckle on his face before the referee must step in to call a halt to the sobering, severe outclassing that would take place. A modern referee who breaks the clinch would prove devastating.

 

Honestly, if you put these guys in the ring with Bob Fitzsimmons I would fear for their safety.

The things that Fitz did to durable heavyweights was quite frightning.

 

Ah, the advancements of modern boxing.

But at the lower weights Fitzsimmons was thought of a hard hitter but never a one-punch killer in the literal sense like you are making him out to be. I think alot of his power stemmed from being able to hit a bigger slower guy at will and use his speed to make the punch 'unseen'.

At the lower weights his punch would be harder in relation to his opponents ability to take them but he might loose the 'sneak factor'.

 

Sould we call it the Pacquio effect, Langford effect or perhaps even the Fitzsimmons effect?

 

Indeed, exactly the point I am getting.

Or perhaps the Walcott effect.

 

Ruhlin was just 200lbs ,not over it.
Munroe was nothing, he scaled 192 lbs for Maher ,9 months before his challenge of Jeffries,where he is listed as 184lbs.Munroe was under 6' so this is likely correct.
Kennedy has two listed weights one against Maher a year and two days prior to his challenge of Jeffries he is given as 190lbs, three months prior to that against Ruhlin he scaled 195lbs,I highly doubt he scaled 200lbs for Jeffries.
While we talk of Kennedy take a squint at his record ,do you think it is in anyway impressive? Likewise Munroe's?
We are talking about athletic big heavies, with, both, boxing ability and power, neither of those two had either.
Jeffries never met a class man his own size.
It's possible Jeffries adapts well, possible, but not proven,he could very well have his work cut out with guys like Jerry Quarry,a quick handed counter puncher who compares favourably with the likes of Sharkey,and pisses all over Munroe ,Finnegan and Kennedy.
Jiimy Ellis a fast handed sneaky puncher could cause problems, and both of these are second tier guys really.

 

There is a shitload of money available at heavyweight. There is absolutely no reason not to go there if there if they thought they had any chance of winning.