Bob's loss to Jim Hall was widely thought to have been a dive for a $75 bribe, so that Hall could travel to the states and take on 'Nonpareil' Jack Dempsey. Unfortunately for Jim, he was alleged to have gotten in a drunken brawl and missed his transport and then refuted the claims of the fight not being on the level. Fitzsimmons should be a lock for the top ten. His achievements are numerous as they are distinct.
Ted Spoon. How come fitz never fought a black fighter during his prime years in a real pro fight? I know he fought johnson later on, but during his prime years there was some talent out there like Frank Childs, Denver Ed Martin, Hank Griffin, Bob Armstrong, young Sam Mcvea etc
I think that most of those fights just didnt happen because of the timeline and circumstances. Fitzsimmons did say that he had no desire to fight Peter Jackson however.
Fitzsimmons became good friends with Jeffries and likely had similar views to him regarding interracial fights. Whether it was a c This content is protected decision as he went through the ranks is a good question; it probably was. Sullivan had set the bar, and Fitzsimmons would have felt inclined to stick to it and become successful. Certainly there was no lack of talent as he progressed mind and it's difficult to come up with a coloured fighter of whom he definitely should have faced.
I would make the observation that while Jeffries repeatedly declared his opposition to meeting black challengers in principal I have never managed to find a similar statment for Fitzsimmons. With Jeffries the paper trail is easy to find and a prosecution could easily be asembled. In Fitzsimmons case the trail seems to go cold. What is more than likley is that Fitzsimmons simply concentrated on beating the fighters that Jeffries had beaten more convincingly in order to get another title shot.
Well I meant the highly rated ones. Sorry for not being more specific. For example, dempsey did take on 4 black fighters, but none of them were highly rated.
I would have been real interested to see how fitz would deal with a skilled fast 6'6 fighter in Denver Ed Martin. interesting fight since martin had issues with body punches.
In all likelihood, Fitzsimmons fought who he needed to in order to prosper, but he would have been well aware of how some people looked upon interracial fights, regardless of his own preference. As you said yourself, Fitzsimmons was involved in another group; the big guns were himself, Jeffries, Corbett and Sharkey, and of course he fought all three. -SuzieQ49, it is highly unlikely that Smith would have seen the final bell against Fitzsimmons after a few slick opening rounds.
Either way, this is a case where you can see how it was in neither fighters interests to make the fight. Both were able to establish claims for a title shot by alternative routes and if they had fought one another before the second Fitzsimmons Jeffries fight they would have put their claims on the line for little benefit.
Fitz fought black contender Harris Martin, Ed Rollings and Godfrey. He should be among the top 12 pound for pound as he won lineal championships at middle weight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. Perhpas boxing best pound for pound pucnher of all time, and one of its best post 35 year old fighters too.
these men were not contenders. Joe Godfreys career record was 0-5!!! YIKES!!! Harris Martins career record was 4-9!!! In fact Fitzsimmons did not even beat Martin, the fight was a agreed No Decision in 4 rounds. who did martin ever beat? Edward Rollins finished his career with a losing record. He was no contender. who did rollins ever beat? The black contenders out there fitz should have fought were frank childs, denver ed martin, hank griffin, bob armstrong, Young Sam Mcvea, Joe Butler, and a few others. Not to say Fitz wouldnt have beat these men, but some of these matches would have been interesting. Jack Johnson knocked out Fitz in 2 rounds. Fitzsimmons was coming off a long 2 year layoff at age 37 and was defintley past his prime when he took on James J Jeffries. 37 year olds coming off 2 year layoffs does not sound like prime to me. Fitz defintley accomplished a good amount against top white fighters, and could punch. I do think he still had a bareknuckle like style that would not translate well into modern eras. Therefore I do not rate him highly h2h. At 167lb, I think he struggles against many of the good heavies throughout history. I do think fitz is top 25 p4p all time.