How Many People Go Undefeated Through Jeffries's Era?

Sharkey 2x and the Fitzsimmons rematch are definitely the biggest threats. Anyone in my top 20 Heavyweights could get through it undefeated (with the possible exception of Patterson). I reckon a few others too, I'd favor the likes of Ibeabuchi and Vitali through it even though they're not top 20.

 

Louis
Dempsey
Johnson
Liston
Foreman
Ali
Holmes
Tyson
Lewis
Holyfield

 

Well anybody in the top 1000 beats Finnegan and thoes versions of Jackson and Goddard would lose to any top 500 man. You can't really say guys at their best, the likes of Mercer, Peter, Huck, Sanders, Berbick, Parker and a host more would'nt get through that lot on some of their off days. Fitz, I can see defeating a lot of your boys. Most though of a top 30 would accomplish the feat with reasonably luck.

 

Historically, he paid a high price for his ill-fated comeback.

 

Tony Bellew could probably beat half in not most of those cowpokes

 

I would not assume that anybody in history, could have beaten those opponents, in that time frame!

This is one of the hardest runs for a novice fighter, in the history of the sport!

 

Ruhlin had 8 fights to Jeffries 6
Finnegan10 to Jeffries 16
Corbett15 to Jeffries 17

 

Even with somebody like Muhamad Ali, he would be getting fed to better fighters sooner, with far less amateur background, and probably meeting somebody like Cooper or Jones sooner.

You have got Hank Griffin for the pro debut aged 19, then he is inactive until he is 21, when he comes back against Dan Long.

A year after that he is fighting Gus Ruhlin.

Two months later he is fighting Joe Choynski, who beat Jack Johnson remember.

He ends up fighting Bob Fitzsimmons for the title, with only a dozen professional fights.

I think that is quite an ask for any young fighter.

 

Then probably a fair few.

the thing is that Jeffries was not at his best for most of these fights.

He was probably only at his peak for the last couple of them!

 

How many could have done it with a similar amateur career and pro fights? Probably very few pre 1980.

John L Sullvian - Never fought this class. Not likley or proven
Corbett - did fight others and lost some. No
Johnson was KO'd clean by Choynski, lost to Klondike, lost to Hart and had too many draws. A no.
Dempsey, well he wasn't that good in his early professional days. A no
Tunney, not likely, I have some of his early fights, he really improved a lot. A no.
Louis. A maybe, but with that defense and chin, probably would lose one
Marciano Depends on how raw he was as a young pro. Not likely