Jeff’s body work and cardio were his greatest strengths, and Zhang is far from unhittable (though the same can apply to Jeffries) Who wins?
Depends on who lands the first power shot, either Jeffries is decapitated or Zhang's central body is impaled.
I have to confess that the giant guy who has ridiculous power and who is a surprisingly fast, clever boxer is my pick against the little tough guy with average defence.
Jeffries of course. He had an iron jaw, defense good enough to avoid getting hurt or dropped, stiff power, and tremendous condition, carrying his power late in fights. Zhang is very powerful but gasses relatively quickly and is hittable if you get inside, which Jeffries would.
Zhang is ANOTHER contender with little ability to fight and poorly conditioned. Jeffries all day and everyday. Prime Jeffries was a monster.
Who is the best southpaw Jeffries faced? On the footage we have, Jeffries is carrying that right just above his hip. I don't think that bodes well for the left down the pike that Big Bang throws from a 6-6 height at the end of an 80" reach. That punch puts out just about any many alive, and very likely a guy whose diet, or at least the most calorie rich part of it, consisted of undersized opponents. I don't think Jeffries survives to get Zhang to the point where he is hittable.
If you had to choose one fighter that can take everything you throw at him, and finish you 20 rounds later, than your number one choice would be James Jeffries. He was an absolute tank in his prime, and he would‘ve held his own against anyone in a slugfest.
But who exactly was "throwing everything" at him. An old Bob Foster type supermiddle? An old, inactive aerobics boxing instructor? A 5 foot 8 wharfbrawler? These aren't exactly of the breed that throws in Zhang's heavyweight era.
Well I'd say Jeffries who grew up fighting in the roughest era in boxing history might be able to find a way
I'd say that the division was whitewashed, that it was populated by undersized, underskilled actors which mowed the grass for Jeffries, a reasonably sized, reasonably strong heavy smooth riding, though at times he made the worst of it.
You would be hard pressed to find a heavyweight champion with the universal praise of Jeffries. When you analyze the best film of him in action you see that he used his left hook in bunches, triple and quadruple to head and body as well as a short right hand to the body. Add to this he was trained to fight 25 rounds and was as strong as an ox physically. Zhang in comparison can’t fight 12 rounds and his only skill, potentially, is a big left hand punch. One trick ponies generally don’t do well when faced with high level opposition.
Jeffries , who hadn't fought in 6 years and had ballooned to well over 300 pounds and had clearly lost it still made it into the 15th round with Jack Johnson. Zhang couldn't go 15 if they were 2 minutes rounds.
Zhang could fight a hundred rounds if all he had to face was an old Fitzsimmons, that aerobics instructor with the pompadour or that anklebiter wharfbrawler. It's not exactly Hrgovic, Wilder and Joyce in physical assets and pressure. When I analyze the film I see a guy who is wide open for a modern sized, skilled heavyweight.