A 65 years old Jeffries Evaluates Those That Came After

Jeffries talks about Fitz ,Dempsey, and Louis.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...IBAJ&pg=1446,3468094&dq=bob+fitzsimmons&hl=en

 

it surprises me every time...the previous generations never seem to give due credit to the current one

 

I would have liked to have seen what Jem Mace had to say about Jeffries

 

"he's no heart and no mustache"-Jem Mace

This content is protected

 

Jefferies opinions tends to change depending on who he is talking about. In his autobiography he describes Sharkey as the toughest man he ever fought.


218 pounds at 16. He was a big boy, a beast I'd say, a genetic freak.

 

Note Jefferies talks about not wearing "bandages" on his hands.

 

He ran 14 miles a day at top speed... wearing a muffler, a mink coat, a top-hat and welder's boots.

What an ass.

 

Didn't know about the top hat.

 

:nono

 

Or the mink coat. Bearskin seems more likely.

 

I wouldn't be surprised, it's just like how Earnie Shavers claimed to have fought ten Holyfield's.

This part seems rather incredible:

I remember one fight Fitz had against Gus Ruhlin in New York. Bob hit Gus with a terrific punch to the chin and Ruhlin was unconscious for 36 hours. There was no publicity about it at the time because everybody was afraid it might be bad for the fight game.

Found this article, a slightly different earlier account:

The old timer who declared Bob Fitzsimmon to be the most over-rated heavyweight in ring history apparently did not watch Fitz very closely. Or if he did his eyesight must have been defective. He says Gus Ruhlin had Fitz close to a knockout, and that the latter was balmy when he won by a KO in the sixth round.

The facts are that Fitz left the old Garden in good condition immediately after the fight and Ruhlin, suffering from terrific body blows, was unable to leave the place until late the next afternoon. What is more, Ruhlin lay in the Brooklyn home of his manager, Billy Madden, for three weeks after the fight. And from then on he was of no especial value as a fighter.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AIBAJ&pg=1332,209730&dq=bob+fitzsimmons&hl=en

and Sharkey's account of the fight:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...8,5197126&dq=bob+fitzsimmons+gus+ruhlin&hl=en

 

Agreed. Great physical marvel. Seemed to be a great athlete, too.

 

Well, the Walcott and Conn fights were yet to come, but to say that Louis had not been tested is a bit off the mark. He had already lost to and rematched Schmeling, beaten the awkward Godoy, got knocked down by and then pasted Galento and had faced a wide variety of styles by 1941.