Both fighters are obviously past their prime and not in the best condition. However what would you say to these questions: 1. Who was in better condition of the two at these points in time 2. If these two fought one another in these conditions who wins. 15 Rounds, gloves used are those in Jeffries time.
Battle of the old rusty shot fighters, eh? I'll go with Jeffries because he was less shot than ultra-shot Ali. Ali did a great impression of a statue for much of the (edit: Holmes) fight whereas Jeffries was actually competitive in the early rounds with Johnson.
Jeffries would probably stop Ali faster than Holmes seeing as Larry was holding back slightly . Jeffries rough s him up best he can , busting his face up till Dundee say s no more .
The difference here is no one judges an older Ali on this loss, but some judge an older Jeffries on his loss. IMO, Jeffries had far more ring rust and obstacles to overcome to get into the ring. Larry Holmes took pity on Ali, who was acting like a real jerk and calling him names in the ring. Best Guess, Jeffries out works and out hits Ali who had no legs left at all.
I think we're downplaying the effect Larry Holmes played in there. Ali was shot but he could've stringed a controversial decision against a lesser fighter. But to answer the OP, Jeffries for sure. He simply had more in the tank. I'd reckon he'd score a stoppage inside 10.
Their were literally rounds he wasn't throwing any punches. The fight would've been exactly the same (or worse) with any other opponent.
I recently watched what is billed as the full remaining footage of the Johnson-Jeffries fight. I think seven rounds were there. Far more than most documentaries show. This fight is usually severely edited to make it appear there was more action than there was. I also watched recently the full Holmes-Ali fight as someone equated this Ali with this Jeffries in a post. My reaction is that Ali looked a lot better. Yes, he had lost his reflexes and couldn't let his hands go. Part of this was that Holmes was very fast and had an all time great jab which he kept in Ali's face, keeping Ali on the defensive. Still Ali showed ability to slip and block punches, move about, and now and then jab and cross a right. It is true there were rounds in which Ali didn't throw punches, but actually watch the Johnson-Jeffries film. Ali possibly threw as many punches in one round as Jeffries does in the entire surviving footage. Jeffries shows nothing. He simply stands in a half crouch with his hands low, occasionally making threatening gestures but very rarely even attempting punches. It is impossible for me to believe he would last more than a few rounds with a Holmes fighting at the pace he fought Ali at. If Jeff isn't outright KO'd, he would quickly be cut to ribbons by that jab. It doesn't look like he would have any defense. Jeffries lasting until the 15th with Johnson doesn't mean much to me. The two men fought at a very deliberate pace. There would hang onto each other without throwing punches for 20 to 25 seconds at a time, break for an instant, and go into another clinch. There was one 54 second clinch in which Jeff didn't throw a punch, just hanging onto Johnson. Johnson would work a hand loose occasionally and hit Jeff before locking up again. One poster claimed Jeff was competitive early. Nothing in the footage shows much of that except that Johnson starts very slowly, pacing himself for 45 rounds. Jeff isn't doing anything, but is competitive only in the sense that Johnson hasn't really started to fight yet. When Johnson starts throwing punches, Jeff looks helpless. Both Ali and Jeff were totally stymied by younger and much faster men. Both showed toughness and courage in taking it and lasting. That is about it for Jeff. Ali was a ghost of the young Ali. Jeff a ghost of the young Jeff. But Ali was a ghost of a man who had been much better when he was in his prime and it shows.
Thinking of this , how long would you say Ali of the Holmes ft last s against Johnson ? And Jeffries of the JJ fight up against Holmes ?
I'm a big Holmes fan, but I don't think he took too much pity on Ali. Holmes was always a smart cautious fighter and he didn't want to take any risks, not even against a totally shot Ali. Holmes did bum rush Ali in the beginning of the first round but after Ali survived it Holmes went back to his usual methodical style. He broke Ali down and his body shots didn't seem merciful at all - including the vicious one that made Ali scream. Remember too Ali had one of the best chins of all time and was tough as nails. Holmes totally beat the crap out of him.
