Condition of Jeffries hands/left arm vs Sharkey I,II, Ruhlin I, per 'In the Rin

You are correct regarding the second Jeffries fight,and Geoff Davis who was in Fitz's corner said Fitz 's hands were so smashed he walked towards Jeffries and said ." hit me Jeff ", as he had nothing left to fight with ,whether this is true or not, I don't know ?

It is a fact Fitz walked to Jeffries and spoke to him , immediately before the ko.
Jeffries, Fitz ,Corbett , and Johnson ,all named Choynsky as the hardest puncher they met.

Whether a younger Fitz would have possessed more power than the older version that Jeffries and Johnson met is open to debate.

I would not rate Jeffries in Fitz's or Choynsky's class for one punch power.

Ko percentages are rather misleading as Ike Williams % will show
Williams 49.98%
Fitz 58.25%
SRR 54%
Terrific left hooker Charley White =34.1%
George ko Chaney = 42.94%
Lew Jenkins right hand bomber = 49.98%

 

Well thankfully , I was never hit by either ,I am just repeating what the boxers said,I agree with your premise however,eg,there may have been harder punchers than Louis ,but better?

 

In terms of Sharkey v Fitz 2 I would say that the beating Jeffries gave Sharkey in their second fight pretty much finished Sharkey as a real threat......he was shot for the second Fitz fight.

After Jeffries 2 Sharkey had a run of a few wins including Choynski but was KO's for the first time in his career by Gus Ruhlin. Eight weeks later Sharkey was in the ring with Fitz and was KO'd early. The prime Sharkey had an iron skull and could take serious punishment so I don't think the KO is reflective of the Sailor's toughness.

I 'm not sure how effected Jeffries hands were in the second Sharkey fight but Sharkey did very well and if the fight was judged on rounds won Sharkey would have walked away the title according to many reports. The fact is that in those days the man most badly damaged was considered the loser even if he won more of the rounds. I think this view is based on the old school fight to the finish mentality and who would have won if the fight had unlimited rounds.

With Jeffries I think his ability to take punishment aligned with superhuman stamina were his greatest assets. He was outboxed by Fitz and Corbett and out dogged by Sharkey at times but he won every one of those fights. Jeffries didn't know how to lose and the further into the trenches the fight went the more dangerous Jeffries got. In long fights Jeffries was the perfect animal.

The first Jeffries v Sharkey came in Jim's 10th fight so if Jim had serious hand trouble he had it before he won the title. Personally I haven't really read much about Jeffries hand problems but don't doubt Pollock's research for a second.

I note Jeffries hands were good enough to KO/TKO Fitz and Corbett in their 4 fights.