Could Jeffries have beaten anyone in the 1968 Heavyweight elimination tournament?

No, He loses to all of these.

 

Would you favor Karl Mildenberger over him ?

 

Absolutely. If he can go 12 with Ali, the distance with Folley and Machen, I think he could work Jeffries over the distance and pile up the points. Not even sure if Jeffries ever saw a southpaw. Maybe in a zoo.

 

All good points. But do you think Jeffries’ punching power might create a factor that Ali, Machen and Folley could not ?

 

Some of Jeffries best fights he took beatings till he gutted it out and came back. Fighters like Fitzsimmons and Sailor Tom Sharkey. Fitz wasn’t even a full fledged light heavyweight. Same for Sharkey at cruiserweight at 183. If he’s taking huge punishment from those guys thinking that more modern fighters taller and heavier would be hard to beat.
Best chance would be against Mildenberger or Spencer. I gotta think Thad is too fast and Mildenberger too sophisticated a boxer.

 

I suspect all the above actually hit harder than Jeffries and were in turn hit much harder by opponents they beat.

 

Every dog has his day, but I can't see Jeff being good enough to make it outta the 1st round of that tournament...

 

Mildenberger probably only chance but even if he could Carl is beating him up badly along the way.

 

Honestly, Jeffries has a reasonable chance against all of these fighters. And, he should be installed as a favorite against half of them.

 

Hi Guys.
When I first starting to read articles about Jeffries, way back in the late 60s, I thought he was superhuman, the tales of him drinking a crate of whisky to cure his pneumonia, wrestling with big Californian bears, his outworldly strength, seemingly impervious to punishment, he could and would ship enormous amount of blows just to get his own on target, his face a bloody mask cut to ribbons by Fitzsimmons loaded gloves, he was not of this planet went the narrative, then I saw him in print, huge hairy chest, arms like steel cables, legs that were big, solid, and not for folding, he looked mighty impressive, then we started to get films of a few of his fights, and of his training, I was less impressed have to say, alongside Ketchell, and maybe a few earlier " greats " maybe they were overrated by the press of the day, not knowing what was to follow decades later, even now I struggle to pinpoint where his standing should be in the pantheon of great heavyweights, or even if he qualifies for that title, so yes Jeffries is an enigma for me, would he have beaten the fighters mentioned, 50 years ago, I would have been adamant he would have, as we speak, I just don't know ?.
stay safe guys, chat soon.
Mike.

 

Jeff was from a different era. These fighters were pioneers fighting when boxing wasn’t even legal in many part of the country. This was glorified back room brawling. This guys were the best around at the time and tough guys for sure but not at the level of the fighters that followed as boxing advanced technique wise and became integrated with black fighters. Remember Jeffries was beaten to a pulp and had to make a big comeback to beat Fitzimons a heavy middle weight.

 

By all accounts, Jeffries was an excellent athlete in addition to being exceptionally fit and strong. He was a sprinter, wrestler, and could high jump. And unlike the similarly tough Marciano years later, he wasn't undersized for a Heavyweight. (6'2", 220 of solid muscle). Although I would never pick him over Ali, Louis, Liston, Foreman etc., his toughness and strength would certainly make him competitive against any of the men listed in this post.

 

He loses to all of these guys.