Did James Jeffries retire too soon?

In 1909 JoeJeanette was 30
Sam Mcvey 28
Denver Ed Martin 28
Sam Langford26

Any of these would have been a worthier opponent than the pathetic Jack Finnegan,it amuses me that Johnson s defenses are disparaged ,yet Jeffries wins over Finnegan and Munroe ,pass without comment ,I think Jeffries retired because the only real oppossition to him came from black challengers and he wouldnt meet them,he may have beaten them ,we will never know ,but one things for sure ,had he taken them on and done so ,he would deserve all the plaudits he gets on this forum and then some!

 

The pressure for Jeffries to fight Johnson would of been too much if he had not retired, he was mad to comeback, if he had continued I am sure he would been more competitve in the fight, but Johnson still wins in about 30. Maybe by 1906/07 Burns could of beaten Jeffries as well...

 

Jeffries has quite a legacy as is. He was champion six years, and along with Johnson is the only pre-Louis champion to defeat the top black as well as white contenders.
The key if he fought on would be whether he fought Johnson in 1905. A victory over Johnson, if Johnson later went on to have the career he did, would put Jeff right up there at the top or near the top of heavyweight champions. Of course, there would be no good excuse for a loss and his standing would certainly drop quite a bit.
I don't see Hart or Burns beating him at any point.

My own guess is that Jeff retired because he never really liked boxing, having taken a great deal of facial punishment in several fights, and he was now married and did not want to leave a warm bed for the rigors of training.

 

Well, the reason why he retired was because sooner or later he would have to face the ****** on his back, i.e. Jack Johnson, so he retired before the public really caught on to his alterior motives. He would have to face Johnson in 1905 and more than likely would lose by lopsided decision, or even late stoppage.:good

 

He was afraid of losing his title to a black man. When he came back in 1910, he had no title to lose. Perfectly logical.:good

 

Nah mate that makes no sense,why come back to get a huge beating like he did,would make more sense to have took JJ on when he was still fighting and in shape.

 

From the point of view of Burns would not of had his championship run and the confidence that came from it, and Jeffries physically dominates Burns, yes Jeffries would of been a huge favourite.

But if Jeffries had continued would his heart really been in it? Would he look at his 5' nothing Canadian opponent and really feel the need to train that hard? Burns was not stupid, he had his limitations, but he would of had an edge in speed, and if Jeffries had not given it his all in training, perhaps Burns could edge out Jeffries over 20/25 rouinds...

 

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Actually, Johnson lost to Hart in early 1905--probably a bad decision, but it did knock Johnson out of immediate contention. Jeffries could have fought Hart, but I guess there was no demand for the bout. I think personal reasons, such as having a wife now and her wishes that he retire probably were the real critical factors.

 

This kind of logic sways me quite often.

 

Nice try, but they didnt have that kinda of money back than.

 

There was still a cloud on his title in many minds eye. At least Marciano fought the last threat to his title in Moore before he retired. Johnson was the last threat to Jeff's title, and instead of wanting to "take care of business" so to speak, he avoided him all together. There was a public outcry for this fight to happen, so it's not that this would have been an unpopular decision to fight Johnson.