Did James Jeffries retire too soon?

So are you saying that nobody wanted them to fight in 1905?

 

I said I have Johnson, not Jeffries at #7. I have Jeffries at #18 and Marciano #11.:good

 

I'm not obsessed. I thought he did post here, but nevertheless I mentioned his name and yours becaus eyou two seem to be the biggest opponents in the case of Jeffries ducking Johnson.

 

Nope. I'm just saying that there's no reason for Jeffries to back out of a big-money fight in 1905 that he could win, wait five years, and then enter a big-money fight in 1910 that he couldn't possibly win.

So he probably retired for a reason other than Johnson, regardless of whether Johnson was the #1 contender or not.

 

Still feel Marciano did more than Bowe who made your top ten lol.

 

There was little demand for Jeffries vs Hart. Jeffries said if the public wanted to see it, he'd fight Hart. Most felt Hart had little chance, which makes you wonder how good Jack Johnson was around the time Hart defeated him.

Jeffries had another offer to fight Aussie Billy Lang, but decided to stay retired.

 

Wrong again. I don't have Bowe in my top ten, and I don't have him above Marciano. Bowe makes #12 on my list, head-to-head.:good

 

You mean just like when for example David Bey beats Greg Page and then Larry Holmes gives Bey a title shot, but still today there is speculation on my Holmes never fought Page?:yep

Sure there would. Many people at the time thought Johnson was robbed in the Hart fight anyway, so there still would have been questions.:good

 

Interesting theory. Maybe a few people would change their minds. Let's test the theory. We can look at the shared common opponents that Jeffries and Johnson fought from 1899-1904. A list of prime or near opponents for the most part.

Jeffries beat Griffin decisively flooring him multiple times in a 4 round match in the early 1900's, and knocked him out in the 1890's. Griffin went undefeated 1-0-2 vs Johnson.

Jeffries beat Munore decisively in two rounds. Johnson took Munroe the distance.

Jeffries beat Everett decisively in three rounds. Johnson took Everett the distance.

Jeffires floored Choysnki 3 times in a disputed draw. Choynski knocked Johnson out in 3 rounds.

We have a big enough sample of 11 total fights here with Jeffries always doing better than Johnson vs the same opponents.

If A ( Jeffries ) defeats C ( common opponents ), and B ( Johnson ) has mixed results of wins and losses vs C ( same common opponents ) then A ( Jeffries ) likely defeats B. ( Johnson ) if they ever meet in the timeline between 1899-1905.