James J Jeffries was a bear of a man with a solid Chin. My question is Not could he defeat George in prime, but could he have survived 15 round s? Jeffries time period, rules and gloves.
Jeffries going the distance sigh Foreman should be accepted as a “ possibility. “ But in all likely im doubtful that he’d last. For all his qualities James Jeffries was there to be hit and he would not only be in the ring with one of the most dangerous punchers of all time but one who would also be the only physical superior Jeffries ever met.
Hard to say considering Jeffries never fought a puncher with the size of Foreman. If Jeff could take that leather from George and over an extended period of time, then that makes the matchup far more interesting imo. George's style plays into Jeffries' hands far more than, say, Ali or Holmes would. George is a vicious aggressor who runs at you like a freight train, and Jeffries was a relatively quick-handed and accurate counter puncher with solid defense when he actually bothered trying it. It'd be interesting to see how George counters the crouch. That being said, it is just impossible to know how much Jeffries would be capable of taking since his results against Foreman-sized punchers is unknown. If he fought a big powerful man at the time like McVea maybe we'd have more answers.
Yeah I’d have to agree. I figure most people will draw the conclusion he only fought smaller men & thus will be knocked out against Foreman, but that isn’t proof of anything. It’s a bit like the Larry Holmes recuperation argument. He recovered very well but not against elite fighters, only limited (& tired) Earnie Shavers & light-punching Renaldo Snipes. Whether he could recover against a Joe Louis or Sonny Liston, you just can’t say. Similar with Jeffries facing this kind of puncher. The gloves are also a factor. Foreman could do more damage with gloves from Jeffries’ era, but that includes to his own hands, not just his opponents’ face. He also has to deal with fighting outdoors in the heat, & accept a referee who is far more willing to let an injured opponent go on than he is accustomed to.
The Foreman that took out Frazier the first time forces the referee to step in somewhere around six rounds, IMO. I'm not sure if Jeffries hits the deck but I think he'd be a complete mess by the end of it. I don't think there's a pressure fighter in history I would favor against prime Foreman. Coming at him in a straight line was essentially suicide.
I don’t think we can really call Jeffries at his peak a pressure fighter in the same way Frazier was, in fact it does seem like Jeffries preferred being the one being pressured and put in a position to counter.
I really can't see Jeffries getting to the end of 15, really can't. He's hardly gonna be Muhammad Ali in there,laying back on the ropes letting George wear himself out. Like you say, he'd be there to be hit. That makes George a happy bunny. .
Yeah Jeffries apparently had his nose broke three times. That’s not going to bode well for him when facing a two fisted monster like George Foreman. George Chuvalo was one of the most durable men of all time and had a decent punch too and Foreman beat him half to death handing him 1 of the 2 only stoppages in his career
One way or another it won’t go the distance. If nothing else, Foreman didn’t have the endurance. The thin gloves are a wild card. What if Foreman breaks his hand immediately?
