I think James J Braddock could have beaten James J Jeffries

I don't disagree. Apart from Jack Johnson,imo,the fighters of Jeff's generation could n't compete with the ones from the Jack Dempsey era onwards. Boxing evolved quite a bit between 1900 and 1920.

 

Yea he may well have done, he was probably a much better technical boxer, in a better more competitive era and he outboxed 1 big strong hard hitting HW who may have been better

 

Braddock did have a very good chin but he looks like a decidedly average fighter on film, and his record suggests that too.

He decked Joe Louis, I'll give him that. And he soaked up some good shots.
But everything else I see of him on film it just seems like he is a journeyman. Well, he was, wasn't he.

 

Poor Jeffries. His rep has fallen so far he now can't even beat the journeymen of the 1930's.

I want to pull a Burt here.

Can anyone name even ONE observer who saw both Jeffries and Braddock fight who picked Braddock as the likely winner?

We are comparing a journeyman to a champion who cleaned out the division in his time and retired undefeated and was often picked for fifty years after his retirement as the best, or one of the best, heavyweights.

I think with a thirty pound weight pull, Jeffries marches right through Braddock and gives him a fierce body beating.

 

"supposed #1 prospect"

Corn Griffin? Bad judgement, that.

"#1 contender"

Art Lasky. Okay, but Charley Retzlaff ko'd Lasky twice more decisive wins than Baddock managed.

"Champion"

Max Baer. Here we get to it. Braddock beat Baer. Had he not, he would have gone down as only a journeyman, not as good as Retzlaff, who at least had a heavyweight punch.

Interestingly in 1933, when about 28, Braddock made 179 for Al Ettore. He was at 182 for Lasky three months before fighting Baer. Jeff is put down for fighting guys in the 180's because they were so small, but Braddock would have fit right in with the rest of Jeff's opponents and would probably have given up 30 to 40 pounds to Jeff. I don't think he controls Jeff inside.

*as for the film of Jeff, there isn't much to make an evaluation on, but he looks much better to me against Ruhlin than Braddock does against anyone.

 

He beat a few of the best, and lost to plenty of average ones too.
He spent most of his career as an unranked journeyman, though never a push-over - he was a tough fighter.
He beat Lasky, he beat Baer, and was champion. This can happen to a journeyman.

Braddock v Baer is an overwhelmingly awful championship fight. They both look poor. To be fair to Braddock, he was nowhere near as bad as Baer that night, and thoroughly deserved the win and the title.

 

Braddock was no journeyman, he was a top lhvy contender before winning the heavy title, but he was not elusive, a good, but not great puncher,a good, but not great boxer. Average foot speed,average hand speed. I don't think he matches up well with Jeffries myself, he has the durability to take a licking and keep on ticking , but I think the Jeffries of the second Ruhlin fight , coming forward, initiating the action,would hurt him to the body, slow him to a walk, bull him backwards, and take a decision from him.

 

McGrain raises some good points. I have never even considered this match up, but after reading some thoughts, I do think that Braddock would have a live chance. In addition to having a well tested chin, good stamina and better than average boxing ability, Braddock might also be one of the larger opponents that Jeffries squared off against as well.

 

What were the new additions and differences ?

The way I see it, he'd beat better fighters than Corn Griffin anyway.

I'd say Max Baer could have lost his title to several contenders and fringe contenders the way he looked against Braddock.
What's Braddock's best performance ? His best performance on film ?
Maybe I've missed something. From what I've seen he looks just as underwhelming as his overall record would suggest.

 

I think Jeffries loses to every heavyweight champ who came after him, Leon Spinks included.

 

Do you think he would have lost to Marvin Hart and Tommy Burns if he'd fought them ?