I think James J Braddock could have beaten James J Jeffries

1 - Right hand. Braddock first broke his right hand against Joe Monte in 1927 and he re broke it in his very next fight against Swiderski. He claims to have often nursed it thereafter and it troubled him no end throughout his career. Oftentimes he would land it once and then fight one-handed in those wilderness years when he was fighting to live. By the time of his comeback, the hand had completely healed and Braddock was able to use it without worrying for the first time since 1928.

2 - The left hand. Braddock's left handed unveiling stunned the New York sports world. He was the very definition of a one handed fighter before his exodus. His left, was a fifth leg on a donkey.

In 1932 John Henry Lewis totally embarrassed Braddock when they met. In 1934, Braddock embarrassed Henry. Henry hadn't been beaten since Rosenbloom edged him in '32, and he had beaten Rosenbloom twice since in non-title fights. He was at his peak, I think. Lud Shabazian wrote that "The Braddock of 1932 had no left hand. The Braddock of 1934 seemed all left hand." The Lewis win is overlooked. They put him in with Lewis to make him go away. Braddock never beat fighters like Lewis, ever. Every single fighter of that type that he met beat him wide. Lewis of '34 was likely the best fighter of this type that he ever met.

The story, and I think the story may even have been true, is that Braddock had become ambidextrous - as much as that could be possible - having been forced to work only with his left hand on the docks when his right hand uselss.

3 - Size and condition. With apologies to Seamus, who hates this kind of thing, Braddock was "lean and sinewy" when in training for Corn Griffin. The docks had left him in excellent condition. He was unquestionably in the best shape he had been for years. Proper training camps augmented this and he, for the first time, took on the dimensions of a HW. He gained weight - good, strong weight - with every fight of his comeback, peaking at 199 against Farr. Braddock is also said to have gained an inch in height in this time! Seriously.


Johnny Dundee said this of Braddock: "Old fighters never change - except this time. He's a completely new fighter."

Of course, but he was never expected so widely to lose - not even against Baer. And it adds a nice progression to his comeback - #1 prospect, #1 proponent of his stylistic nightmare, #1 contender, #1.

 

His is the most dramatic narrative in the sport's history. You gents know, when you think about it, that The Ring isn't Disney. For this to happen, there has to be technical and physical progression. Braddock gets lost on hardcore boxing fans a bit in my opinion, specifically because of the dramatic "storybook" narrative. But there is hardcore boxing fundamentals upon which this was based.

Indeed.

But you know, presumably, that I know how highly he was rated in his own day? I think i'm the only guy on the forum that insists that he was rated more highly than Sullivan.