Is Jim Jeffries underrated or overrated or neither?

Probably overrated.
He struggled with Tom Sharkey and probably with Jim Corbett, who I don't believe was great.

I give him credit for the Fitzsimmons fights though. Fitzsimmons, though small, was a very dangerous fighter.
It would look better if he'd faced Fitzsimmons for a rematch in 1900, not 1902.

 

He looked chubby in the photo with Munroe, do you think he trained seriously for that fight Adam?
Just finished your Fitzsimmons book,it's as good as the Johnson and Jeffries ones,ie excellent!

 

Jeffries was not beaten, floored or KO'd by smaller men. Your standards do not seem to apply to others heavyweights such as Johnson, or Dempsey ( Two of your favorites ) but what else is new? Leave out he lacked experienced along the way and has little fat on his resume.

His measurement at Box Rec is wrong, 6'1" 1/2 measured is accurate with a 76.5 to 77" reach. Today he'd be 225-230 in shape, and being one of the best athletes ever to hold the heavyweight crown, I see no reason why he wouldn't be able to adapt to modern boxing techniques.

In his time Jeffries was often viewed as a top 3 all timer. For example, he came out #1 in a poll of 12 historians and writers in the 1950's. When the people who saw him passed, he has become underrated due to lack of film in his prime.

If Ali's only film was Holmes, what would people think? 97% of boxing fans today only saw Jeffries in 1910, 35, out of the ring for six years.

 

Okay, let's try this as you can be reasonable. Joe Louis was floored and lost another round to Jimmy Braddock who was no Tom Sharkey. Braddock was coming off a 2 year layoff. And didn't look good in several fights, like say Pastor who was no Jim Corbett. There are too many double standards here, let's apply the same to all. Fair enough?

Jeffries fought Sharkey with little experience in the first fight and with an injured arm in round 2, after he floored Sharkey in the 2nd. In modern times, the 2nd fight would have been ruled a TKO as Sharkey was in bad shape.

As for being a Champion, Jeffries fight Fitz, Sharkey and Corbett from 1899-1900. Beating the top 1-3 so quickly has not been done since in the heavyweight division. Fitz got his re-match, he was not an easy man to negotiate with and could have been even better for the re-match judging on his results leading up to the re-match.

 

very hard to judge the heavyweight era before Dempsey for me- small light men were competitive & the big guys were limited. The other divisions were pretty tough and some great fighters emerged. Where the Heavyweight back then that bad or the lower weights that good

Johnson KO'd by 165lb Joe Choynski & dropped by 160lb Stanley Ketchel
Jeffries vs 5"7 Sharkey
5"7 170lb Tommy Burns
Bob Fitzsimmons 165lbs

 

Dempsey was pretty small and had trouble with smaller fighters. His conception wasn't very good either in his championship years.

The only heavyweight champions that we'd judge today as not to small ( Omit Willard and Carnera ) pre 1960 is Jeffries.

 

I think he was still raw with few fights but is under rated.

 

Total career
Total fights‎: ‎24
Wins‎: ‎19
Losses‎: ‎1
Draws: 2
ND: 2
Wins by KO‎: ‎16

Won Hvyweight title over Bob Fitzsimmons in his 14th fight.
Fitz was 55-7-13 at the time.

 

You're bringing up Joe Louis and two of his least impressive prime performances (Bradock and Pastor 1).
No one rates Louis based on his Braddock and Pastor 1 fights.

The difference is, Jeffries's wins against Corbett and Sharkey are cited as cornerstones of his greatness/resume. They sit within his "top 5" names of his record, and are considered to add a lot of value to his legacy.

 

Most of this is fair, but Jeffries was also quick, very athletic, a very hard hitter who broke many ribs, great hook...
And you rounded his height down, & Liston's up. James was an inch taller, & his prime weight was two twenty five.
[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_J._Jeffrieso[/url]

 

He also had many fights that were unrecorded or lost to history, & won them all.

 

Why do you think that?

 

If the fights were unrecorded or lost to history, how do you know about them? And how in the world do you know he won all these unknown fights? That is really a leap.

I have read the biography by Adam Pollack. Is this a reference to the 1896 San Francisco Newspaper article? If so, you have evidence that there were more fights, but this also means that Jeffries was not as inexperienced in his run to the title as is often claimed and makes early results, such as the draws with Choynski and Ruhlin, more problematic.

 

Is he perhaps counting exhibitions?

 

Reading about Jeffries ,he was quick , athletic ,and a good hitter.Did he break many ribs? He cracked 2 of Sharkey's in their 2nd fight,Im unaware he did this to anyone else Box Rec has Jeffries at an even six foot and Liston at six foot one .
Name: James J. Jeffries
Alias: The Boilermaker
Birth Name: James Jackson Jeffries
Born: 1875-04-15
Birthplace: Carroll, Ohio, USA
Died: 1953-03-03 (Age:77)
Hometown: Burbank, California, USA
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 6′ 0″ / 183cm

Name: Sonny Liston
Birth Name: Charles L. Liston
Born: 1930-00-00
Birthplace: Johnson Township, Arkansas, USA
Died: 1970-12-30 (Age:40)
Hometown: Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 6′ 1″ / 185cm
Reach: 84″ / 213cm
While not infallible,I've found them more reliable than Wikipedia.
Very hard to get a precise opinion of Jeffries,he had some impressive wins and some rather less than impressive ones where his youth and size seem to have bailed him out.
The only man of quality that he met who was his own size Gus Ruhlin was a very in and out performer even during his prime.
If Jeff had defended against Fitzsimmons instead of Ruhlin we might have a better idea of where to place him.He is probably underated today,nobody I know outside of these sites has even heard of him.Type his name without adding boxer ,and you'll probably get the singer come up on your screen.