How would a fight between these two have gone in that year. Some say Johnson wasn't at his physical peak until later... others say.. Johnson was made to beat Jeffries because of his tools and style.. What do you guys say?
100 years after they actualy fought, this is still one of the most devisive issues on the forum. The thread about Johnsons claim for a title shot during Jeffries reign, is sheding light on some important issues relating to this.
What is your take Janitor... Personally, I think Johnson had what it took at this time to beat Jeff... he had the skills and style to do so.. but that is just my opinion
By 1905 ,I like Johnson , but make no mistake ,this could have been the forerunner of Ali Frazier 1. "I don't say I would have beaten him in my prime,but you would have seen a different fight".Jim Jeffries two days after Reno,and I agree with him. Racism and ,Jeffries refusal to take a chance on losing to a black man, robbed history , and us,of what might have been a truly epic battle.
To whoever the advantage in functional strength belongs in this fight i think would be a major factor. Jeffries bulldozed people, Johnson held them in place whilst beating the **** out of them. Who had it??
Jeffries in 1905 probably. Johnson weighed between 180-190 pounds then. By 1910, he was a 210 pound man. I see it going like this. Jeffries is the favorite in 1905, Johnson obviously wins by 1910. Both in their primes? I favour Jack Johnson but that could be only because we have no sufficient footage of Jeffries in his prime.
I would go for Jeff over 25 rounds. And he would take a pasting at times early on but so would Jack in some rounds. Jeff was quite a bit the bigger man at this time and the better athlete with a boring, conservative, tho sound, game plan.
Lol, how about punch, take a punch, and actually beat the top opposition when they were seasoned pros in their prime? Johnson could not get past the likes of Choynski, Klondike, Griffin, and Hart up to 1905. None of these guys were in Corbett, Sharkey or Fitz's class. In 1905, Johnson would have been meat. Even the odds makers and many fighters such as Jeanette and Langford felt a washed up Jeffries in 1910 would defeat Johnson. In additon, all top fighters such as Corbett, Fitz, Burns, Langford, Jeanette, and Dempsey felt Jeffries was better. Johnson himself called Jeffries the greatest of all time. I think the fighters knew.
In 05 Jeffries big ... way too strong and well conditioned ... very few fighters have had their reputations destroyed and career distorted like Jeffries had by Reno ... from all the photos of a flabby, balding middle aged man in cartoon like training togs in training to his helpless , lost gaze from the floor in the 15th round, the prime Jeffries is all but forgotten ... one has to read Adam's exceptional, impartial book with all of it's extensive first hand coverage and photographs to see the contrast between that Jeffries and the man who dominated his division years earlier ... The prime Jeffries as at the very least an even match for a prime Johnson. Stronger, a harder hitter, just as well conditioned, near impossible to hurt and an extremely smart fighter, in 05 Jeffries would have beaten him badly. In addition, all this talk of how strong Johnson was is slightly overrated ... yes he had big biceps and was cut up in 08 and threw around 168 pounders like Burns and Ketchel but head to head with a 218 pound Jeffries is simply another matter ... JOhnson was a master of leverage, he knew how to pin an opponents arm ... I do not see him as successful pulling that against a prime JIm ... a prime Ali was an exceptionally strong fighter but he sure did not look that way against Holmes ..just my thoughts ...
