Jack Johnson vs. Jeffries in 1905

This is the ONLY film of Jeffries as champion where he is the initiator of the action, he chases Ruhlin,who by the way, appears faster afoot. I think Jeffries looks pretty good here myself, but those who say he was fleet footed never say Ruhlin was, so wtf? 1905 Johnson /Jeffries ,would be a barn burner, pity Jeffries bottled it and cheated the world of what might have been a fight for the ages.

 

Hart was not in the first half of the Johnson fight :huh Jeffries had nearly a year and a half to lose 75lbs ,how much longer do you think he needed?
If Hart landed hard and often,how come Johnson was unmarked ,whilst Hart's face was bloody and swollen?

 

Although it's hard, this is an old strongman's trick that's not as difficult as it looks for a big, strong athlete. Certainly not comparable to (for instance) Foreman pulling a car up a hill.

A couple years ago, I would have said that Jeffries was definitely stronger than Johnson. Now, I'm not so sure, though I still lean toward Jeffries' functional strength. Both men were very strong and two of the best clinch-fighters in heavyweight history (as long as the ref allowed them to violate Queensberry Rules like most fighters did ca. 1905).

(As a footnote, Jeff would have beaten Johnson in MMA because he was a better wrestler -- not that this is particularly relevant to the topic at hand, but it invalidates some of the "Johnson backed out of a cellar fight!!!!" arguments I've seen on here. Obviously Johnson backed out of a no-holds-barred match. He was a boxer).

 

There is every chance that under limited rounds, with a judge favouring the aggressor, jeff takes a decision but make no mistake: from 05 to 10 there was no better boxer on the planet and none quick enough to put jack out.

 

I was poking fun of people like myself really.

 

With that being said, Johnson was clearly a strong guy with a great center of gravity. He could move foes around the ring even when he'd placed his feet awkwardly and too close together.

 

Boilermaker is right. When you're tired your strength goes out the window. Getting in decent shape is not the same as being in fighting shape. Jeffries was not in fighting shape having not fought in 5 years and not having any tuneup fights prior to taking Johnson on. All the roadwork in the world isn't going to change that either. Jeffries became fatigued as the fight wore on...Johnson didn't. He was as fresh as a daisy and putting it to Jeff bigtime which is also psychologically fatiguing. Jeff was brave to soldier on but he knew it was hopeless. If only they fought 4 or 5 years earlier.

 

Johnson in reality didn't lose to Hart, he just had to score a KO to get a draw. The way Johnson kept dominating and hounding Jeffries meant he couldn't really go on without taking Johnson on, there really isn't any other explanation for retiring as Jeffries himself was coming into his prime