Jess Willard was probably still at his best, but we can't said the same thing about Jeffries of the Johnson fight. 2 extremly strong, hard as nails heavyweight with great punching power? I pick the bigger Willard to beat a smaller and a past it Jeffries for sure.
This is how I see it. It seems strange to see Jeffries referred to as the smaller man, but it's true. Jeff had been a giant, relatively speaking, during his prime years, but Willard was a much bigger man. Some observations comparing Jess with the 1910 Jeffries - Big Jess was 33 when he won the title from Johnson, only two years younger than the 1910 Jeffries. He was two years older than that version of Jeff when he lost the title to Dempsey. And even though he took a horrible beating in the first round against Dempsey, he fought on for two more rounds without being decked in a gallant display of courage and gamenesss. In fact, Big Jess came back four years later and at an age of 40+ stopped contender Floyd Johnson in 11 and lasted 8 rounds against an up and coming Luis Angel Firpo. This would indicate that Jess had more left in the tank. It is difficult to assess how much the 1910 Jeffries had left. He had been out of the ring for nearly six years and had to take off considerable weight. I have seen estimates of 100 lbs to considerably less, but in photos of him refereeing fights during his ring retirement he does look heavy and out of condition. Doubtless he was rusty and he was going against a man that many considered the top heavyweight of all time who was at the peak of his form. Nat Fleischer said that Johnson would have beaten prime Jeffries. When interviewed for the 1967 computerized all-time heavyweight tournament, Jess Willard himself said that Jeffries was a sick man when he fought Johnson in 1910. Jeff never had any tuneup bouts prior to Johnson and did not fight afterward so it is hard to say what he was capable of at that time. Perhaps if he had faced a Bill Laing or Al Kauffman at some point we would have more points of reference. I suspect that he was capable of more than we think - we tend to think of his performance against Johnson as pathetic, but he did last 15 rounds under a hot July sun against a prime, battle-ready Johnson. But I don't think Jeff's heart was really in it. He took the Johnson fight for all the wrong reasons and came down on the wrong side of history, damaging his fistic legacy. But he was wise to stay retired after the Johnson fight because everyone knew that he could never beat Johnson thereafter.
Impressive. But i believe a prime Jeffries against the Willard who knocked out Jack Johnson would be very interesting, and i might have favored Jim in this one who knows.
I agree that would be an interesting match. I'm sure Jeffries would be the betting favorite and I would pick Jeff to win, but I don't think it would be an easy victory. I could see this fight going the limit with no knockdowns. I think Willard was better than he is given credit for. His pawing left and right uppercut could be effective against a crouching fighter like Jeffries.
IMHO, I'm thinking that this version of Jeffries might go the distance with that version of Willard. I'd give Willard the nod at the end of 20, but I think it would have been close.
This is a hard choice for me, we had Jeff who was clearly shot, and Willard who has not fight in 2 years. Jeffries may take this?? Maybe? It is hard to judge the 3 rounds vs Dempsey because Willard was getting his ass kick.
They were both old and inactive so hard to say. Maybe this is a case where the guy who had the greater size would prevail since there wasn’t much else left for either of them. Guess I’ll go with Willard
