Jeffries Ruhlin

I watched part of this video earlier today but couldn't handle watching to whole thnig but reviewed all of it once this thread started. If anyone knew how to throw a.jab in those days they could have pulped Jeffries face since his held his left either down by his waist or waved it around like a flag in the wind. Johnson took advantage of his awful defensively deficiencies.

 

First, correct, if a boxer had the moves of Floyd Mayweather, second, maybe but it wouldn't hurt to try, third, I didn't say Johnson jabbed him into a ko I said he took advantage of Jeffries defensive deficiencies.

 

Jeffries actually looks pretty good here. His left hook looks good and he does land some very hard body punches. I could see why people were so impressed by him. If only they filmed more of his fights and someone could make better film technology back then. Oh well, best be grateful with what we have.

 

Oh come on. Jeffries is wide open here when he throws punches,Ruhlin who was scared stiff ,lands his jab when he can muster up the courage to throw it. Where is the vaunted footspeed from Jeffries ,he just plods after him?
The other film version shows Ruhlin appreciably quicker going backwards than Jeffries is going forward.
This fight should be taken in the context that 158lbs Fitz had half killed Ruhlin 3 months earlier.
BTW EX Champ Jim Corbett's brother Harry refereed the fight.

 

I totally agree with McVey here. People, we have to take off the rose-colored glasses. These two are woeful. I have been studying boxing now for over 45 years and have always trusted my eyes, not what someone tells me to. The heroic stories of Jeffries have been handed down generation by generation from newspaper to magazine to website. I have watched this film for quite some time and have really tried to see beyond the awkward lunges, the clumsy clouts, the complete absence of jab or combos and all I ever see is a very, very primitive version of George Chuvalo. In fact, I believe if Chuvalo suddenly appeared on the scene back then they would probably refer to him as a 'Fancy Dan'. There is no positives to take from this. They were good for their era, but boxing evolved.

 

Jeffries clearly shows better reflexes than Ruhlin. Also is aggressive with little regard for Ruhlin and mixes the left to the body and head very well. His feet are slower than expected but I don't think he was forced to use that attribute he seems content to walk his man down and bully him. He does look open for the jab and probably had lax defensive responsibilities since his raw size and strength usually carried the day for him.

 

Jeffries in the Ruhlin fight and Jeffries in the opening rounds of the Johnson fight are very similar. Same left hand ****ed back and very low. Same foot movement. Same stalking. No ability to cut off the ring. No jab. No combinations. No real defense other than persistent moving forward.

The big difference, visually, seems to be that Johnson immediately locked Jeffries' gloves when he got in close, preventing a lot of those inside punches by Jeffries from landing.

I'm with Scartissue here. Jeffries was the top guy of his time. But the sport began to change dramatically immediately following his reign. Jeffries may have been able to beat everyone who came before him. But most of the champs who came after would've whipped him.

 

Yes, Jeffries is wide open for a jab even Corbett took advantage of it. This is how Tommy Ryan trained Jeff to crouch down bull forward and take it. In most fights Jeffries always takes a ton of damage against the world class like Fitz of the time. Some of the beatings sounds like what some would expect a modern guy to give him. The left hook at the beginning is still not bad nor is his body punching though. Although only having two things being good is not helping his rating much.

 

But you have!

 

Lennox Lewis often fought with his hands down.

I think so did Holmes, Marciano, Ali, etc

 

Again, I don't think the stylistic differences are drastic enough between modern fighters and what we see here in this film.

There are tons of boxers today with many different styles. As long as those boxers are good, they look cool to us, because it's modern and fashionable.

The Jeffries Ruhlin film is completely stripped of production. There are no shiny ads in the ring, no shiny ropes, no bright colored gloves and shorts. No sweat, no sound, no facial emotions. No sign of fear, excitement, confidence, hope, or courage emanating from the boxers.

All of this subconsciously effects your perception. You're watching shadows.


When I keep all of that reference in my mind, I see two great fighters in that ring. Jeffries has great power and reflexes. Ruhlin does a decent job at moving around the ring to keep a distance with his jab.