Jeffries: 'Tough' tough, or Hvywt fighting Little guys?

Langford was in Jeff's camp prior to the Johnson fight, if I recall correctly, and indeed there was a claim published that Sam actually trashed Jeffries in a private spar days before the big fight.

 

In fairness to Powerpuncher, that is not far off the way it works today.

Get a big name win, but leave a reason why your next opponent thinks you are are "Low Risk, High reward" opponent. But i dont really think it worked that way back then.

 

During his championship reign Jeffries often stated he would not fight a negro for his title,because, , he was unwilling to take a chance on losing his title to a black man.
Any one think Jeffries would revise his stance on this if that challenger was Langford?

 

It's all relative.

 

I do, but what do i know, i think he would have fought Johnson if Johnson had beaten Hart comfortably.

 

I don't ! I dont beleive Jeffries was ever physically afraid of an opponent though Brady stated, before meeting Fitz he lacked confidence and self belief.
I think Jeffries was deathly afraid of losing his championship,his whole persona revolved around it."The Champion Of The World,"" THe Strongest Man In The World".
Even in his comeback he was referred to by the promoters as the "Champion",and came to the ring at a dead run ,climbing into the ring and thrusting his chest out like some fabled Norse God.
Being Champ was his "raison d'etre".
Losing to a black man was unthinkable, his stock with the public plummeted after his loss to Johnson ,when he was just the challenger, to take a chance on losing his crown to him was never on his agenda.

 

I keep hearing this aura of invincability, so invincible he runs into retirement saying he was scared of losing the title to a black man So invisable he was getting outboxed by an old Corbett who was coming off losses and hadnt won a fight in years and had to wait for a 36yo 168lber to fade. Against Corbett Jeffries was said to look like an amateur. Hardly sounds like a devastating unbeatable fighter to me, sounds more like a smaller JEss Willard

1 possibility also hasn't been considered. That the press of the time made the comment up to further hype up the 'Great White Hope' of the time, don't believe everything you read in the papers

 

Jeffries never impressed me much. He was an athletic phenom for his time but was bullied by middleweights, going life and death with fighters who would have had no place in the heavyweight ranks a few decades later.

 

Which middleweights were these that bullied him? You mean light heavyweights, or smaller heavyweights/cruiserweights dont you?

 

I think it the money was high enough, Jeffries would have fought anyone.

As champion Jeffries did thrash Hank Griffin in a 4 rd match, though it was not a championship match..

 

I think the emergence of Johnson was a prime reason for Jeffries retirement,not that he physically feared Johnson ,but that he would not take the chance of losing to a black man,at any price ,he often castigated Burns for putting gold before his" white principals".

 

When Hart defeated Johnson, Jeffries could have fought anyone out there. He said he'd fight Hart but the interest in the fight wasn't there. I'm sure if Hart was black, you say Jeffries ducked him too. Jeffries retired after Johnson lost. So no Johnson was not the reason for Jeffries retiring.

 

Its hard to say the better men of his era were the smaller guys. Jeffries did not have a lot of fights but in his prime was able to beat everyone. tHERE WERE big guys back then but they were just not good enough to get past the smaller men. Jeffries for whatever it is worth beat the best men of his era. Rate the era where you want but you must rate Jeffies high in it.

 

Langford stated that he was willing to meet any man in the ring, except for Jeffries.