Jim Jeffries A Man Among Old Inactive Men

Did he avoid anyone?

 

Wow. I never knew that Jeffries record was so uninspiring. The weight differentials are ridiculous as are his opponents respective records when they fought Jeff. Makes my perspective of Jeffries change a little bit. I said in an earlier post that Jim was a big fish in a small pond during his era and this post bears me out. Still a good fighter. Big and tough and can take it but I wonder how well he could take it against more modern HW's that are his size and bigger ala Liston, Foreman, Ali, Louis, Lewis et al. Food for thought and debate.

 

You and Mendoza should get a room ...

 

Jeffries refused to give Jack Johnson a title shot because it had been decided that while black fighters like Joe Gans and Walcott held titles in lighter weight classes, the more prestigous HW title was off limits to blacks. Ironically Jeffs would be brought out of retirement to fight JJ after he took the title from Tommy Burns. We all know what happened in tht fight.

 

The best you can ask of any champion is that he fight the best of his era. I think Jeffries did that. What more would you have him do? Construct a time machine, travel to 1966 and fight Muhammad Ali?

Some will argue that he ducked Johnson but that argument has been played and without judging Jeffries out of context one can see that there was a lot more momentum behind the idea NOT to fight Johnson (and not solely based on whether he was talented or the color of his skin) than there was behind the argument to fight him.

Jeffries may have fought smaller men, or older men, or both but the men he fought were the best men available and the men that dominated the HW scene for the decade previous. It is not uncommon for a dominant champion to clean up and clean out a division in this manner.

 

I don't believe Jeffries always fought the best available.
Corbett in 1903, for example. 37 years old and 3 years inactive. I don't believe the division was so desolate to make Corbett still the best available.

 

As champion Jeffries fought the best out there for the most part. He did not skirt several top contenders as all as say Jack Johnson did. I don't think Ruhlin or Sharkey were old, and Corbett at 33 was not old in the 1st fight. Fitz was older, but still deadly and knocking out contenders. Kennedy, Munroe, and Griffin were not small either. Don't feed this troll....

 

My thoughts. The criticism both, mcvey and Mendoza, bring up for Jeffries and Johnson are too extreme and blown out of proportion most of the time. They have some arguments against either fighter but both ignore the positves - and the negatives of their fighter.

IMO Johnson and Jeffries both are around the same level, Johnson slightly higher since he fought the best black men around before his reign but that´s it.

Who was better in your opinion?

Yes.