No, I dont think so. Foreman was not a polished boxer ,it's true, he liked you at the end of his roundhouse punches, and, would shove you back to get the optimum range , ala Frazier. George did however, understand the geometry of the ring very well, he cut off your escape extremely efficiently, with lateral movement,something his mentor Liston, never mastered. Foreman also had a jab that could control fighters, maybe not the fleet footed Tunney ,but he would not be just plodding forwards, being teed off on. Tunney liked to fire off a fast jab ,hook inside ,then either finish with a quick right cross ,or glide away, usually to his right.He never faced a monster like George. Dempsey was much diminished, his legs were no longer there, you can see he is forcing himself into punching range in their fights ,in his prime he did it instinctively. Tunney trained assidously at milling on the retreat ,to use a quaint old term ,he ran miles backwards in sand,the guy was as much an obssesive as Marciano imo, but every ring has ropes ,and Foreman seemed to have the knack of making rings look smaller very quickly. I may be in the minority ,but I think more has been made out of Foreman's loss to Young than allmost every fight.It is conveniently forgotten that Young was on the verge of being kod at one point. Tunney fired straight rights with unerring accuracy ,whilst George's punches allways looked crude ,even so just his arm punches had a visible effect on big heavies, I don't see Tunney taking the punishment Ali did,you may say his legs would ensure he did not have to. What if Foreman targetted his body? Would that not slow him enough for the big artillery to land later? I'm just thinking aloud here.
Jeffries looks lean and mean here,I take it that is Bob Armstrong on the left. This content is protected
If it is Armstrong, He looks absolutely massive on the left to me, definitely bigger than Jeffries. Looking at the receding hairline, i am guessing this is some time near the Johnson fight. Is this correct?
Yes , that is the thirty five year old Jim Jeffries in 1910 training for the Jack Johnson debacle...Probably Bob Armstrong on the left...Fans , look at Jeffries ,in 1910, after a SIX YEAR layoff. and only a shell of himself...The Boilermaker lost about 75 pounds, from his hog fat 300 pounds,when he started to first train on his ill=cocieved comeback attempt...Picture what Jim Jeffries must have looked like, when in his prime.....The old timers describing Jeffries were'nt just blowing smoke, No,sir....
I'm the first to concede Jeffries was no longer the Man Of Iron, but cosmetically he looks rather good to me. Armstrong looks tall and rangy doesn't he? This content is protected
Mendoza ,is that you in the hood directly behind John L,with the snipers rifle on your lap? Your aim must have been about as good as your spelling . This content is protected
Janitor,hope you don't mind,I needed somewhere to put this. A paunchy Jeffries and a Jack Munroe, who seems to carry most of his weight around his arse. This content is protected
Please, whoever is responsible for these wonderful rare pictures of yesterday, I and I'm sure many other boxing buffs, applaud you, and keep them coming, if possible...I feel that i'm part of the crowd, watching big Jeff , before his ill-advised bout with the Galveston giant Jack Johnson...Thanks again...
I feel it adds a bit of atmosphere to some posts. Thanks for your comment. McVey. Early Jeffries This content is protected