Prime to Prime Jim Jeffires vs Ezzard Charles

Jefferies was a big puncher and when someone can punch like that they would pose a threat to any fighter in any era. who won this fight would depend on 2 factors: The type of fight that charles would fight and his chin. I think that he would use his vastly superior skills and completely befudle jefferies but my question is what would happen once he got hit.

I think that charles would take the few punches that jefferies would land and box to a one-sided decision. jefferies would have to land enough punches but probably would have been to slow to land consistently.

 

The news reads says Jeffries was able to make Corbett miss, and was pretty quick on his feet. Corebtt himself said Jeffries was fast. Though Corrbett had not been in a recorded fight in 2 years, he was in plenty of exhibitions, and according to his own camp was in fine form leading up to the fight.

 

"Charles in fact was ko'd by a middeweight"

Yes, a super-middleweight, the 165 lb Lloyd Marshall. What of Jeff's opponents--how many were ko'd by 165 or so pounders?
Corbett by Fitz--Sharkey by Fitz--Ruhlin by Fitz--Armstrong by Childs--Goddard by Denver Ed Smith--Choynski by Kid Carter, Kid McCoy, and the welterweight Barbados Joe Walcott.

It is interesting to note that Jeff himself did not ko Sharkey, Armstrong, or Choynski, but 165 or so pounders did.

Jeff had a better chin than Charles, but Charles certainly had as good a chin as most of Jeff's major opposition. Charles was ko'd 7 times in 119 fights, Choynski 11 times in 86 fights, Fitz 7 times in 84 fights, Goddard 7 times in 64 fights, Ruhlin 5 times in 41 fights, Armstrong 6 times in 35 fights. These men just didn't have iron chins.

 

On the other hand, the gloves in Jeff's era were slightly smaller and less padded than the ones in Charles', which explains why middleweights were able to punch with heavies from time to time (Johnson vs. Choynski, for instance).

 

Charles was only three pounds heavier than Marshall when they fought (168 to 165)--and still only 21 years old. Charles was not a heavyweight for that fight.

The light gloves might help explain why middles could stop heavies, but wouldn't that also then make you question more a heavyweight not stopping a middleweight?

By the way, how heavy was Johnson when he fought Choynski? He might have been pretty close to Choynski in weight at that age.

 

For the record, I don't hold it against Charles. My comment was more directed at Jeffries' fighting middleweights than Charles' chin.

Yes and no; the small gloves equalize punching power somewhat, but the little guys also move faster and have better reflexes. When you combine those two factors, pressuring them into a KO (or taking risks while swinging for the fences at them) become a bit more difficult, especially with the start-stop rhythm of Jeffries' era's fights and the lack of combination punching.

That being said, I'm not sure Jeff was the titanic puncher that many make him out to be. I'd like to see footage of him him working the heavy bag, actually.

Between 168 and 185; probably closer to the latter. Choynski was the smaller fighter, but not by a wide margin:

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Sound points that ,I feel will not be replied to.

 

Like I said earlier. Watch the skills Corbett demonstrates on film and compare them to Ezzard Charles. Corbett, while great for his time no doubt, was still way behind in the modern efficient techniques charles used. There is a reason Bernard Hopkins and James Toney study the Walcott and Archie Moore manuel and not the Bob Fitzsimmons manuel. Nothing against Bob, but different times..more advanvements.

Mendoza and He,

There are numerous reports out there that ARE credible that show corbett having the better of jeffries the first 15 rounds. this is undeniable. We also have to take into account this was a corbett coming off a 2 year layoff having not won a fight in OVER 6 YEARS!!!!! . That is inexusable. It is quite Clear Corbetts prime was around the time he knocked out Sullivan and Took Jackson to a 61 round draw.

 

Do you think that Corbett's skills would allow him to beat Charles under his own rules?

And you have a good point regarding Hopkins and Toney, but in return I have to ask you:

* Why would they watch a fighter with a very different style from their own when they have fighters like Moore and Walcott who fight a lot more like they do?

* Why would they watch a fighter on terrible, grainy footage when they can see Charles/Moore/Walcott on smooth-running, clear film?




Surely these two factors also contribute to their choice to learn from Charles/Moore/Walcott rather than Fitz?

 

But if you are a huge Jeffries fan ,it is in your interest to build up his opponents ,thereby inflating his acheivements.
To put this proposed fight in an athletic context, over 15 rounds ,I think Charles LAPS Jeffries.
What does Jeffries bring to the table that Marciano did not?
Over 15 rounds I cannot see Jeffries .
Over 20 rounds ,I cannot see Jeffries.
Over 25 rounds Jeffries becomes competitive ,if he can still see, and has not been rescued by the referee,as an arm weary Charles begins to fade.

 

Cross-Trainer----this photo is extremely interesting. I have never seen it before. According to boxrec, Johnson was 6' 1 & 1/2" and Choynski 5' 11". That is a 2 & 1/2" inch difference. I don't know when this picture was taken, but I would think it would have to be after 1901, so Johnson is at least 23. Men don't generally grow after that. Both are barefoot and standing on a level floor. Perhaps there could be a distortion because Choynski is closer to the camera, but Choynski looks to be slightly taller and to have about the same reach.

Even granting all distortion Johnson does not look to be 2 & 1/2" inches taller and I think that if the angle were distorting things, it would not allow Johnson's shoulders to appear higher, but his head lower. He just seems to have had a shorter neck.

 

This is turning into a polite intelectual brawl.

 

Johnson was 6 foot and one quarter of an inch tall ,trust me ,I'm a Doctor .
Choynski's reach was longer than Johnson's ,interesting fact ,so was Tommy Burns.

 

mcvey you are precise with those heights!


So is Sonny Liston 6' 1/2" or 6'1?

is marciano 5'10 3/4" or 5'11?

 

Choynski has tall hair. :hey