Some trivia about Jim Jeffries.

Can you provide the date for this?

 

One very key line is cut and pasted separately. That line with Armstrong that is pasted down below problably belongs at the first cut and reads thusly:

"Jeffries got the worst of the first bout with Armstrong, who made him look like a selling plater so far as boxing was concerned, although he could not damage the big Californian."

"Selling plater" is an out of date term that some might have difficulty understanding today. It refers to an inferior racing horse which is run in a selling race. A selling race is one in which inferior horses compete and the winning horse is offered for sale. This is, as you might surmise, a harsh put down of Jeffries' boxing abilities.


Thanks for posting this. It is certainly interesting on several levels, not least the implication that Armstrong got the better of Jeffries in their fight.

 

Jeffries was panned for this performance,but in fairness he is supposed to have hurt his hand on Armstrongs head ,,that was the reason he was unable to fulfill his 10 rounder with Steve O Donell.Armstrong was a strong guy who looked good but often got stage fright in actual combat ,his career was mainly as a spar mate.One of the headlines for this fight was "Jeffries proves to be big dub". I don't know who really got the beter of the contest Appollack likely could provide the definitive answer.

 

This supports my theory that the black heavyweights of that era were superior to the top white heavyweights of that era, they just never got their chance.

 

1898-08-06 New York Journal American (page 5)

"JEFFRIES CAN DRAW, BUT NOT WIN," SAYS CORBETT.

Jeffries did not make a favorable impression in his contest with Armstrong last night. What the audience expected to see was a man with wonderful science, and because Jeffries did not show any cleverness, thought he was a stiff.

Jim was never a scientific fighter. Of course he has some science, but his gigantic frame makes him look awkward when in action.

He is an aggressive fighter, and a hard man to beat. His style of fighting is a peculiar one, and while he cannot always knock his man out, he can generally get adraw.

I do not think Jeffries showed his real form last night. He knew he was to meet another man, and was cautious not to leave any opening for his opponent. I think Jeffries is capable of putting up a much better battle than he did and will prove it in the near future.

Jeffries has improved a little since I sparred with him at Carson, but I still think I am his master.

I noticed he employed the leads I used with him at Carson, the left swing, the body blows, and the uppercut which he tried unsuccessfully several times.

Sincerecely, JAMES J. CORBETT.

 

Armstrong just ran most of the fight, and Jeffries was wearing him down gradually, having him dazed several times, and knocking him down with a short left hook in the last round, while Armstrong's punches had no effect at all on Jeffries. A win for Jeffries was the only decision possible.

 

The official decision was a Jeffries win and without film, it makes no sense to question it. It is interesting that Jeff was unimpressive enough to cause at least this observer to imply that Armstrong got the best of him.

As for the "broken hand", who can say it wasn't, but Jeff always had an excuse or two at the ready and in fact in this fight he came on late and knocked Armstrong down in the last round. I am skeptical, myself.

 

Perhaps I should elaborate. Jeffries was superior to all of the black heavyweights of his era(except jack johnson in 1905).....as seen by his destructions of hank griffin(a fight he was losing in), and bob armstrong. But i think the black heavyweights of the day were just as good if not superior to sharkey, ruhlin, fitz, choynski, mckoy.

 

But he was 40 years old and conceding 47 lbs. Pick any LH conceding that weight , make him 40 ,and pit him with a prime Heavyweight Champion, how do you think it would go?

 

Well i am pretty certain that Choynski may have deserved a higher rating than Jack Johnson at one point in time, and Johnson was the best of the black challengers.

One thing that is often forgotten is that for so long, the coloured champion was Peter Jackson. Until Jeffries knocked him out, there werent exactly a large line of fighters waiting to challenge him or even establish themselves to be in the same class and worthy opponents. I think that Johnson was the first to really step up to the World Championship class and the talented group of coloured fighters drew inspiration from this and eventually improved to world class standard themselves, and (this coupled with a large drop in standards of the very best white fighters), meant that during Johnson's reign the best coloured fighters became on par or probably better than the best white fighters. Whether or not they were better than the likes of Fitz, Corbett, Choynski, Sharkey etc can only really be judged by comparing like opponents from the time and results. My recollection is that the very best whites did every bit as good or better than the very best coloureds from that period.