Tua vs. Jeffries

The fighters he beat where world class fighters.

Those who beat him were Ike, Byrd and Lewis. The Ike fight could have gone either way. The other two expose his limitations against jab and movement.

 

That is great.

He looks a lot better than the cigarette box footage I'd seen.

Hard to tell but I like the way he tucks his chin and keeps his hands low as he comes inside. A few of his hooks are wild but risk taking against that opponent clearly didn't faze him.

He gets good leverage at mid range and smother up close.

Doesn't seem to show any jab at all though.

I'm going Jeffries decision. I say he bets Tua to the punch at range, smothers him up close. Like a slower paced version of Ike's tactics.

Some rounds will no doubt see bombs traded but both men are known for their chin.

Never knew this footage existed and I'm pleasantly surprised by what I see here.

Without a jab he'll struggle to outbox anyone, but that's exactly what he struggled with in his day and it didn't seem to hurt him (reminds me of some latter greats).

Good find. If those who've seen this still think he's an unskilled caveman I would have to disagree. He cuts the ring off fine and my only criticism is leading with the left hook instead of the jab, but that could just be due to the opponent already being hurt by body shots.

 

Jeffries looks absolutely lost on film by any modern standard. The guy who struggled with Sharkey, the equivalent of a modern tough man competitor, would get killed by Tua.

Back to your fairy tales.

 

As I said, I disagree.

Have you seen that fight Mendoza posted? Aside from the lack of jab featured, what is so lost about him?

 

The winner by KO in the 1st round? David Tua!

I'm thinking somewhere between 19 and 30 seconds.

Just kidding, relax.

Jeffries was considered by many the greatest HW of all-time after he retired in 1904. Some felt he was the best ever for a long time after that to be honest.

He was 6'1 1/2" with a 76 1/2" reach and weighed 206-240 Lbs. in HW world title fights. He was overweight at 240 Lbs. but he somehow managed to beat the 180 Lb. John Finnegan (4-2-4 (4)) by 1st round KO anyway. Make no mistake about it, Jeffries was a powerfully built man. He stopped the 180 Lb. Hank Griffin KO14, had a 20 round draw with the 167 Lb. Joe Choynski, stopped the 195 Lb. Peter Jackson KO3, beat the 185 Lb. Tom Sharkey twice W20 and W25, stopped the 167Lb. Bob Fitzsimmons KO11 and KO8, he also stopped the 188 Lb. James Corbett twice.

 

Jeffries was great in his era, no doubt. He was bigger and stronger than all of the men he beat... that would not be the case vs. Tua. Tua was a motherfvcking monster. Incredible physical strength and power in both hands. He carried his power in the 2nd half of the fight as well. Tua also had one of the best chins I've ever seen. Jeffries didn't have the skill of a Chris Byrd. Jeffries did not have the combination of size, strength, power, skill, and stamina of Lennox Lewis. Tua fought pretty much on par with Ibeabuchi... and Jeffries didn't have the total package that Ike presented either.

I'd favor Tua.

 

I agree with you on this.

 

Tua was a contender who lost his biggest bouts. Jeffries an ATG hwt champion. I'll go with the proven commodity any day.

 

Why was he so much heavier in the Finnegan fight than any of his other fights? Any chance the 240 was some kind of error or typo?

 

I wondered this too according to this quote from boxrec. Jeffries says he weighs 220.

"The San Francisco Call reported the following on April 7, 1900:
Champion James J. Jeffries knocked out John Finnegan of Pittsburg to-night before the Cadillac Athletic Club in fifty-five seconds. Finnegan landed the first blow as they came to the center of the ring, and Jeffries then put his left on the Pittsburgh man's jaw, and he went to the floor. Finnegan came up in a few seconds only to be sent to the floor again with a blow in the same place. He stayed down longer this time, and when he again arose he was in visible distress. He had hardly assumed a fighting position before the champion put his left in the pit of his stomach, and Finnegan went down completely out. Referee Siler counted the seconds off, and when he stepped back it was seen that Finnegan was crying. He staggered to his feet and reeled against the ropes, and his seconds rushed into the ring and carried him to his corner. It was several minutes before he recovered sufficiently to leave the ring. Jeffries said he weighed 220, but he looked thirty pounds heavier. Finnegan weighed but 180 and looked like a boy beside the champion."

Does anyone if they actually had an official weigh in? Doesn't sound like it from this.

 

On this we disagree.

By my money Tua has 4 world class victories and a small handful of decent victories.