Would history have been rewritten if?

If Jeffries had fought Corbett over 15rds? [ Jeffries kod Corbett in the 23rd round of their first fight]scheduled for 25 rds,Corbett was ahead when he was stopped.
Would Jeffries, knowing he had less time to wear his man down ,begin his attack earlier?
Or, would he run out of time, and lose a decision?
Thereby making Corbett the first man to regain the title, some sixty years before Patterson became the first man to do so.

 

If we assume that:

A. The fight would have gone prety much like the first 15 of the actual fight.

and

B. Jeffries as champion would ever have agreed to fight under terms so favourable to Corbett.

Then history would have been verry different. I cannot imagine Corbett being a verry active champion if he had won the title back. Dont expect any big fights over the next few years.

 

I think posterity was the winner , there again there were only 3 heavyweight title fights that you could call "big" in the next three years , [4 all together ] that said it was probably more than Corbett would have engaged in. Corbett of course had the option of making decent money on the stage ,Jeffries personality did not lend itself to such endeavours.

[One of the reasons Dempsey was so inactive ,he was making big money in films etc],

But it is a question that intrigues me somewhat.

 

but Jeffries had that aura of being the toughest man on the planet, people really admired hima nd thought he was amazing. Surely taht had alot of appeal.

Maybe Johnson would never have become Champion though and perhaps McVey r Langford could have been champion

 

The thing was Corbett bridged the gap between the boxing public ,and the general public, he was perceived as a "Gentleman", actually he was something of a ****,but still.
Jeffries was a decent man a gruff plain speaking man who disliked the public eye,and was uncomfortable in it.the opportunites that came Corbett's way and Sullivan's before him were not open for Jeffries.
ps ,Wonder what would have been the outcome if Johnson had fought Willard over 15 rds instead of 45rds?

 

If you read a full round by round report, the fight was pretty much even at the end of round 15.

 

I think Jeffries would have been fighting at a more hectic pace and would have been prepared to put on the pressure at an accelerated pace and stopped Corbett sooner but you never know

 

It's entirely possible,thats why Im asking posters opinions.

 

Papers I have seen say Corbett was ahead.
The Durango Democrat describes the fight thusly,
"Corbett making a wonderful battle" ",his defence absolutely perfect", "Corbett had an excellent chance of winning had the fight gone the distance". "Jeffries clearly outboxed","made to look like a novice".
I think the preponderance of reports and opinion is that Corbett was in front at the time of the stoppage,but I dont want to get side tracked here,into an interminable defence of Jeffries ,who has NOT been denigrated in any way.Lets stay on the thread.