James Jeffries
Titles: Heavyweight champion 1899-1905
Record: 18-1-2
Born: May 15, 1875 in Carroll, Ohio (USA)
Years active: 1896-1910
Nickname: The Boilermaker
If it were not for the one comeback loss to Jack Johnson the world would
recognize two undefeated heavyweight champions instead of just Marciano.
The comeback is perhaps the only mistake Jeffries ever made in his boxing
career. Jeffries allowed himself to be lured out of retirement by a frantic
white establishment looking for a fighter who could defeat the hated Jack
Johnson. In his prime Jeffries weighed about 220 pounds and at the time
stood a imposing 6 foot 2 inches tall. Jeffries was also one of the first
fighters to fight out of a crouch which actually took away his height
advantage. Jeffries was taught how to fight by former middleweight and
welterweight champion Tommy Ryan and kept his left arm extended at all
times while holding his right hand back to cover his face. The left hook
was generally regarded as his best and also his finishing punch. Jeffries
was born to a Methodist preacher in Carroll, Ohio. At the age of seven the
family moved to California where a young Jeffries excelled in sports like
wrestling, boxing and track. At the age of 16 Jeffries stopped going to
school and started to work at a boiler making factory where he earned
his nickname of "The Boilermaker". Jeffries was quickly thrown in against
the best fighters of his time and after 5 knockout wins held the very
talented Joe Choynski and Gus Ruhlin to draws in 20 round bouts in his
next two bouts. These impressive fights got Jeffries invited to the
training camp of heavyweight champion James Corbett. It was brutal for a
still raw Jeffries as the more experienced Corbett used his footwork to
outpunch and beat up on the bigger but less experienced man. Jeffries
stayed on however and took a lot of punishment for it, during these
sparring sessions Jeffries swore he would get back at Corbett in the
future. After Jeffries left camp he defeated a aging and sickly Peter
Jackson in 3 one sided rounds, still it earned him national recognition.
A fight with Tom Sharkey followed which went 20 hard rounds. Jeffries
outweighed Sharkey by 35 pounds and generally had the best of every round
but could not knock the tough Sharkey out. These two wins propelled
Jeffries to a title fight against legendary Bob Fitzsimmons. Once again
the size of Jeffries was the difference as he pushed and shoved the smaller
Fitzsimmons all over the ring, while busting up Bob with a steady jab.
After a second round knockdown of Fitzsimmons it was all to apparent who
would win the fight. A rematch with Sharkey was much thought than expected
and went 25 rounds. At the end Jeffries was bleeding from the mouth and
ear while Sharkey's ear was so swollen that Jeffries commented that it was
like hitting a wet sponge. Both fought on even terms until Jeffries did
more in the late rounds to earn the decision win. Some thought Sharkey
had done enough to win however. Looking for a soft touch after the tough
fight with Sharkey, Jeffries knocked out Jack Finnegan 35 seconds into the
fight in his next bout. Now a fight with James Corbett was made, and
Jeffries was looking for revenge of those sparring sessions. They met in
Coney Island, New York in 1900 and in the first 20 rounds it looked as if
Jeffries was still nothing more than a sparring partner for Corbett. The
footwork was again baffling Jeffries and Corbett still had a speed advantage
even at the age of 34. Corbett would fatigue after the 20th round however
and Jeffries began to connect with is left hook and in the 23rd round
Corbett was caught with a straight left followed by a left hook to the jaw.
Corbett could not beat the count and Jeffries had his revenge. Jeffries
gave Fitzsimmons a rematch which almost cost him the title. Fitzsimmons
learned well from his mistakes and used the same movement that Corbett
used to confuse Jeffries. At the end of 5 rounds Jeffries had a cut under
his right eye, a bloody nose and a cut mouth. Jeffries had a fighting heart
however and a straight right hand that landed above the heart of Fitzsimmons
turned the tide. Fitzsimmons battled back but the punch had done a lot of
damage. In the eight round Jeffries landed a hook to the stomach followed
by a left hook to the jaw to drop Fitzsimmons for the count. A rematch with
Corbett was granted and again Corbett fought well early but his age and
the size of Jeffries again proved too much. In the 10th round Jeffries
broke 2 of Corbett's ribs and finished of the old warrior. A exhibition
tour of the country was followed by a retirement announcement. Jeffries
had retired as a undefeated heavyweight champion, Jeffries had made 7
defenses of his title which he won after only 13 bouts as a pro. He should
have stayed retired but money and public pressure from white people to
defeat the new black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson proved too much for
Jeffries to resist. Early rumors that the fight was fixed for Jeffries
proved incredibly wrong when Johnson utterly and completely destroyed
Jeffries. After 6 years of retirement and at the age of 35 Jeffries was
no match for the Johnson who was in his prime. Still credit must be given
to Jeffries who did not dog it, lost over 100 pounds and came into the
fight in very good condition considering his age. Still Johnson administered
a painful beating of Jeffries and did not loose a round, he at times toyed
with his rival in a almost shameful fashion. After 15 one sided rounds
Johnson knocked Jeffries out mercifully ending the slaughter. Jeffries
returned home to Burbank California to live in retirement. The stock market
crash of 1929 forced Jeffries into bankruptcy however. Jeffries turned to
touring with a theater company and turned his barn into a gym and for use
in amateur boxing tournaments, to earn money. After his wife of 37 years
died in a car accident Jeffries was never the same and sank into a deep
depression, 5 years later he suffered a stroke which left him paralyzed
down one side. The one thing he still loved to do was talk boxing with
reporters and told them the one mistake he made was to comeback and fight
Jack Johnson. He also maintained that the fight with Johnson would have
been much closer had they fought in his prime, he did not state that he
would have beaten Johnson however. Jeffries was 77 when he died of a
heart attack.
Career Record: 18 W, 1 L, 2 D (15 K.O's)
1896
Jan Hank Griffin Los Angeles, Ca KO 14
Feb Jim Barber Los Angeles, Ca KO 2
Jul 2 Dan Long San Francisco, Ca KO 2
1897
Apr 9 Theodore Van Buskirk San Francisco, Ca KO 2
May 19 Henry Baker San Francisco, Ca KO 9
Jul 17 Gus Ruhlin San Francisco, Ca D 20
Nov 30 Joe Choynski San Francisco, Ca D 20
1898
Feb 28 Joe Goddard Los Angeles, Ca KO 4
Mar 22 Peter Jackson San Francisco, Ca KO 3
Apr 22 Pete Everett San Francisco, Ca KO 3
May 6 Tom Sharkey San Francisco, Ca W 20
Aug 5 Bob Armstrong New York, NY W 10
1899
Jun 9 Bob Fitzsimmons Brooklyn, NY KO 11
-Won Heavyweight championship of the World
Nov 3 Tom Sharkey Brooklyn, NY W 25
-Heavyweight Championship of the World
1900
Apr 6 Jack Finnegan Detroit, Mi KO 1
-Heavyweight Championship of the World
May 11 Jim Corbett Brooklyn, NY KO 23
-Heavyweight Championship of the World
1901
Nov 15 Gus Ruhlin San Francisco, Ca KO 5
-Heavyweight Championship of the World
1902
Jul 25 Bob Fitzsimmons San Francisco, Ca KO 8
-Heavyweight Championship of the World
1903
Aug 14 Jim Corbett San Francisco, Ca KO 10
-Heavyweight Championship of the World
1904
Aug 26 Jack Munroe San Francisco, Ca KO 2
-Heavyweight Championship of the World
1910
Jul 4 Jack Johnson Reno, Nv TKOby 15
-Heavyweight Championship of the World