James Jackson Jeffries (April 15, 1875 – March 3, 1953) was an American professional boxer and world heavyweight champion from 1899 until his initial retirement in 1905.
He was known for his enormous strength and stamina. Jeffries fought out of a crouch with his left arm extended forward. He was able to absorb tremendous punishment while wearing his opponents down. It is believed this crouching crab technique was taught to him by his trainer, former welterweight and middleweight Champion Tommy Ryan. Although, Jeffries disputes this saying he developed his crouching style instinctively after taking a left hook to the liver by John Brink.
Jeffries stood 6 ft 1.5 in (1.87 m) tall and weighed 225 pounds (102 kg) in his prime. He could run 100 yards (91 m) in just under eleven seconds, and could high jump almost 6 feet (180 cm). A natural left-hander, he possessed one-punch knockout power in his left hook, and brawled his way to the top of the rankings.
Writer Jack London coined the phrase "Great White Hope" to describe Jeffries in his attempt to win the heavyweight crown from African-American world champion Jack Johnson in 1910. Jeffries came out of retirement for the fight, urged on by London and many others who wished to see a white man once again reign as heavyweight champion. Jeffries was beaten by Johnson in what was the first prizefight to be billed as the "Fight of the Century".
Jeffries moved with his family from their Ohio farm to Los Angeles, California, at age seven. At the age of 15, Jeffries worked for a while as a boilermaker, later working in copper mines in Temecula, California, alongside grown men at only the age of 17. There, Jeffries had his first true fight, having occurred when he refused to submit to the traditional hazing for newcomers. Instead of running the gauntlet, he challenged the largest miner to a wrestling match that quickly escalated into a long, no-holds-barred fistfight. The fight reportedly lasted almost an hour until Jeffries won. He then went into boxing. In later life, "The Boilermaker" was one of his professional nicknames.
Jeffries was both powerfully built and athletic as a teenager. Despite being inexperienced, Jeffries was a training partner for James J. Corbett in his fight with Bob Fitzsimmons. He was introduced to Corbett by a handler named Charley White who then described Jeffries as being "as strong as a horse". Jeffries boxed as an amateur until age 20, when he started fighting professionally.
Boxing historian John Durant described Jeffries as such:One of the strongest men who ever entered the ring, Jeff at 21 stood 6 feet, 2 inches, weighed 220 pounds, and was huge all over. He had pillar-like legs, an enormous shaggy chest, and the muscles of a weight lifter. For a giant he was surprisingly fast and agile. He could run 100 yards in 11 seconds, and high jump 5 feet, 10 inches.In his third fight, Jeffries knocked out the highly regarded boxer Hank Griffin in the fourteenth round. Jack Johnson would subsequently fight Griffin on three occasions.
Jeffries fought the top heavyweight contender, Gus Ruhlin, to a draw. Ruhlin was knocked down with a brutal punch at the end of the final round and was saved by the bell from being counted out. The decision was met with unfavorable reactions from the audience, many of whom felt Jeffries won.
On his way to the title in 1898, Jeffries knocked out Peter Jackson, the great boxer whom John L. Sullivan had refused to fight, in three rounds. This had been only the second defeat in Jackson's entire career; his first loss was from a four-round fight over thirteen years earlier around the beginning of his career. Jackson retired shortly afterward.
Jeffries defeated the formidable "Mexican Pete" Everett by knockout in only the third round on April 22, 1898. His next fight was against the Irishman Tom Sharkey. The fight went the full twenty rounds and Sharkey was knocked down in the eleventh round. Jeffries won the decision.
After defeating the big, fast-moving, sharp-jabbing Bob Armstrong, Jeffries had earned the right to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship.
On June 9, 1899, in Brooklyn, New York, he defeated Bob Fitzsimmons by KO in the eleventh round to win the Heavyweight Championship of the World. That August, he embarked on a tour of Europe, putting on exhibition fights for the fans. Jeffries was involved in several motion pictures recreating portions of his championship fights. Filmed portions of his other bouts and of some of his exhibition matches survive to this day.
In his first title defense, he won a twenty-five-round decision in a rematch over Tom Sharkey.
Jeffries set the record for the quickest KO in a Heavyweight title fight ever, which was 55 seconds against Jack Finnegan in his second title defense.
His next defense was against the former Heavyweight Champion and legendary technician, James J. Corbett. Corbett had put up a perfect defense and could have arguably won had the fight gone the distance. However, Corbett was knocked out cold from a left to the jaw in the 23rd round of the scheduled 25-round fight.
Jeffries later got the chance to avenge his controversial draw with Gus Ruhlin when he defended his title against him on November 15, 1901. Claims that Ruhlin quit during the fifth round are incorrect. All of the local next-day San Francisco sources agree that Ruhlin's manager, Billy Madden, threw in the towel to retire Ruhlin during the one-minute interval between the fifth and sixth rounds.
An example of Jeffries's ability to absorb punishment and recover from a severe battering to win a bout came in his rematch for the title with Fitzsimmons, who is regarded as one of the hardest punchers in boxing history. The rematch with Jeffries occurred on July 25, 1902, in San Francisco. To train for the bout Jeffries's daily training included a 14-mile (23 km) run, 2 hours of skipping rope, medicine ball training, 20 minutes sparring on the heavy bag, and at least 12 rounds of sparring in the ring. He also trained in wrestling.
For nearly eight rounds Fitzsimmons subjected Jeffries to a vicious battering. Jeffries suffered a broken nose, both his cheeks were cut to the bone, and gashes were opened over both eyes. It appeared that the fight would have to be stopped, as blood freely flowed into Jeffries's eyes. Then in the eighth round, Jeffries lashed out with a terrific right to the stomach, followed by a left hook to the jaw which knocked Fitzsimmons unconscious.