- 6 months ago
- #historicalboxingfight
- #boxing
Boxing, Jack Johnson vs James J. Jeffries
(historical boxing fight)
The Jack Johnson vs. James J. Jeffries fight was a 1910 boxing match in Reno, Nevada, dubbed "The Fight of the Century," which saw the first African American heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson, defeat the previously undefeated James J. Jeffries. Johnson's victory over the "Great White Hope" was a highly anticipated and racially charged event that resulted in race riots across the United States.
The fight: The match took place on July 4, 1910, in a specially built arena in Reno, Nevada.
The outcome: Johnson dominated the fight and defeated Jeffries by knockout in the 15th round, a first for the undefeated former champion.
The context: The fight was heavily influenced by racial tensions of the era, as many white Americans saw Jeffries as a symbol of their race and believed he was the "white hope" who could reclaim the heavyweight title from the black boxer, Johnson.
The aftermath: The result sparked widespread race riots across the United States, leading to violence and death in many cities.
#historicalboxingfight #boxing
#Boxing
(historical boxing fight)
The Jack Johnson vs. James J. Jeffries fight was a 1910 boxing match in Reno, Nevada, dubbed "The Fight of the Century," which saw the first African American heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson, defeat the previously undefeated James J. Jeffries. Johnson's victory over the "Great White Hope" was a highly anticipated and racially charged event that resulted in race riots across the United States.
The fight: The match took place on July 4, 1910, in a specially built arena in Reno, Nevada.
The outcome: Johnson dominated the fight and defeated Jeffries by knockout in the 15th round, a first for the undefeated former champion.
The context: The fight was heavily influenced by racial tensions of the era, as many white Americans saw Jeffries as a symbol of their race and believed he was the "white hope" who could reclaim the heavyweight title from the black boxer, Johnson.
The aftermath: The result sparked widespread race riots across the United States, leading to violence and death in many cities.
#historicalboxingfight #boxing
#Boxing
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00The most dynamic milestone in boxing history, champion Jack Johnson versus challenger James J. Jeffries.
00:07One of the great events in sports history is just 24 hours away as we look at downtown Reno, Nevada on July 3rd, 1910.
00:16Tomorrow, heavyweight champion Jack Johnson will defend his crown against the man who is already a legend in his time,
00:23former heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries.
00:26Jeffries retired undefeated in 1904, over six years ago.
00:30The city of Reno is in a frenzy as 15,000 fight fans swarm into the little town.
00:35This is the fight the entire boxing world has been waiting for,
00:38a clash between the two men who are ranked as the greatest heavyweight champions of all time.
00:45Let's go back six months to the time when Jeffries first opened his training camp
00:49and look at what six years of inactivity has done to the former champion.
00:53Here we see Jeff shaking hands with well-wishers.
00:56His weight at this time is over 314 pounds.
00:59Also visiting Jeff for former heavyweight champions John L. Sullivan to your right
01:03and James J. Corbett to your left.
01:06There had been an 18-year feud between these two great fighters,
01:09which is finally patched up on this very day.
01:12To the delight of cameramen, they go through a mock sparring session with the mustache John L.
01:16showing some of the feints he used over two decades ago when he was bare-knuckle champion.
01:20A final handshake ended all of the bad feeling between the two.
01:25Let's go back in time three more years to 1907,
01:28when Jeffries, in vest and long shirt sleeves, was introduced at the Byrne Squires championship fight.
01:34Jeffries weighed 334 pounds.
01:37Now you can see the almost impossible job Jeff had getting back to his fighting weight of 220.
01:42We're seeing the stadium being built, which will feature the biggest sporting event of the century.
01:47This is the first time in pugilistic history that an arena has been built specifically for one special prize fight.
01:53The promoter is the fabled Tex Rickard, who paid $120,000 in gold to capture this sporting plum.
02:00It's now July 1st, just three days until Jeffries and Johnson enter the ring.
02:05Unbelievably, you are looking at a 226-pound Jim Jeffries.
02:10Jeff has done what many experts had predicted was virtually impossible.
02:14He has recaptured his fighting form and shed over 110 pounds in the process.
02:18On this particular day, he's loosening up in preparation for three rounds of sparring with the legendary Joe Schewinski.
02:25A crowd of over 1,000 fight fans is present to watch Schewinski, a man considered one of the great fighters of the era,
02:32demonstrate to Jeffries the various moves he used to whip Jack Johnson, the present champion.
02:37Schewinski, the smaller fighter in long white boxing tights, enjoys a unique distinction in heavyweight history.
02:43Not only did he hold Jeffries to a 20-round draw, a remarkable feat considering that Jeffries has never been beaten,
02:49but in addition, he knocked out Jack Johnson in three rounds back in 1901,
02:54which places Schewinski in a category with the great fighters of the period.
02:57He thinks nothing of giving away as much as 100 pounds to an opponent and then proceeds to knock him out.
03:03Jeffries has said many times he considers himself very fortunate to get Joe to work out with him during these last days of training.
03:10Just five miles away, heavyweight champion Jack Johnson is working out with Jim Flynn.
03:15Johnson's reputation of invincibility is spread like wildfire as the boxing writers are using a flood of adjectives to describe his workouts.
03:23The great Johnson, the unbeatable Johnson are but a few of the quotes which have been written each day.
03:29It's 6.30 in the morning, July 4, 1910.
03:31It seems scarcely conceivable that this seemingly carefree James J. Jeffries in just six hours
03:37will be in the toughest fight of his life against one of the greatest fighting machines in the history of boxing.
03:43At the same time, champion Johnson takes his morning constitutional.
03:48Now at 9 o'clock in the morning, the trains are arriving every half hour,
03:52bringing fight fans to see the match that has been billed as the Battle of the Giants.
03:56No sooner does one trade unload when the next one pulls in jammed to capacity.
04:00Outside the arena, four hours before fight time,
04:03$50 ringside seats are being scalped for $125 each.
04:07And in 1910, $125 represented the purchasing power of nearly $1,000 today.
04:14Inside the arena, the lucky fight fans with tickets waved to motion picture cameras three hours before fight time.
04:20Extensive motion picture coverage has been planned as the entire world waits for the results.
04:2520 minutes before fight time, the light heavyweight champion of the world,
04:29Philadelphia Jack O'Brien, is introduced to the packed stadium.
04:32The next introduction, one of the great heavyweights of this era,
04:37Sam Lankford, affectionately called the Boston Tar Baby.
04:40Sam wants a shot at the heavyweight title himself.
04:42Here's Abe Attell, featherweight champion of the world,
04:45and ranked as one of the greatest boxers of all time, regardless of division.
04:50But the man who gets the finest ovation is bare-knuckle champion Jake Kilrain.
04:55Fans will never forget Jake's 75-round fight with champion John L. Sullivan.
04:59At exactly three minutes to one, a hush settles over the stadium
05:03as champion Jack Johnson makes his way through the crowd.
05:07Jack always insists on being the first to enter the ring.
05:10He takes this superstition so seriously that it's actually part of the conditions of the contract.
05:15From the moment Johnson enters the ring,
05:17the big golden smile, which is his trademark, never leaves his face.
05:22A grimly determined Jeffries enters the ring four minutes later.
05:2516,520 excited fight fans are on the edge of their seats as round one gets underway.
05:34The fight is scheduled for 45 three-minute rounds,
05:37and the temperature is 110 degrees of suffocating heat.
05:41Champion Johnson is in brilliant physical condition, weighing 212 pounds.
05:46Jeffries, at 226 pounds, is fighting at the same weight
05:49at which he last defended the heavyweight championship in 1904 against Jack Monroe.
05:54It was a tremendous task for Jeff to get himself into the rock-hard condition fighter he is today.
06:05Jeffries won the heavyweight championship of the world 11 years ago,
06:08on June 9, 1899,
06:11when he knocked out Bob Fitzsimmons in 11 rounds.
06:13After successfully defending the crown seven times in that period,
06:17between 1899 and 1904,
06:20he retired undefeated,
06:21having beaten every prominent heavyweight who wanted a chance at his crown.
06:27Round one draws to a close with both men conserving their energies,
06:30knowing there are a possible 44 rounds.
06:33As round four begins,
06:34neither fighter has gained a clear advantage.
06:36In rounds two and three,
06:38the two men continued feeling each other out,
06:40searching for weaknesses, using early caution.
06:42The third man in the ring is none other than promoter Tex Rickard.
06:46For weeks, Johnson and Jeffries haggled about who should referee the fight.
06:50Rickard attempted to solve the problem
06:51by asking the President of the United States,
06:54William Howard Taft, to be the referee.
06:56When President Taft declined,
06:58Rickard then sent a wire to the famous British author of Sherlock Holmes,
07:02Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
07:03who also respectfully declined.
07:05Finally, Rickard,
07:06who has never refereed a prize fight in his life,
07:09nominated himself as the third man in the ring.
07:12While he was in training,
07:15Champion Johnson had read the glowing accounts
07:17of the giant-like strength of Jeffries.
07:19It said that no man living can tie Jeffries up in close.
07:22When Johnson heard this,
07:24he said that he was not only going to tie Jeffries up in the clutches,
07:27but that he was going to actually twist Jeff's arms behind his back
07:30in order to completely neutralize the strength of the challenger.
07:33Johnson lands a stinging overhand right,
07:40which is the best clutch of the fight thus far.
07:42And round four comes to an end.
07:46We go into round 13 with the challenger, Jeffries, tiring badly.
07:50In rounds five through 12,
07:52Johnson has slowly but methodically worn Jeffries down
07:54with hard right uppercuts and the clenches,
07:56and powerful lefts and rights to the body.
07:59The fight is definitely going the way Johnson has planned it.
08:02The champion is setting his own pace,
08:04letting the years of inactivity,
08:05the tremendous heat,
08:06and his own powerful punching
08:08slowly take their toll on the 37-year-old challenger.
08:11When Jeffries retired six years ago,
08:17Tommy Burns won general recognition as heavyweight champion
08:20by going around the world
08:21and defeating every heavyweight who laid claim to the crown.
08:25Burns lost his title December 26, 1908,
08:28just two years ago to Jack Johnson in Sydney, Australia,
08:31in a spectacular contest.
08:33Johnson returned to the United States
08:34and last year, in 1909,
08:37successfully defended his title
08:38against the middleweight champion of the world,
08:40Stanley Ketchel.
08:41This is Johnson's second title defense,
08:44and Jeffries is considered by far
08:45the most formidable opponent
08:47that Johnson has ever had to face.
08:53Both men are now feeling the effects
08:55of this tremendous heat,
08:57but it's the champion, Johnson,
08:58who definitely appears to be the stronger of the two.
09:03A smashing right hand by Johnson
09:05is followed by a jolting right uppercut.
09:10Champion Johnson is getting a $60,000 guarantee
09:13for this title defense,
09:15by far the biggest ever made to date.
09:17Jeffries' guarantee is $40,000,
09:20plus the astronomical figure of $75,000
09:22for signing with Rickert for the fight.
09:251,500 Never Say Die fans crashed over the fence
09:28when there simply were no more seats to be sold.
09:30In Rickert's financial breakdown of the fight,
09:32these same 1,500 crashers were listed as complementors.
09:35In the previous round,
09:39Johnson relentlessly pursued Jeffries
09:41all over the ring.
09:42Here in round 15,
09:44he rushes Jeff against the ropes
09:45and lands a hard right uppercut.
09:47He follows it up with three left hooks,
09:49and Jeffries goes down
09:50for the first time in his entire professional career.
09:53The crowd leaps to its feet
09:55at the shock of what's happening.
09:56Jeff rises and gets hit with a smashing left hook
09:59which sends him out of the ring.
10:01Jeff's chief second,
10:02with the help of a fan,
10:03lifts him to his feet.
10:04Johnson rushes Jeffries across the ring
10:07where he floors Jeff with a paralyzing right to the head.
10:11Rickert steps between the two fighters
10:12as Sam Berger,
10:13in dark breast and hat,
10:15rushes in and stops the fight
10:16to save Jeffries from further punishment.
10:18This startling conclusion
10:19puts an end to the most dramatic
10:21heavyweight championship fight
10:23in the last 75 years.
10:25James J. Jeffries suffers the first and only defeat
10:27of his entire professional career
10:29while Jack Johnson successfully defends
10:32his world heavyweight championship.
10:34Rickert steps between a number of stars
10:36and Jim J. Jeffries
10:38and Jim J. Jeffries
10:38to the next story.
10:39Rickert step
10:39to the next future for the first and finally
10:41who's in the last 2.
10:41to the next 2.
10:42But you'll see
10:56a couple of stars
10:57in the next 2.
Comments