James J. Jeffries

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia James Jackson Jeffries April 15 1875 March 3 1953 was an American professional boxer and World Heavyweight Champion He was known for his enormous strength and stamina Using a technique taught to him by his trainer former Welterweight and Middleweight Champion Tommy Ryan Jeffries fought out of a crouch with his left arm extended forward He was able to absorb tremendous punishment while wearing his opponents down A natural lefthander he possessed onepunch knockout power in his left hook and brawled his way to the top of the rankings He is perhaps most famous for being Americas Great White Hope since the nation expected him to come out of his retirement to beat the AfricanAmerican boxer Jack Johnson who was at the time the Heavyweight Champion Jeffries stood 6 ft 1 12 in 187 m tall and weighed 225 pounds 102 kg in his prime He could run 100 yards 91 m in just over ten seconds and could high jump over 6 feet 180 cm