Los Angeles herald., 1905-06-08
JEFFRIES TALKS
ON RETIREMENT
DECLARES HE WILL NEVER
ENTER RING AGAIN
TO LEAD THE SIMPLE LIFE
Plans to Purchase Ranch and Engage
In Stock Raising-Says Sharkey
Gave Him Hardest Bat
tie of Career

James ]. Jeffres-not Champion
Jeffries for by his voluntary retirement
announced several weeks ago he has
relinauished that title-is now in Los
Angeles, accompanied by Mrs. Jeffries,
and is staying at the family homestead
in East Los Angeles. The big fellow
will remain in Los Angeles indefinitely
He witnessed the trouncing of Portland
by the Seraphs yesterday and plans to
take a thorough rest before engaging
IN business. Jeff says that he has no
plans for the immediate future.
Eventually he intends to purchase
cattle ranch in Southern California and
settle down to the life advocated by
Parson Wagner. Regarding his retire.
ment teffries said yesterday:
when I announced my retirement in
the east l meant it. l am no longer the
champion of the world. 1 am just
James j. Jehries, ordinary burgher. 1t
is final. l mean it absolutely.
But suppose some strong young fell
low should come to the front within the
next year-some man who looked to be
fit opponent for you-would you step
over the ropes again?" he was asked.
"There will be no such fellow" Jeff
replied, decisively. "Fighters are not
made in a few months, and if any man
was coming to the front within the
next year he would be in sight now.
have fought my last battle in the ring.
Nothing can induce me to go back into
the game. While 1 held the heavy
weight title 1 was always ready to de-
fend it against all comers-that is, any
white man whom the people thought
had a chance. l have side-stepped no
one. Now there is no one left for me
to meet. Since l met Munroe last
August and he certainly was an awful
dub-there has not been a single chance
for a match. So | have retired and it
is up to the other fellows to get in
and scramble for the title. They have
my best wishes.
my future plans? I don't know why
the public should be interested in them
now. l am no longer what you might
call a public man. I have even laid
Davy Crockett on the shelf and retired
from the stage. After visiting awhile
with my mother and hunting for little
recreation l expect to buy cattle
ranch and live on it the rest of my
days. 1 have laid a few pennies by
how much 1 wouldn't care to say but
I have enough to keep the wolf away
from the door as long as 1 may live"
of hi
the massive ex-champion said:
"Sharkey gave me the hardest fight
I had during my career. But he met
me when I was just learning, as you
might say, and for that reason showed
better than he would have done later.
were hard outside of the one in San
Francisco with Fitzsimmons, which
was tough enough for anyone. I want
to say a word too, for the squareness
of the sport. Not once in any of my
fights did anyone come to me with any
sort of a crooked proposition 1 went
over the road twice with Sharkey,
Fitzsimmons, Corbett and Rubin, but
none of them ever made any overtures
to me to lay down. When you think
of the barrels of money there would
have been in it for me to throw one
fight and then consider the fact that no
one ever approached me with propo-
sition you have good argument that
the sport is conducted on a square
basis when in responsible hands. OF
course, there have been crooked fights,
but none of them We're mine"