The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-11-14
JEFFR|ES Is NOT
SUCH A FAVOR|1E
Johnson Could Not Be Seen at
First, but Time Changes
Opinions.
PROMINENT TRAINERS
PICK C0L0RED CHAMPION
All Say jeff Has Been Out OF
Game Too Long to
Come Back.
ih,,o srccial snortinc Service

Tribune Special Sporting Service,
NEW YORK, Nov, 1S,-Promnent
sporting men, trainers and athletes all
seem 10 think that Jcffrics is foolish
10 fight again.
A noted athletic trainer says.
cit makes no difference whether i
man is a runner, jumper, fighter, ball
player or a participant in any other
branch of sports, if be stops training
for three or four years he can never
regain his best form. In all my experl-
euce [ have never seen an exception to
Ibis rule. -
Taking his opinion as basis Tor ar
gument, there arc many puglllstic e&-
perts who arc figuring out just now
whether James j. Jeifries can leone
back so that be will beat The negro,
Jack Johnson, down and out. William
A. Brady and William Delaney, former
managers of .Icffries, have been insist
lna for many months that he is foolish
% tackle Johnson and Will suffer defeat.
Murphy declares that Jeffrics, having
passed nearly five years IN ldleness, can
never show the same speed and stamina
that won for him the title or world S
champion. Brady stated TO the sun man
the night that Johnson and Jack
q Brien boxed six rounds in Phlladel.
phia early last summer that Jeff 5 wind
was zone and that even if the boiler
maker reduced himself to 225 pounds,
his best fighing weight, he would find
it a physical impossibility 10 fight more
than ten rounds at top speed with the
formidable colored man, Delaney also
declared at that time his belief that JEFF
fries would be an easy mark for such
Il clumsy young sluggcr as kaufman,
and wanted To bet $4,000 on tho side
if n match could be arranged between
hen.
Jefries Is Confident.
'FIu spite of these opinions and pre-
dictions, however, Jel1rics says he knows
he can be the safe old champion once
more and is telling his friends that he
will beat johnson easily. One OF the
oldest ring followers IN this country
who is not preiudiced, but generally
saws what he thinks about pugilists and
their doines, and who has seen Jeffrics
in all of his ring battles talked in this
interesting way the other night:
"There is no man who admires JEFF
fries more than J, so that ] do not want
10 bo accused OF knocking. But, real
", feel convinced that if Jefrrlcs and
Johnson meet in the ring the negro
will win. In the first place, Jeffries,
while recognized as an unbeatcn cham
pon. is not q truly great fighter and
III show You the reason, When Delaney
first brought him TO New York | was
among those who met him al the Van
lerbilt hotel directly after he had left
The cars. 1t was hot night aud jeff
had on very thin clothing. When asked
TO get on the scales he tipped the
beam at exactly 245 pounds, He was
23 years old then and was in robust
health. He was pitted against Bob
Armstrong, n big negro, in a ten
round bout at the I.enoX Athletic club
in order 10 show New Workers what he
could do. aud when that affair was over
.Tcf' was fairly laughed ont Of town.
He was as slow as cold molasses, knew
nothing about ring science and was ac-
iually outpointed by Armstrong, al
though the latter got the worst of the
referee S decision,
FitS Not in Shape.
a year later Jeffries trained down
10 30 pounds for the first battle with
Fitzsimmous at Coney Island 1t is a
matter OF record that Fitzsimmons re
ceivcd 90 per cent of the receints, win
or lose and that he did not train al
all. The fight to me was frameup