Jeffries vs Fitzsimmons 2 - Heroic failure and the controversial aftermath

World Heavyweight Title
San Francisco Club, July 1902
Jeffries $14,000 (500,000 2024)
Fitz......£9,500   (340,000 2024)

Jeffries 1/3 on
Fitz......5/2 against


The turn of the 20th Century was the time of the heroic British failure.........Captain Scott's epic 800 mile march ended a scant few miles from safety......Mallory died metres away from conquering Everest and in between the Titanic moved up in weight to challenge a giant immovable object and was knocked out....

Fitzsimmons was anything but a failure a future record breaking three weight champion and a heavy with Tom Sharkey and Jim Corbett on his resume...The latter in his title winning effort that saw him get off the floor twice.....However he was down 6 times and beaten convincingly by Jeffries for his crown three years earlier in Coney Island and was considered a relatively easy defence for a Champion that had cleared out pretty much everybody else...

The Brit was also 40....13 years older than the prime champion.....and also 40 pounds lighter.....

Some controversy reared before the fight when the NY Times printed an article saying rumors abounded that Fitz would wear plaster of paris under his gloves....But Champion Jeffries dismissed it saying "He can wear what he likes he is still getting flattened...."

After a dull middleweight encounter both combatants entered the ring.....As pre-fight formalities were under way a disturbance arose from ringside....Former top contender and slightly controversial loser to both Tom Sharkey shouted out "This fight is a fraud I am the true champion" to anybody in earshot....

The following summary of the fight is taken from several of the "Journals" of the day.....Brooklyn Daily revue and others..

Round 1.....Jeffries charges.......Fitz backs off and catches the Champion coming in with his left hook.....He also lands a right that unbalances Jeffries.....Jeffries nose looks broken.

Round 3.....Fitz still backing off...Still catching Jeffries coming in with the left... The Champion though aggressive looks frustrated......The Brit seems to have learned from his mistakes in the first fight....Jeffries is cut over the eye..

Rounds 4 +5......Fitz still dominating but Jeffries is having success to the body.....Fitz being forced to the ropes but doesn't look uncomfortable ...Jeffries mouth is cut...

Round 6.....Closest round of the fight....Jeffries works the body.....Fitz still landing the left...The Champion seems to be struggling with his facial damage....Jeffries lands to Fitz face after the bell....The Challenger stands and scowls at the Champion....Jeffries just shrugs.

Round 7...Oddsmakers in the arena make Fitz odds on favourite to win the fight now....But they and him don't realise that Jeffries has caused internal bleeding with his body punches...

Round 8....Fitz who doesn't know he has internal bleeding backs jeffries up at the start of the round with a left.....They furiously swap body punches and Fitz retreats to the ropes.  He tries to push Jeffries off at the same time the champion throws a shot to the body and Fitz is down and seems in great pain....Desperately he tries to rise before 10 but it's over !!...

A great fight it seems but because of the swift ending...Controversy arose...

One of the NY papers claimed that they had received a letter from a Mr Naughton before the fight claiming that the Fitz camp had said that he would go down in the 8th round....The sports writer from the "Frisco Examiner" went further...."I thought I was watching the fight of the Century but that was before I saw Fitz retreat to the ropes and shout "Hit me now" and pose for the shot "....."This is a fix...I cried"...He also mentioned the apparent apathy both corners had at the end of the fight and Jeffries swift departure from the ring...

The fighters however were none too pleased with the accusations....

Jeffries "I have a broken nose..cut eye and mouth...Do they look like a fix ????"

Fitzsimmons "I tried my best to win the fight....It was the first fight I prayed to God to help me win"......


Great days......When the Heavyweight title was the greatest prize in sports.........Jeffries for me is a top 10 Heavy and Fitz a top 20 P4Per.....Probably languishing around 30ish in the Heavy alltime list..

For what it is worth...........Jeffries regarded Corbett as the greatest boxer he fought and Fitzsimmons as the greatest fighter..

Enjoy the weekend..

I wonder if Fitz considered himself as Cornish and not British as is sometimes the case? Helluva fighter to do well against Jeffries . Common sense tells you that no boxer would be stupid enough to shout out instructions asking to be hit. The same criticism was even more harsh towards Jack Johnson because his glove appeared to shield his face against the sun, or so they said, when he was on the canvas. Watch that fight and you will not see a dive. Great days, indeed, and with Jim Corbett (who was no “gentleman “ at all in the ring), there we have three ground-breakers in a row. Add in Sullivan and you have five titans who made the biggest contributions to the emergence of prize -fighting in just over a decade.

Derek Smalls wrote:I wonder if Fitz considered himself as Cornish and not British as is sometimes the case? Helluva fighter to do well against Jeffries . Common sense tells you that no boxer would be stupid enough to shout out instructions asking to be hit. The same criticism was even more harsh towards Jack Johnson because his glove appeared to shield his face against the sun, or so they said, when he was on the canvas. Watch that fight and you will not see a dive. Great days, indeed, and with Jim Corbett (who was no “gentleman “ at all in the ring), there we have three ground-breakers in a row. Add in Sullivan and you have five titans who made the biggest contributions to the emergence of prize -fighting in just  over a decade.

More of a case for Australian...