The most impressive, evolved modern heavyweight might be James Jeffries!

[billeau2]

Bare with me on this one... Let us be concillatory towards the size queens and say "Ok ok... the older guys were just toooo smalllll...." Just to play devil's advocate.

When we look at the athletic talent of "evolved" athletes, including athletes that benefitted from supplements, including hormones, etc... Can any of them match jeffries? The guy was a phenom! He was gigantic, all muscle, could jump, sprint, do it all... Given his size he could easily even lose a few pounds and measure up to any modern heavyweight's size, and had phenominal endurance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_...2014688030.jpg

check out the size of Jeffries in this pic. If Jeffries were competing today would he not be considered in a class by himself?

[Ivich]

Bare with me on this one... Let us be concillatory towards the size queens and say "Ok ok... the older guys were just toooo smalllll...." Just to play devil's advocate.

When we look at the athletic talent of "evolved" athletes, including athletes that benefitted from supplements, including hormones, etc... Can any of them match jeffries? The guy was a phenom! He was gigantic, all muscle, could jump, sprint, do it all... Given his size he could easily even lose a few pounds and measure up to any modern heavyweight's size, and had phenominal endurance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_...2014688030.jpg

check out the size of Jeffries in this pic. If Jeffries were competing today would he not be considered in a class by himself?

I'd say he was the first heavyweight champion who looked like what we have come to expect a heavyweight champ to look like.
Physically he was about the same size as Tomasz Adamek with better musculature development

[billeau2]

I'd say he was the first heavyweight champion who looked like what we have come to expect a heavyweight champ to look like.
Physically he was about the same size as Tomasz Adamek with better musculature development

He was rumored to be an incredible athlete. Hard to confirm though...

[Ivich]

He was rumored to be an incredible athlete. Hard to confirm though...

I'm happy to believe he was a good sprinter and could jump high for his size,but a lot of the hype we see attached to him is remarkably similar to that spun about Sullivan ,450/500lbs bales being thrown up into five feet high wagons.irrigation pipes that 3 of his workmen could not lift being effortlessly put into place, running 9 miles without stopping with a full grown deer across his shoulders etc.

Never hitting a man with is full power in case he killed him.I call BS on it.

[kara]

I'd say he was the first heavyweight champion who looked like what we have come to expect a heavyweight champ to look like.
Physically he was about the same size as Tomasz Adamek with better musculature development

It didn't work out too well for Adamek, who was a good boxer.

[Marchegiano]

I got a soft spot for Jeffries myself a few years back and in the vacuum of my own research became quite a fan. I don't remember who or what was said but there's poster here who is totally capable of bringing Jeff down a peg. Maybe they will remember our interaction and post about it.

[billeau2]

I'm happy to believe he was a good sprinter and could jump high for his size,but a lot of the hype we see attached to him is remarkably similar to that spun about Sullivan ,450/500lbs bales being thrown up into five feet high wagons.irrigation pipes that 3 of his workmen could not lift being effortlessly put into place, running 9 miles without stopping with a full grown deer across his shoulders etc.

Never hitting a man with is full power in case he killed him.I call BS on it.

Yeah lol, "alleged" and obviously embellished. But I do think there is some wheat with that chafe, the sprinting and jumping. What I find remarkable about him are those attributes... To have sprinter speed, and track and field prowess, and when you see how he was built... Football science took many moons to develop training and supplementation that allowed a big guy to move fast, on average, for positions where you used to put big and slow lol... Jeffries was a natural... No wasted muscle mass, I actually think for boxing specifically Liston was perhaps one better, but Sonny was probably not the athlete Jeffries was... Assuming the track and field attributes were true.

[Ivich]

Yeah lol, "alleged" and obviously embellished. But I do think there is some wheat with that chafe, the sprinting and jumping. What I find remarkable about him are those attributes... To have sprinter speed, and track and field prowess, and when you see how he was built... Football science took many moons to develop training and supplementation that allowed a big guy to move fast, on average, for positions where you used to put big and slow lol... Jeffries was a natural... No wasted muscle mass, I actually think for boxing specifically Liston was perhaps one better, but Sonny was probably not the athlete Jeffries was... Assuming the track and field attributes were true.

Good post!
Some of the times of sprints attributed to Jeffries would have won him the 1908 Olympic Gold Medal.

[Dr. Z]

I'd say he was the first heavyweight champion who looked like what we have come to expect a heavyweight champ to look like.
Physically he was about the same size as Tomasz Adamek with better musculature development

Jeffries in shape was much bigger in the legs, torso, arms, neck, fist, and very inch of the tale to tape in comparison to Adamek. Match this vs. other current heavyweight champions here and he still had a bigger torso and legs. Klitschko, and Lewis ... in near every department except for height.

If Jeffries were around today he would fight at 225-235 lbs. With modern training methods and dietary supplements he would be even bigger snd stronger.

[QueensburyRules]

It didn't work out too well for Adamek, who was a good boxer.

Adamek a 2 weight champ was top 10 the entirety of his career and on many p4p rankings until the inevitable decline.

ie better than 99.999% of fighters in history.