James J. Jeffries
James Jackson Jeffries (born April 15, 1875 in Carroll, Ohio, United States ? died March 3, 1953 in Burbank, California) was a world heavyweight boxing champion.
In 1891, his family moved from their Ohio farm to Los Angeles, California where the powerfully built and athletic teenager boxed as an amateur until age twenty when he started fighting professionally. As a pro, Jeffries never lost a fight and on June 9, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York he defeated Bob Fitzsimmons to win the Heavyweight championship of the world. That August, he embarked on a tour of Europe putting on exhibition fights for the fans. A master promoter, as early as 1899 he made several motion pictures recreating portions of his championship fight plus parts from some of his other bouts and films of some of his exhibition matches.
Jeffries took on any and all comers but was such a strong champion, few contenders wanted to go up against him. During his reign as champion, Jeffries defended his title seven times, including two victories over former champion James J. Corbett. He retired undefeated in May of 1905, giving up his championship. He served as a referee for the next few years, including the bout in which Marvin Hart defeated Jack Root to win the World Heavyweight Championship he had vacated.
Five years after retiring, Jeffries made a comeback and on July 4, 1910 at Reno, Nevada, he fought champion Jack Johnson for the heavyweight championship. Johnson, who had won the title in 1908 to become the first African-American champion, defeated Jeffries in 15 rounds.
In his later years, Jeffries trained boxers and worked as a fight promoter. On his passing in 1953, he was interred in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
An all-around fighter with a devastating punch, many consider him one of the great heavyweight champions of all time. James J. Jeffries was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
