World Heavyweight Champion

On June 9, 1899, in Brooklyn, New York he defeated Bob Fitzsimmons by KO in the eleventh round to win the Heavyweight Championship of the World. That August, he embarked on a tour of Europe, putting on exhibition fights for the fans. Jeffries was involved in several motion pictures recreating portions of his championship fights. Filmed portions of his other bouts and of some of his exhibition matches survive to this day.

In his first title defense, he won a twenty-five-round decision in a rematch over Tom Sharkey.

Jeffries set the record for the quickest KO in a Heavyweight title fight ever, which was 45 seconds against Jack Finnegan in his second title defense.

His next defense was against the former Heavyweight Champion and legendary technician, James J. Corbett. Corbett had put up a perfect defense and could have arguably won had the fight gone the distance. However, Corbett was knocked out cold from a left to the jaw in the twenty-third round of the scheduled twenty-five round fight.

Jeffries later got the chance to avenge his controversial draw with Gus Ruhlin when he defended his title against him on November 15, 1901. Claims that Ruhlin quit during the fifth round are incorrect. All of the local next-day San Francisco sources agree that Ruhlin's manager, Billy Madden, threw in the towel to retire Gus during the one-minute interval between the fifth and sixth rounds.

An example of Jeffries' ability to absorb punishment and recover from a severe battering to win a bout came in his rematch for the title with Fitzsimmons, who is regarded as one of the hardest punchers in boxing history. The rematch with Jeffries occurred on July 25, 1902, in San Francisco. To train for the bout Jeffries' daily training included a 14-mile (23 km) run, 2 hours of skipping rope, medicine ball training, 20 minutes sparring on the heavy bag, and at least 12 rounds of sparring in the ring. He also trained in wrestling.

Jeffries (left) vs Fitzsimmons (right)

For nearly eight rounds Fitzsimmons subjected Jeffries to a vicious battering. Jeffries suffered a broken nose, both his cheeks were cut to the bone, and gashes were opened over both eyes. It appeared that the fight would have to be stopped, as blood freely flowed into Jeffries' eyes. Then in the eighth round, Jeffries lashed out with a terrific right to the stomach, followed by a left hook to the jaw which knocked Fitzsimmons unconscious.

Jeffries and Corbett met one last time in the ring on August 14, 1903. This time Jeffries was in total control for all ten rounds of the scheduled twenty round bout. Tommy Ryan, Corbett's chief second, threw a large palm-leaf fan into the ring to alert Referee Graney that he should stop the fight.

Jeffries (left) vs Corbett (right)

Jeffries had his seventh and final title defense against Canadian Jack Munroe, whom he stopped in only two rounds.

Jeffries broke the ribs of three opponents in title fights: Jim Corbett, Gus Ruhlin and Tom Sharkey. Jeffries retired undefeated in May 1905. He served as a referee for the next few years, including the bout in which Marvin Hart defeated Jack Root to stake a claim at Jeffries' vacated title. Jeffries had never been knocked down in his prime.

Jeffries had likely fought many more bouts than twenty-two at this time. Many of his fights were lost in history. Jeffries, however, had never been defeated before his original retirement.^[7]

Comeback: "The Fight of the Century"

James Jeffries during his fight with Jack Johnson

Over five years after retiring, Jeffries made a comeback on July 4, 1910, at Reno, Nevada, in a match against champion Jack Johnson, who had won the Heavyweight Championship in 1908 by defeating Canadian champion Tommy Burns at Rushcutters Bay in Australia. Burns was the first heavyweight champion to fight black challengers.

The media put pressure onto Jeffries and promoters dangled wealth in front of him to take the fight. In addition to a guaranteed purse of $40,000 (equivalent to approximately $1,256,286 in 2022 dollars^[8]), to woo the ex-champ back into the ring, promoter Tex Rickard had signed him to a $75,000 personal contract.

After a six-year lay-off, the 35-year-old Jeffries was out of shape and had lost most of his muscle. Jeffries weighed over 330 pounds (150 kg), while Johnson was in fighting condition. The ex-champ had to lose 110 pounds to get down to his fighting weight of 226, a Herculean task in the time he had before the fight. Previous Heavyweight Champion John L. Sullivan (an ethnic Irish American who refused to fight African-American contenders) remarked during an interview with The New York Times that Jeffries' personal doctor was so amazed at Johnson's physical condition that he felt Jeffries could win only if Johnson had a lack of skill on the day. While the media instigated racist remarks about winning the title for whites, Jeffries' final words before the fight were, "It is my intention to go right after my opponent and knock him out as soon as possible" His wife also commented, "I'm not interested in prizefighting but I am interested in my husband's welfare, I do hope this will be his last fight."^[9]

Ringside seats that had been priced at $50 were being scalped at $125 each (equivalent to approximately $3,926 in 2022 dollars^[8]). More than 1,000 spectators who were unable to get seats in the sold-out arena climbed over the walls to enter.

Before the fight, which was scheduled for 45 three-minute rounds, famous boxers who had traveled to Reno to witness the contest were introduced to the crowd, including Sam Langford, a black boxer who was unable to secure a title fight, even from Jack Johnson. The greatest applause went to Jake Kilrain, who had battled John L. Sullivan back in the bare-knuckle days.

At three minutes to one P.M., Johnson entered the ring (his contract provided that he would always be first to enter the ring, to satisfy a superstition of his). The thermometer read 110 °F, which meant the match would be even more brutal due to heat. Jeffries soon joined Johnson in the ring. Rickard served as referee. (Johnson and Jeffries could not agree on a referee, and Rickard's publicity-minded offers to President William Howard Taft and writer Arthur Conan Doyle to serve as referee were declined. Rickard took the position although he had never refereed a prize fight before.)

In the first three rounds, the boxers sparred to feel each other out. Johnson, having read that no one could tie Jeffries up on the inside due to his power, told the press that not only would he do so, but that he planned to neutralize Jeffries' power by twisting his arms behind him. Toward the end of the fourth round, he did just that, pinning Jeffries' arms in back of him for a moment, but Jeffries broke the clinch. Johnson landed a solid overhand right to Jeffries' head just before the bell.

Johnson began dominating the fight in rounds five through twelve, as his opponent faded in the heat and from Johnson's onslaught. The heat began to get to Johnson, too, by round 13, but he was still the stronger and younger man in the ring. Toward the end of that round, he delivered a right and a right uppercut to Jeffries' head that took their toll. In the next round, Jeffries eluded Johnson, who stalked him all over the ring.

Jeffries knock down vs Johnson (1910)

In round 15, Johnson went after Jeffries and caught him against the ropes with a right upper-cut, followed by three left uppercuts that sent the ex-champ to the canvas for the first time in his career. He could no longer put up a defense and, as Jeffries got up, Johnson hit him with a left hook that sent him to the canvas and through the ropes, putting his torso outside the ring. Helped to his feet by one of his seconds and a fan, as soon as Jeffries was back in the ring he was rushed by Johnson, who knocked him down again with a right to the head. As Rickard moved in to separate the fighters, Jeffries got up, but his manager had entered the ring to stop the fight and save his fighter from being knocked out. Johnson retained the title by a technical knockout.

Johnson later remarked that he knew the fight was over in the 4th round when he landed an uppercut to Jeffries' face and saw the look in his eyes. "I knew what that look meant," he said. "The old ship was sinking." John L. Sullivan commented for The New York Times after the fight that Johnson won deservedly, fairly, and convincingly:

The fight of the century is over and a black man is the undisputed champion of the world. It was a poor fight as fights go, this less than 15-round affair between James J. Jeffries and Jack Johnson. Scarcely has there ever been a championship contest that was so one-sided. All of Jeffries much-vaunted condition amounted to nothing. He wasn't in it from the first bell tap to the last .... The negro had few friends, but there was little demonstration against him. (Spectators) could not help but admire Johnson because he is the type of prizefighter that is admired by sportsmen. He played fairly at all times and fought fairly. ... What a crafty, powerful, cunning left hand (Johnson) has. He is one of the craftiest, cunningest boxers that ever stepped into the ring. ... They both fought closely all during the 15 rounds. It was just the sort of fight that Jeffries wanted. There was no running or ducking like Corbett did with me in New Orleans (1892). Jeffries did not miss so many blows, because he hardly started any. Johnson was on top of him all the time.... (Johnson) didn't get gay at all with Jeffries in the beginning, and it was always the white man who clinched, but Johnson was very careful, and he backed away and took no chances, and was good-natured with it all. ... The best man won, and I was one of the first to congratulate him, and also one of the first to extend my heartfelt sympathy to the beaten man.^[10]