On the 9 June, 1899, the American professional boxer, James Jackson Jeffries (1875-1953) KO’d Bob Fitzsimmons in Brooklyn, New York, in round 11 to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

In 1891, the Jeffries family moved from their Ohio farm to Los Angeles, California, where James worked as a boilermaker before going into boxing, under the nickname ‘The Boilermaker’.

Jeffries boxed as an amateur until the age of 20, when he turned professional. A natural left-hander, Jeffries stood 6 ft 1 ¹⁄₂ inches tall and in his prime weighed in at 225 pounds . Known for his enormous strength and stamina, he was able to absorb tremendous punishment, and possessed one-punch knockout power with his left hook.

In his second title defence following his win against Fitzsimmons, Jeffries set the record for the quickest KO in a heavyweight title fight, in 55 seconds against Jack Finnegan. In his next bout he KO’d the former heavyweight champion, the legendary, James J. Corbett, with a left to the jaw in the 23 round of the scheduled 25 round fight.

In his day Jeffries was considered one of the greatest Heavyweight Champions of all time by fellow boxers and boxing experts. And it is said he fought many more bouts than the recorded number of 22, many of which are lost in history. However, he was never been defeated in the ring before his original retirement.

In later years, Jeffries trained boxers and worked as a fight promoter.

Following his death in 1953, the city of Burbank installed a bronze plaque at the spot where Jeffries died. He was buried in the Inglewood Park Cemetery, California..

James J. Jeffries was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.

9 June, 2016