Sports History On This Day: May 13

May 13, 2022 by Sports History Network

May 13, 1905 – World heavyweight boxing champion James J. Jeffries retired undefeated after 7 title defenses. The Pugilistic Champion would return to the ring some five years later in 1910 only to be defeated by Jack Johnson.

Jeffries was a champ beloved by the crowds. He was big and powerful, and this physical specimen appears to fans that he could never be knocked off by opponents. He also used a unique technique of fighting. The style, taught to him by his trainer, former Welterweight and Middleweight Champion Tommy Ryan, had Jeffries fight out of a crouched position with his left arm extended forward.

With this, he was able to absorb tremendous punishment while wearing his opponents down to the point of exhaustion, and then go on the offensive. It was said by many fighting experts at the time that he would be the king of the ring in any era because he was just that talented at boxing.

To find more great daily sports history make sure to check out the Sports Jersey Dispatch and Pigskin Dispatch.

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Embed tweet here - https://x.com/bovadaofficial/status/1812591866447020454?s=46&t=Jxc74bqcdlQ9Bjed4TR1Jw There are plenty of reasons why the English are considered formidable. Back-to-back European Championship finals under Gareth Southgate certainly showed that the country that handed the beautiful game to the rest of the world is back to its best. Now, under serial winner Thomas Tuchel and led by the likes of captain Harry Kane and Real Madrid talisman Jude Bellingham, there are bags of quality all over the pitch. Still, if England is to reign supreme next summer, it will have to banish a ghost that has been weighing them down for 60 years. 1966. That was the first and last time the Three Lions lifted the FIFA World Cup, or any silverware for that matter, and in the years since, it has been nothing but pain, especially on the global stage. Penalty shootouts, ghost goals, and controversial red cards. Seemingly, anything that can go wrong for England does go wrong. 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