The question is, was London in this instance writing from experience? Surely fighting dogs were pitted against wolves on occasion in the Gold Rush.
Birdwatcher
Yep, and it was well known among those in the old dog fighting culture that wolves invariably performed pitifully in such matches. The wolf advocates, however, were always quick to offer the excuse that the wolf is a wild creature, and won't fight in a pit, only when it's out in the open in a natural setting. But put one out in the open in a natural setting, and they found that a wolf would just run away from a Pitbull.
Wolves aren't fighting specialists. If they were, they would soon go extinct, as such a specialization can only exist under the stewardship of man, and would in fact be a grave detriment to survival in the wild. Wolves cannot track and trail game as well as a Bloodhound, lacking their olfactory capacity. Wolves cannot course small game as well as a Greyhound, lacking their speed on foot. And wolves cannot fight other canines as well as a Pitbull, lacking their determination to stay in a fight regardless of damage taken. These breeds came into existence by an intentional effort on the part of man to exaggerate those abilities as they originally existed in their wolf ancestors.
Conversely, however, none of the breeds mentioned above can hold a candle to the wolf in surviving in the wild. That's because survival in the wild favors the Jack of all trades, which the wolf is.
