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1915 LW Title Bouts

Headline: New LW Champ Crowned in Controversial Decision

WBA Title Bouts

Jack Blackburn CH (50-7-1) vs Lockport Jimmy Duffy #4 (25-5)

Lockport Jimmy comes in riding a three-bout win streak, seeking to reverse the results from an earlier loss to Blackburn 2 1/2 years ago.

Both men take awhile to settle in, Blackburn landing more often in round one. Repeated blows from Blackburn cause some initial swelling around the right eye of Duffy by the end of the second round. Blackburn asserts himself again in round four, winning most of the exchanges in some exciting toe-to-toe action. Duffy tries to be more aggressive in round six, but all he gets for his troubles is a cut on the bridge of his nose. Duffy's condition deteriorates rapidly, and Blackburn finally delivers the coup-de-grace with a vicious uppercut that floors Duffy for good in round 10. Blackburn by KO 10.

Jack Blackburn CH (51-7-1) vs Ray Bronson #4 (28-7-6)

Bronson earns his second WBA title shot after wins over Battling Nelson and Willie Ritchie (the latter on a foul). First-ever meeting of these two.

Bronson serves notice with a hook to the head in round one that he will not be a pushover. Bronson lands some more good shots on the inside in the second, but Blackburn seeks to dominate from long range. Blackburn switches to the inside in round five, a fairly even round -- slight edge to the challenger after five. Bronson continues to try to apply pressure on the inside, but Blackburn shows good defensive skills. He pulls ahead with a dominant round eight, as Bronson exhibits some puffiness around his right eye. Round nine, Bronson goes for broke before he becomes fatigued, but Blackburn wards off the more telling blows. It's a tough bout to score, with many close rounds, but in the end Blackburn's superior endurance enables him to pull ahead decisively in the last few rounds to post a close win over a very stubborn opponent. Blackburn by MD 15 (144-142, 144-144, 145-141).

Jack Blackburn CH (52-7-1) vs Willie Ritchie #5 (26-10-2)

Ritchie gets a title shot despite recent losses to Benny Leonard and Ray Bronson, although his MD 10 win over Aussie Herb McCoy kept him high in the rankings. Blackburn is going for this fourth win in a row. The two met previously in a 1913 title encounter, where Blackburn captured the belt.

After a close first round, the action in round two favors the Champ. Ritchie begins pressing on the inside, while Blackburn once again prefers the outside. Blackburn carries a large points lead into the middle rounds, as Ritchie becomes increasingly more aggressive as he needs to make up lost ground in a hurry. By the end of round 9, there is telltale swelling around the left eye of the challenger; in round 10, Ritchie begins to tire noticeably. Blackburn appears to be coasting to another easy title defense when, in round 11, the unthinkable happens -- he is called for a blatant low blow and disqualified! Ritchie annexes the WBA belt in a highly controversial call. Ritchie by DQ 11.

Willie Ritchie CH (27-10-2) vs Matty Baldwin #8 (35-16-2)

Ritchie defends against the well-traveled veteran, Matty "Bunker Hill Bearcat" Baldwin, who is making his fourth try for the WBA belt (losing to Ganes, Blackburn and Driscoll, most recently almost five years ago). Baldwin has recent to hope for better results this time, as he won a MD 10 over Ritchie back in 1910, and of course Ritchie is looking for revenge.

Baldwin starts out throwing most of the heavy leather in round one. Ritchie recovers, fighting well on the outside to take round two. Baldwin tries to step up the pace, but Ritchie is not rattled, racking up the points in round three. Baldwin tries his luck on the outside and makes a late surge in round four. Round five, Ritchie takes it to Baldwin on the inside, causing some swelling around the right eye of the challenger. Both work hard in round 6, a good action round. Baldwin sneaks in with a hook to the head of the Champ in round 7. Baldwin ignores the swelling, lands solid combinations and jabs with a solid uppercut to put together a strong round 8. Round nine is the key, as Baldwin is the aggressor once again doing well when Ritchie decks him with a big cross for the bout's only knockdown. The momentum swings back to Baldwin who recovers with a good 10th round. Ritchie shows good solid boxing skills to dominate rounds 11 and 12. A cut opens just below the champ's right eye in the 14th, but it is closed between rounds. In the end, the solitary KD makes all the difference as Ritchie retains the crown with a close MD win (144-140, 142-142, 143-141). A very entertaing bout, great effort by both men. Unfortunately for Baldwin, it may be his final shot at the brass ring as he is due to hit Post-Prime career stage in 1916.

NABF: Benny Leonard kept busy in 1915, defending the belt four times. He first took on Willie Beecher, who was riding a five-bout win streak. Leonard pounded out a lopsided UD 12 win, aided by a knockdown in round 11. Then it was the veteran Harlem Tommy Murphy, who proved too slow for the elusive younger man -- another one-sided UD 12 win for Leonard. Next up for Benny was USBA champ, Lockport Jimmy Duffy, who also could not keep up with the Ghetto Wizard, as first a cut and then a hand injury ended his night. Leonard by TKO 11. Finally, Benny closed out the year by taking on veteran Charley White. Leonard seemed content to go for a points win when he suddenly dropped White twice in the 10th to lead to a stoppage win. Leonard by TKO 11.

USBA: Lockport Jimmy Duffy -- who tried unsuccessfully for the WBA and NABF belts -- finally defended this one after a 15-month hiatus, taking on Knockout Brown. Duffy had won a prior bout via TKO but didn't seem ready for this one. Brown was swarming all over him from the opening bell, landing a series of devastating hooks until Duffy was out on his feet. Brown by TKO 1 -- unfortunately for Brown, it was his last bout at Prime.

CBU: South Africa's lone champion, Arthur Douglas, defended the belt against Brit Phil Bloom, aka "The Ring Gorilla." Douglas carried a slight points lead into the later rounds when he had the misfortune to suffer a broken nose and could not continue. Bloom but TKO 12 to take the belt. Bloom defended versus the Canadian, Gilbert Gallant, both men coming up losses. It was a lacklustre bout, and Bloom walked away with a MD 10 victory.

GBU: Welsh Wizard Freddie Wlesh took on Bloom for the GBU belt, in a bout where both men were guaranteed to keep one of their other titles (EBU for Welsh, CBU for Bloom). Welsh started strongly, built an early lead, and then coasted in the later rounds as Bloom tired. Welsh by UD 12.

EBU: Welsh defended against "Peerless" Jem Driscoll, who had a 3-1 lifetime edge coming into the bout. It was another memorable encounter, punctuated by a knockdown in the 8th when Welsh nailed Driscoll with a picture-perfect hook. The KD was enough to enable Welsh to keep the belt by a draw (114-114, 113-115 Driscoll, 115-113 Welsh) as the judges couldn't agree on the outcome. Welsh then took on the talented young Frenchman, Louis de Ponthieu, using his experience to serve up a boxing lesson and take advantage of an early cut that led to an eventual stoppage in the later rounds. Welsh by TKO 10.