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Jan. 1928 BW Division Profile

Total: 94 RL: 57 TC: 37

RL by Career Stage:
End - 5
Post - 12
Prime - 25
Pre - 10
Beginning - 5 (4 New)

Rated: 44
800+: 10
500+: 26
200+ : 37

Jan 1928 Rankings (Perf Points and Changes from Jan. 1927 in Parens):

Champ: Panama Al Brown 26-3 (13) (1182) (+6)
1. Memphis Pal Moore 46-13-5 (14) (1380) (+1)
2. Charley Phil Rosenberg 24-4-2 (11) (1136) (-2)
3. Abe Goldstein 34-9-3 (10) (993) (-2)
4. Bud Taylor 25-8 (9) (959) (+5)
5. Charles Ledoux 51-19-2 (35) (953) (NC) (EBU Champ)
6. Bushy Graham 22-8 (8) (953) (+7) (USBA Champ)
7. Pete Sarmiento 26-8-4 (19) (952) (-4) (OPBF Champ)
8. Howard Mayberry 25-9-1 (13) (949) (+16) (NABF Champ)
9. Packey O'Gatty 33-13-2 (19) (814) (+3)
10. Johnny Brown 24-5-3 (17) (749) (+16) (GBU Champ)

Also: 13. Vic Foley 23-9 (9) (703) (+14) (CBU Champ)

Top Ten: Four of the above (Goldstein, Ledoux, O'Gatty and Brown will be at Post in 1928, everyone else listed at Prime. Lots of turnover with four new members of the top 10, although two spots were opened up by retirement (Pete Herman and Philly Pal Moore, who left the ranks in 1927). Brown swept all four of his bouts in 1927 (all for the WBA crown) and, riding a five-bout win streak, solidified his position atop the division. Memphis Pal Moore remains the top contender with a higher PP total by virtue of four 1927 wins (a KO over Herman, and a UDs versus Wolfe, Ledoux and Rubidoux) but no title contests. Rosenberg remains highly ranked, as he bounced back from his title loss with successive UD wins over Harold Smith and Vic Foley. Goldstein slipped, despite battling back with a SD over Catena and a UD versus Wolfe as the NABF title loss to Mayberry set back his ranking considerably. Bud Taylor is a surprising fourth, as his three wins versus lower rated fighters (UDs over Philly Pal Moore and Harold Smith and a SD versus "Cannonball" Eddie Martin) were enough to offset the title loss to O'Gatty. Ledoux defended his EBU title but lost to Memphis Pal and thus remains in the same relative position. Graham surged up the rankings by virtue of his USBA title win, following up with a UD 10 over Sarmiento to solidify his top 10 status. Sarmiento was winless in four 1927 bouts, struggling to draws with Baldock and Smith, then dropping the title shot as well as the UD to Graham. Mayberry shot up the list, capturing the CBU and NABF title but slipped as his loss to Brown for the title snapped a seven-bout win streak. O'Gatty climbed back into the top group, going 3-1 in USBA title bouts (see above post for details). The top group is rounded out by the new GBU titleholder, Johnnny Brown, who started off the year with a UD 10 loss to Atherton, but finished with three straight wins, taking a UD from Dynamite Murphy before the two title bout wins.

Other Notables: Teddy Baldock dropped three spots to #11, holding Sarmiento to a draw but losing both the GBU and EBU title bouts to go winless for the year. Also falling out of the top ten was Harold Smith, who also drew with Sarmiento but lost his other three 1927 bouts to end the year at #12, down from seventh a year earlier. Newly-crowned CBU Champ Vic Foley compiled a four-bout win streak (including a SD over Burrone, a UD over Graham and a MD versus Rubidoux plus the CBU title win) before dropping a UD 10 to ex-Champ Rosenberg. Archie Bell, top newcomer to the list in 1927, had difficulty, falling short in his first title try and managing only draws with Wolfe and Atherton after scraping through on a split duke versus Dixie LaHood; his career mark of 18-2-2 (7) is good for 16th in the rankings this year. Harry Lake battled back from his CBU title loss with three straight wins to end the year at 21-11-2 (4), good for 19th in the rankings. No newcomers to the list this year, and aging veteran and former Champ Joe Lynch is mired in #31 position as he approaches a likely retirement in 1928 after going winless since 1925.

Prospects: All the young prospects are still a year or more away from entering the ranking list, and most have been content to pad their records while feasting on TC opposition. Pete Sanstol (10-0, 7 KO), Joey Scalfaro (10-0, 7 KO), Brit Dick Corbett (10-0, 6 KO), and Huerta Evans (8-0, 4 KO) have kept clean slates against a steady diet of TCs. Bucking the trend is Filipino Pablo Dano, who has 6 KOs in six starts, the most recent coming over fellow prospect Pablo Dano, whose record dropped to 7-1 (6). Similarly, two UK prospects squared off, and Johnny King got the best of a UD 8 over Alf Pattenden; King is off to a 7-0 (4) start while Pattenden finished the year at 6-1 (5). Canadian Bobby Leitham (5-0, 1 KO) and Frenchman Gustave Hemery (2-0, 2 KO) got their careers off to good starts with easy tests versus TCs.

Retirements: Two former WBA Champions were among the three retirees in the BW ranks for 1927.

Pete Herman (USA) 1912-27 50-8-4 (15) WBA Champ 1917-18, 1919-22
Joe Burman (USA) 1916-27 26-19-4 (12) No Titles Highest Rank: 7
Philadelphia Pal Moore (USA) 1908-27 38-26-4 (15) WBA Champ 1910-11, 1912

Looking Ahead: Panama Al Brown may be positioned for a long title run, but just as likely he could be upended by one of several improving young BWs, like Taylor, Graham, Mayberry or even Atherton. Any one of a number of British hopefuls might be in position to unseat the aging Ledoux as EBU Champion. Overall, though, this looks like an aging division, in transition as Brown and other younger fighters are likely to dominate headed into the 1930s. Just about all of the current prospects are a couple of years away from contending for top ten status. Four newcomers, paced by Little Pancho, also including Benny Sharkey and Lew Farber, are set to join the BW ranks in 1928.