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Titles and TItle Bouts

WBA: Young Corbett III, who began the year with the belt, defended it twice, versus Ted Kid Lewis (UD 15) and Bermondsey Billy Wells (TKO 15) before losing it to Benny Leonard (UD 15), with Leonard successfully completing his 1928 campaign after moving up from LW.

NABF: Two title bouts produced two new champions. First, Pete Latzo defeated Willie Harmon (MD 12) for the belt vacated by Young Corbett once he added the WBA crown. Then, Joe Dundee bested Latzo (UD 12) to capture his first title.

USBA: Title changed hands three times during the year. Jack Sparr edged Jimmy Leto (SD 12) to win the vacant title. Then, Benny Leonard moved up from LW, defeating Sparr (UD 12) to take the title. Finally, Sparr regained the belt via a TKO 4 over Tommy Robson once Leonard captured the WBA title.

CBU: Two bouts and two new titleholders. Roland Todd spoiled Alf Stewart's defense (UD 12), then Frank Moody took the belt from Todd (UD 12).

GBU: Len Johnson won the belt from Tommy Milligan (TKO 12), then relinquished it after winning the EBU title. Frank Moody then defeated Ted Moore (UD 12) for the vacant belt.

EBU: No title defenses by Bermondsey Billy Wells, who faces a mandatory defense in early 1929.

OPBF: Lope Tenorio keeps the belt, no defenses in 1928 (no serious challengers emerging).

Division Profile

Total: 118 RL: 78 TC: 40

RL by Career Stage:
End - 5
Post - 9
Prime - 40
Pre - 13
Beginning - 11 (8 New)

Rated: 61
800+: 12
500+: 37
200+ : 57

Jan 1929 Rankings (Perf Points and Changes from Jan. 1928 in Parens):

Champ: Benny Leonard 72-3-1 (41) (1650) (new)
1. Joe Dundee 30-7-4 (12) (1333) (+1) (NABF Champ)
2. Young Corbett III 28-6-2 (12) (1237) (-2)
3. Bermondsey Billy Wells 44-11-1 (16) (1171) (-2) (EBU Champ)
4. Young Jack Thompson 24-3-4 (15) (1092) (-1)
5. Pete Latzo 28-10-1 (11) (1036) (-1)
6. Jimmy McLarnin 24-2 (18) (990) (+3) (CBU Champ)
7. Packey McFarland 68-13-5 (30) (976) (+1)
8. Jack Sparr 31-12-1 (17) (919) (+2) (USBA Champ)
9. Ted Kid Lewis 52-18-4 (22) (900) (-2) (GBU Champ)
10. Willie Harmon 25-9-2 (12) (857) (-4)

Others: 11. Lope Tenorio 21-4-5 (6) (800) (NC) (OPBF Champ)

Top Ten: McFarland and Lewis at Post, everyone else at Prime heading into 1929. Leonard rebounded from the shocking loss of his LW WBA crown at the end of 1927 by moving up to WW, winning all five 1928 contests, the last one for the WBA title after first annexing the USBA title. Joe Dundee has an even longer win streak, 10 bouts -- going back to 1926 -- impressing with a TKO over ex-Champ Young Jack Thompson plus a UD 10 win over JWW king Jack Kid Berg in a non-title bout, before taking his first title (the NABF belt) near the end of the year. Former Champ Corbett still has some good years left, but the title loss to Leonard took some wind out of his sails, in addition to snapping a seven-bout unbeaten streak. Wells rebounded with an impressive UD 10 win over Thompson after losing two in a row, to Leonard and Corbett. Thompson has won only one of his last six (a UD over Harmon), yet he reamins in the top five. Latzo went 2-1, all in title bouts for lesser belts. McLarnin seemed to settle in with a strong year, uncorking four straight wins, two in title contests plus a UD 10 over the OPBF Champ, Tenorio. Aging veteran McFarland hung on for his 19th straight year in the WW top ten, by winning all three of his 1928 outings (including a UD 10 over long-time JWW Champ Pinkey Mitchell), barely escaping with a MD win over Johnny Indrisano -- but no wins versus current top 10 WWs. Sparr was involved in three USBA title tilts, winning two, also posting a UD over Morrie Schlaifer to return to the top 10 group. Ted Kid Lewis won two of four 1928 bouts, losing to higher rated opposition (like Leonard and Corbett). Harmon rounds out the top 10, despite losses to Tenorio and Thompson, bouncing back with a UD 10 win over Jones late in the year.

Other Notables: Tenorio survived losses to Adams and McLarnin, remaining close to the top 10 with a nice UD win over Harmon. It was a frustrating year for veteran George Levine, who won two bouts, lost two, finished with a draw with JWW Pinkey Mitchell to end up at #12. Indrisano started out his Prime career stage with a UD win over Adams, but stalled with a tough MD loss to McFarland; he ends the year at 18-2-2 (9) in the #13 spot. Four wins in a row propelled Cuban Manuel Quintero to #15, with an impressive 18-2-3 (10) slate thus far; his victims included Tony Vaccarelli (UD) and Al Mello (SD). Jimmy Jones slid 11 spots all the way down to #16 after winning just one of four 1928 bouts (a TKO over Baby Joe Gans). The young Brit, Jack Hood, had a busy yet successful year, registering three wins, two draws, no losses, wins including a UD over Johnny Adams and a TKO over Jack Carroll. Hood checks in at #17 with a 18-2-2 (7) career record. Top newcomer to the rankings is Jackie Fields, who recovered from the only blemish in his career thus far (a draw in late 1927) with three more wins to run his record to 14-0-1 (11), good for 23rd spot. Two other impressive newcomers include Swiss, Cleto Locatelli, who ran off five more wins to wind up at 15-1 (8), in 28th place, and Freddie Polo, who suffered a narrow SD loss to Canada Lee and a UD in his last bout against Locatelli; Polo checks in at #32 with a 15-2 (13) career mark.

Prospects: Maintain unbeaten records, albeit versus TC opposition, were Tiger Joe Randall (12-0, 10 KO) and Italian Saviero Turiello (11-0, 6 KO). Marty Goldman got his career off on the right foot, winning his first five (three inside the distance). Paul Junior struggled to a draw in his debut bout, won all the rest to end the year at 4-0-1 (2). German Gustav Eder was impressive in winning his first four (only one KO win, however). Less impressive were Andy Callahan, off to a 2-0-1 (1) start, and Latvia's Eddie Ran, who was a surprising TKO victim in his second outing, finishing the year at 1-1 (1).

Retirements: Only two WW retirements in 1928.

Frithjof Hansen (DEN) 1917-28 24-22-2 (8) No Titles Highest Rank: 29
Eddie Shevlin (USA) 1909-28 43-20-5 (14) NABF, USBA Champ Highest Rank: 3

Looking Ahead: Not many more mountains for Benny Leonard to conquer, as he has won a WBA title in a second weight class. It will be interesting to see if any meaningful challengers emerge while Leonard is still at Prime career stage. Joe Dundee is the most likely challenger, but the rapidly improving McLarnin could also prove a difficult opponent for the Ghetto Wizard. Jackie Fields, the unbeaten prospect, needs another year of seasoning before moving up to challenge for a top 10 position. Things look good for the future, however, with Barney Ross and Cocoa Kid among those set to join the division in 1929.