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Not much to report on the Flyweight Division as there is so far only one active title (the British GBU belt) and a paucity of fighters although that will be changing in the next few years of the sim.

Bill Ladbury went into 1910 holding the GBU belt which he successfully defended against Trial Horse/TC Joe Wilson winning via TKO 9. Then next up was a rematch with Sid Smith, the other top real-life boxer in the division, against whom Ladbury had split their two prior bouts. Ladbury had to be somewhat apprehensive about the rematch with Smith and lacking confidence, as he came off a loss to veteran BW journeyman Kid Beebe. The first round was all Sid Smith as he caused swelling under Ladbury's right eye -- Smith went on from this good start to establish a big points lead while Ladbury gradually tired. The swelling about the eye got worse and it finally resulted in a late round stoppage. Sid Smith by TKO 11 (swelling). Then Smith took on TC Wilson for the GBU belt and successfully defended, opening a gash above Wilson's left eye that led to an eventual stoppage. The stoppage occurred right when the bout was getting interesting, as Smith had just suffered a flash knockdown by Wilson earlier in the 9th round. Smith by TKO 9 (cuts).

Jan. 1911 Flyweight Rankings (Perf Pts in parens):

1. Sid Smith 16-2 (9) (519)
2. Bill Ladbury 13-3-1 (6) (269)

Comments: Not much to analyze here. Smith bounced back from a subpar 1909 to go 4-0 and take over the top spot. Ladbury lost to Smith and Kid Beebe and slipped in the rankings as a result. Both took care of all the TCs (BW or FLY) which they have faced. Smith and Ladbury have traded the GBU belt back and forth and will likely do the same with the WBA title in a few year's time.

Prospects: Frankie Mason is 6-1 (5), all versus TCs, and he has posted four wins since losing to a TC in his third bout due to a foul. Jimmy Wilde won his first bout by KO late in the year.

Looking Ahead: Three more join the FLY ranks in 1911 -- Percy Jones, Tancy Lee and Joe Symonds. In a couple of years there may be enough real-life boxers to start with some meaningful title bouts.

Division Profile: 18 total boxers, 7 real-life, 11 TCs
RL by Career Stage: Pre-3 Beginning-4 (3 new)
Rated: 2
800+: 0
500+: 1
200+: 2

And last but not least, the pound-for-pound ratings for 1910 (the fourth annual such ratings):

1. Abe Attell, FW (WBA Champ) 1456 (NC)
2. Jem Driscoll, LW (WBA Champ) 1254 (+3)
3. Sam Langford, HW (WBA Champ) 1217 (+6)
4. Jack Johnson, HW (ex-Champ) 1216 (-2)
5. Battling Nelson, LW (ex-Champ) 1183 (-1)
6. Phila Jack O'Brien, LH (WBA Champ) 1175 (NC)
7. Joe Jeannette, HW (NABF Champ) 1174 (NC)
8. Jack Blackburn, LW (NABF Champ) 1132 (new)
9. Jack Britton, WW (WBA Champ) 1045 (new)
10. Sam McVey, HW (USBA Champ) 1039 (new)

Dropping out of the Top 10:

James Jeffries, HW (was #3)
Tommy Burns, HW (was #8)
Jewey Cooke, LW (was #10)

Comments: Subject to checking, this seems like the most WBA champs (5 of 7) in the list at any one time. (Only MW champ Cyclone Thompson and new BW champ Pal Moore are missing from the list.) Also, there seems to be a bit of ratings inflation or creep or whatever you want to call it as this is the first time there have been over 10 boxers with ratings at 1000 or higher. Of the three "newcomers" to the list, Blackburn is not really new, having been on the first two lists for 1907 and 1908. Attell's 1456 is probably the highest rating ever under the new ratings system--can he push it above 1500?

This will probably be the last report for awhile. This month the press of other events (including watching a few soccer games starting late next week) will likely cause me to take a bit of a hiatus, but expect to see 1911 results posted here, I'm just not able to predict the time frame just yet.