[JCWeb]

Division Profile as of Jan 1914:

Total: 152 Real Life: 78 TCs: 74

RL by Career Stage:
End- 0
Post-11
Prime-26
Pre-33
Beginner-8 (5 New)

Rated: 50
800+: 5
500+: 14
200+: 42

Jan 1914 Rankings (Perf Pts and Changes from 1913 in Parens)

Champ: Sam Langford 44-5-1 (33) (1655) (NC)
1. Joe Jeannette 37-4 (25) (1355) (+3)
2. Tommy Burns 42-8-3 (31) (1230) (NC)
3. Jack Johnson 66-9-4 (50) (1121) (-2)
4. Sam McVey 35-10-2 (23) (1050) (NC)
5. Charley Miller 20-4-2 (11) (895) (NC)
6. Jeff Clarke 22-5-1 (18) (784) (+1)
7. Frank Moran 22-7 (12) (756) (+2)
8. Harry Wills 16-0 (15) (709) (new)
9. Otto Flint 16-0-1 (13) (647) ( new)
10. Denver Ed Martin 30-21-3 (632) (-2)

Comments: All the above at Prime except for the two newcomers, Wills and Flint, still at Pre, and Johnson and Martin, at Post. Langford' string of wins means he is closing in on Abe Attell's mark for the highest ever pp total in history; Sam and Abe are the only two fighters thus far to crack the 1600 pp threshold. Jeannette went 4-0 for the year to take over the #1 contender spot, but he lost both to Langford and #2 Tommy Burns the last time they were matched together. Burns defended both belts (CBU and NABF) in 1913 to maintain his high ranking. Johnson slipped to #3 after his worst year as a pro: he went 0-2-1, losing twice to Jeannette but also being held to a draw by Aussie Colin Bell. McVey also had a bad year, going 0-2 but because he lost to higher ranked guys and had a bit of a cushion he didn't yield too much in terms of his ranking. Charley Miller continued to impress, going 4-0 for the year against the likes of Schreck, Ross, Fireman Jim Flynn and vet Joe Grim (the latter avenging a prior loss). "Joplin Ghost" Jeff Clarke is still up there despite a loss to Frank Moran, scoring an impressive KO of previously unbeaten prospect Jim Coffey. Moran at #7 was 3-1 for the year, slipping a bit after losing his one title try to Langford but ringing up KOs of two top-tenners, Clarke and Martin. Unbeaten Harry Wills moved up from prospect to contender, going 4-0 in 1913 with KOs versus Marty Cutler and Tom McMahon. Also remaining undefeated was German Otto Flint, who annexed the EBU title after being held to a draw by Brit Tom Cowler. Denver Ed Martin, who rounds out the Top 10, was 1-2 in 1913, his one win coming on a split decision over Mike Schreck but suffering KO losses to Burns and Moran.

Other Notables: Dropping out of the Top 10 were James Jeffries (#6 last year), who retired, and Gunboat Smith, who fell from #10 to #12 after losing to Jeff Clarke (but bouncing back with wins over Andy Morris and Fireman Jim Flynn). Unbeaten Al Palzer, at 15-0-2 (11) just missed the top 10, being held to draws by lesser names like Dick Rice and Soldier Kearns. GBU champ William Hague is ranked #17, with a 17-10 (11) mark, 374 pp; he had a four-bout win streak snapped when he was KO'd by Ireland's Jim Coffey. Coffey is ranked #13, with a 15-1-1 (12) mark, held to a draw with Jim Barry after winning his first 13-- he recovered to beat Curran and Hague before suffering that first loss to Jeff Clarke. Colin Bell, who achieved notoreity when he held ex-Champ Jack Johnson to a draw, is #14 with a 17-4-3 (9) mark. Carl Morris is 15-2 (8) after suffering two tough losses, one via a foul, the other a split decision. Two vets, Joe Grim at 27-17-4 (6) and Al Kaufmann at 27-12-1 (18) round out the top 20 at #19 and #20, respectively.

Prospects: Jess Willard is probably the top prospect, adding six more KO wins to his resume in 1913, building an overall 14-0 (12) record. His victims this year included Al Benedict and Dan Daily in addition to more TCs. John Lester Johnson is 12-0 (9), including KOs over Joe Cox and Sailor Jack Carroll. At 12-0 (6) is Ireland's Bartley Madden, his most recent wins all via UD versus Daily, Tom Kennedy and Jewey Smith. Bill Tate and Kiwi Bert Lowe are both 10-0-1, Lowe scoring 10 wins in a row after drawing his first time out. Newark Adonis Charley Weinert has been impressive, going 8-0 (7), all versus TC opponents. Likewise for Billy Miske, who is 6-0 (5) and Brit Charley Penwill at 6-0 (4). Also making successful debuts in 1913 were Bill "KO" Brennan, at 5-0 (5), Al Reich at 5-0 (3) and Fred Fulton at 4-0 (3).

Retirements: Former WBA champ James Jeffries heads the list of retirees.
Their career marks were as follows:

John Ferguson (CAN) 1898-1913 30-26-2 (22) CBU Champ Highest Rank: 5
James Jeffries (USA) 1896-1913 53-12-3 (46) WBA Champ 1902-1905
Marvin Hart (USA) 1899-1913 33-24-2 (20) USBA Champ Highest Rank: 7

Hart, who briefly held the World HW title in real life, never really lived up to expectations, probably because guys like Jeffries, Burns and Jack Johnson dominated the HW ranks during most of the time he was at his peak.

Looking Ahead: Wills is likely to be brought along slowly until reaching his Prime, but look for a bout or two testing him against another Top 10 guy in 1914. Irishman Jim Coffey is likely to challenge Flint for the EBU belt. Look for guys like Flint and Charley Miller to be tested against top contenders. Moran and Gunboat Smith should rebound from their 1913 losses, and Jess Willard should emerge as a future threat for the title belt. Joe Jeannette is likely to seek a rematch with either Langford or Burns as he attempts to avenge earlier losses. Five newcomers will be added to the ranks, including all-time great Jack Dempsey, the one and only "Manassa Mauler."