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1915 HW Title Bouts

Headline News: A New Champion is crowned! Sam McVey becomes the 20th different fighter to win the coveted WBA HW Championship.

WBA Title Bouts

Joe Jeannette CH (41-4) vs Sam McVey #1 (39-10-2)

Jeannette holds a 3-1 lifetime edge over McVey heading into this bout, but McVey has won four straight since his last loss (to Jeannette in 1913).

Round one, McVey dominates the early action as Jeannette seems to be a bit lethargic. Both work the outside and Jeannette recovers with a solid effort in round two. Round three and the action shifts to the inside, and Jeannette lands a big uppercut after McVey dominated the first half of the round. McVey comes back strong in round 4, and the challenger continues his assault, landing most of the heavy leather in the fifth. Jeannette, realizing he is behind, starts becoming more aggressive, but McVey's defense is solid. Jeannette takes some punishment and his right eye begins to exhibit some puffiness at the and of round 8. Round 10, and the champ rallies, and McVey's left eye begins to redden as well. It's a titanic struggle heading into the final rounds, and the punch count favors the challenger. McVey withstands a tremendous onslaught from Jeannette in the 13th and hangs on for the UD 15 win and the WBA belt. McVey by UD 15 (145-141, 144-142, 145-141).

Sam McVey CH (40-10-2) vs William Hague UNR (19-2)

Hague, the British champ, gets his second WBA title shot despite not being ranked in the Top 20 HWs. Hague is confident, however, coming off a first round blowout over Gunner Moir, but the bettors have McVey down as a heavy favorite.

After a close opening stanza, McVey makes quick work of his opponent in round two. He lands a hard hook means lights out for Hague -- McVey by KO in the 2nd.

Sam McVey CH (41-10-2) vs Tom Kennedy UNR (14-4-1)

Again, McVey opts for the easier title defense as all the other top guys are unavailable or committed elsewhere. The bout has difficulty getting sanctioned, but it goes ahead as the challenge is one of the long line of "White Hopes" that were popular draws in this era. McVey comes in riding a 6-bout win streak, whereas Kennedy squeaked by McLaglin and Schreck via MDs to "earn" this title shot. No prior meetings of the two.

McVey seems in great shape, forcing Kennedy to retreat as he lands repeatedly to pile up the points. A big straight right near the end of the second staggers the challenger, punctuating McVey's early dominance. Kennedy tries to work the inside in the third, but it is no dice as McVey's quick hands mete out more punishment and cause swelling about the left eye of the game challenger. McVey presses the attack in round four, scoring big with an uppercut and an overhand left. Kennedy appears in desperate straits again in round five, but somehow he manages to stay upright despite a pounding from McVey. McVey steps off the gas a bit as Kennedy begins to tire midway through the scheduled 15. Kennedy tries to mix it up with the Champ in round 8, but instead he lands on the canvas for the bout's first knockdown. Three more KDs for McVey follow in rounds 9, 11 and 14, but Kennedy gets up each time, so it goes the distance. McVey retains his title via a lopsided UD 15 (150-131 on all three cards).

NABF: After not defending the belt in 1914, Tommy Burns is goaded into a title bout with his old nemesis, Jack Johnson. After a cagey start by both men, Johnson appears to be outboxing the Canadian when Burns scores a quick knockdown in round six, followed by a second KD late in the round. Johnson wisely decides to adopt a more cautious approach the rest of the way and is rewarded with a UD 12 victory (116-110, 115-111, 116-110). He defends against Battling Jim Johnson, who was on a three-bout win streak to set up his first title shot of any kind. Both work the outside mostly, and Jack Johnson totally outclasses his less skilled counterpart to register a UD 12 win (118-110, 118-109, 117-113).

USBA: There is a battle for the vacant belt previously held by McVey between Joplin Ghost Jeff Clarke and young up and comer Harry Wills. Wills announces he is ready for the challenge as he puts the veteran Clarke on the deck 45 seconds into the bout. Clarke hangs on to make the final scores respectable, but Wills does enough to win a UD 12 (116-112, 115-113, 116-112). He defends versus Carl Morris, landing a perfect combination to put Morris down in round 2 and then finishing him off with a TKO in round three. Next up is ex-Champ Joe Jeannette, and it is a classic battle over the 12-round distance between the veteran Jeannette and the younger, quicker "Black Panther," as Wills is known. Jeannette is cut above the left eye in the 5th, and Wills lands some big shots but Jeannette does not go down. Another solid UD 12 for Wills (116-112, 115-114, 116-112) -- the sensational result of this bout caused many to tab Wills as a future WBA champion.

CBU: Sam Langford began the year with the belt, going down under to defend versus Aussie Colin Bell. Langford was cut above the right eye early (in round two) and Bell did a good job of targeting the cut while staying away from Langford's power to wind up lifting the belt in a huge surprise by a TKO in round 9 (stoppage due to the cut which had gradually worsened during the bout). Bell defended versus Tommy Burns, in a rematch of the 1911 CBU title bout won by Burns. It turned out to be a repeat performance by Tommy, who survived a late surge by Bell to win a close but unanimous verdict (116-113, 115-114, 116-113).

GBU: William Hague defended versus aging vet Gunner Moir, dominating the bout from the get-go when Moir was cut over the left eye and ending it in the first with a dramatic KO. Then he took on Bombadier Billy Wells, whom he had bested twice before, most recently in a UD for the GBU belt back in 1913. Wells shocked Hague by putting him down with a cross to the head in round one. But in round 2, Bombadier Billy had problems of his own, as he was cut. Hague sustained a cut as well in round three, along with swelling developing around the left eye. The bruising battle ended with Wells scoring two more KDs in round 6 before the bout was stopped. TKO 6 for Wells, crowning a new British champion.

EBU: German Otto Flint managed to maintain the belt, defending it first versus Irishman Jim Coffey, whom he dominated from the opening bell in a rout ended with a TKO in the 2nd. Then Ragnar Holmberg made history by becoming the first Swede to challenge for a title, and he acquitted himself well before tiring in the later rounds. At this point Flint's power took over, landing his second KD in round 8, two more in round 9, another in round 11, and three in the final round for a total of 8 in the entire bout. Flint by TKO 12.