[JCWeb]

Jan 1916 LW Division Profile

Total: 116 RL: 63 TC: 53

RL by Career Stage:
End - 4
Post - 9
Prime - 31
Pre - 10
Beginning - 9 (4 New)

Rated: 47
800+: 7
500+: 25
200+: 42

Jan 1916 Rankings (Perf Pts and Changes from Jan 1915 in Parens):

Champ: Willie Ritchie 28-10-2 (10) (1241) (+6)
1. Jem Driscoll 52-8-1 (29) (1390) (NC)
2. Freddie Welsh 34-8-2 (18) (1287) (NC)
3. Jack Blackburn 54-8-1 (19) (1255) (-3)
4. Benny Leonard 23-0-1 (16) (1150) (-1)
5. Ray Bronson 29-9-6 (8) (955) (NC)
6. Harlem Tommy Murphy 30-19-1 (10) (874) (+1)
7. Knockout Brown 28-9-2 (21) (780) (+13)
8. Lockport Jimmy Duffy 25-8 (14) (779) (-4)
9. Matty Baldwin 35-17-2 (21) (769) (NC)
10. Louis de Ponthieu 18-2 (6) (700) (+2)

Comments: Everyone above at Prime, except for Murphy who was already at Post in 1915 and will be joined by Brown and Baldwin who hit their retirement years in 1916. Ritchie had a memorable year, losing on a foul to Brown, edging Herb McCoy by a MD but then regaining the WBA belt on a foul himself. Driscoll, despite not holding a title right now, is the highest rated in the division after only managing a draw with Welsh but scoring UD 10 wins over Bronson and Brown. Welsh continued to juggle the EBU and GBU belts, scoring four wins after the Driscoll bout, beating Murphy and McCoy in addition to defending both titles. Blackburn went 4-1 for the year, besting McCoy and Eddie Wallace after the controversial title bout. Leonard kept rolling with four more defenses but still lost ground because he has not yet stepped into top flight title contention, despite winning 10 in a row and remaining undefeated. Bronson went 2-2 in 1915, losing to Blackburn and Driscoll but beating Ritchie on a foul and then registering a UD 10 win over upstart Rocky Kansas. Murphy remained competitive with a UD over Bloom and a MD over Hyland, despite losing two times. Brown annexed the USBA belt in a fine 4-1 campaign, losing only to Driscoll while scoring inside the distance wins over Nelson, Cooke and Mexican Joe Rivers. Duffy slid down to #8 after losing his last four in a row -- amazing to see him still in the Top 10! Baldwin scored a UD win over Young Otto and also beat Hyland on a foul to set up his title shot. Rounding out the top group is the young Frenchman, de Ponthieu, who was 3-2 for the year, TKOing Phil Cross, decisioning Young Erne and Shugrue but loking to Young Tommy Coleman as well as to Welsh in the EBU title bout.

Other Notables: Phil Bloom, CBU champ, had a 2-2 year, defending twice but losing to Murphy as well as Welsh. His overall record of 19-7 (9) places him at #17 with 591 pp. Dropping out of the Top 10 was Aussie Herb McCoy, who went 0-3 for the year and fell from #8 to #11; all three losses were to tough opponents: Welsh, Ritchie and Blackburn. Willie Beecher tumbled from #10 to #16, losing the NABF title bout as well as a UD to Coleman. Ad Wolgast climbed back towards the contenders list with three wins in 1915, moving him to #14 with a 25-12-2 (13) record. Coleman stands at #19, having a four-bout win streak snapped by a UD loss to Arthur Douglas. Mexican Joe Rivers dropped to 24th following KO losses to Knockout Brown and Wolgast. Top newcomer was Ever Hammer, debuting at #26 -- he found it tough sledding after a 13-0 start, however, losing three of his last five. Johnny Arrousey similar had a 12-0 start but losses to Willie Jackson and Tommy O'Keefe mean he starts out at #31 despite a 13-2 (5) overall mark. Rocky Kansas also had a rough time of it, dropping three of four in 1915, losing by TKO to Otto and by decision to Rivers and Bronson -- his only win came via UD versus Special Delivery Hirsch, who still has the distinction of being the only LW to face Benny Leonard and not coming away with a loss -- the only blemish (a draw) on Leonard's unbeaten record thus far. This division is now the only one with a ranked TC fighter, Nick Scanlon, who has beat three RL guys in posting a 7-20-1 career record, good for #43 on the ratings list with just 75 pp.

Prospects: UK's Llew Edwards has stayed unbeaten, besting 12 TCs and a very weak RL fighter, journeyman Gene Delmont -- he has compiled an excellent 13-0 (11) mark. Willie Jackson, with wins over Hammer and Arrousey to his credit, is poised to debut well up the rankings list next year -- his record now stands at 13-0-1 (11). Lew Tendler, at 13-1 (9), lost by a foul to a TC but avenged the loss with a KO victory and is ready to move on. Red Dolan stayed unbeaten, at 10-0 (5), all versus TCs. Johnny Drummie, at 9-2 (4) and Johnny Ray, at 8-2-1 (5), have lost a few, but are poised to advance to the next level. Other newer fighters still in the beginner ranks and still unbeaten include Andy Chaney at 4-0 (3), Jimmy Dundee at 4-0 (2), Joe Benjamin at 2-0 (1), Frankie Farren at 2-0 (0 KOs) and Eddie Wagner at 1-0 (no KO).

Retirements: Two of the top guys in the early years of the division whose careers spanned multiple decades called it quits in 1915. Their records speak for themselves.

Battling Nelson (DEN) 1896-1915 58-17 (28) WBA Champ 1909-10
Jewey Cooke (USA) 1894-1915 65-24-2 (29) NABF, USBA Champ Highest Rank: 1

Cooke's 91 total bouts set a new record for the Uni, topping the previous high of 90 set by FW great Young Griffo.

Looking Ahead: Leonard may be ready for that WBA title bout after having been managed very carefully up to now. Ritchie is likely vulnerable to any one of a number of the top contenders, should he face them. McCoy is angling for a shot at Bloom's CBU belt. Wolgast is trying to regain some momentum, and there may be room near the top as several Top 10 guys begin to experience the aging effects. Look for Rocky Kansas, now that he has hit Prime career stage, to improve on his "rocky" start. Benny Valgar of France and Tommy O'Brien of the USA top the four newcomers to be added to the LW ranks in 1916.

Bold Prediction(s) for 1916: Benny Leonard will challenge for and win the WBA title in 1916. OK, if that's not bold enough, I predict that there will be at least four newcomers to the Top 10 list at this time next year.