[JCWeb]

1916 LW Division Profile

Total: 117 RL: 64 TCs: 53

RL by Career Stage:
End - 5
Post - 10
Prime - 31
Pre - 11
Beginning - 7 (New-3)

Jan 1917 Rankings (Perf Pts and Changes from 1916 in Parens)

Champ: Benny Leonard 26-0-1 (17) (1312) (+4)
1. Jack Blackburn 58-8-1 (20) (1398) (+2)
2. Willie Ritchie 31-11-2 (11) (1305) (-2)
3. Freddie Welsh 36-9-2 (19) (1292) (-1)
4. Fighting Dick Hyland 35-21-4 (20) (1103) (+11)
5. Jem Driscoll 56-9-1 (30) (1102) (-4)
6. Ray Bronson 30-11-6 (8) (919) (-1)
7. Harlem Tommy Murphy 31-21-1 (10) (840) (-1)
8. Knockout Brown 29-11-2 (21) (767) (-1)
9. Louis de Ponthieu 19-3-1 (6) (730) (+1)
10. Ad Wolgast 28-15-2 (14) (716) (+4)

Comments: Welsh joins two of the above list (Murphy and KO Brown) at Post-Prime in 1917 while the remaining will still be at Prime. Leonard seems set to dominate for awhile, after the capturing the WBA title and running his win streak to 12 bouts in a row. Blackburn, the NABF champ, still has a higher rating, after reeling off four more wins in 1916 to extend his win streak to six. Ritchie, the former champ, recovered from the loss of his WBA belt with wins over Bronson, Black and Murphy. Welsh was busy holding down three different title belts, but lost to Leonard when the World title was at stake. Hyland scored a huge upset win over Driscoll to propel him back into the Top 10 after a lengthy absence. Driscoll's six-bout win streak was snapped by that MD 10 loss to Hyland but he won his other four bouts in 1916, although two (Wolgast and Duffy) were narrow SD verdicts. Bronson struggled in his two losses to Blackburn and Ritchie and narrowly squeaked past Charley White in a SD win to stay in the top ten. Murphy, despite getting older, remained in the top group after a DQ win over Herb McCoy, but lost to higher ranked fighters. Brown slipped after KO defeats for the WBA and NABF titles, and barely got past Young Erne, another aging veteran, indicating his days as USBA champion may be numbered. de Ponthieu suffered a KO loss to Driscoll but registered a UD 10 over Young Donahue. Wolgast moved to the top ten after a so-so season mainly on the strength of a TKO over Lockport Jimmy Duffy, but a TKO loss to Hyland and a SD defeat at the hands of Driscoll prevented further progress.

Other Notables: Willie Beecher ended the year at #11, scoring a UD 10 over Aussie Herb McCoy to move closer to the top group. Dropping out of the top ten were Lockport Jimmy Duffy, who slid from #8 to #12 after a winless 1916 (he was also winless in 1915) and Matty Baldwin, who lost all four bouts in 1916 and crashed all the way to #30 from #9 last year. Paul Koehler pulled up to the #14 spot, boosting his career record to 30-14-2 (7) with a five bout unbeaten streak. Lew Tendler debuted at #16 in the rankings, moving to a 17-1 (9) career mark featuring UD wins over Brits Llew Edwards and Phil Bloom to go with a pair of MD wins versus Arthur Douglas and Young Tommy Coleman. Ever Hammer is ranked #19, sporting a 17-3-1 (9) mark, one spot ahead of Rocky Kansas, who got back on track with wins over Terry Brooks and Joe Shugrue along with two draws to move his record to 18-4-2 (15). Other top newcomers to the rankings were Red "Sunburst" Dolan at #22 with a 14-1 (5) mark, losing only to Johnny Arrousey, and Willie Jackson at #27 with a 15-3-1 (12) record. Llew Edwards debuts at #38 with a 14-2 (12) mark, his career stalled after losses to Tendler and veteran Rudy Unholz. Further down were Johnny Drummie, #41 at 12-3 (6) and Johnny Ray, #46 at 10-4-1 (6), indicating how tough the competition in this division really is.

Prospects: All the prospects got through the year unbeaten versus TC opposition. Andy Chaney is 10-0 (8), Jimmy Dundee is 9-0 (5), Joe Benjamin is 8-0 (6), Frankie Farren is 8-0 (3), Eddie "Kid" Wagner at 7-0 (4), all looking ahead to tougher tests in 1917. Sailor Friedman at 4-0 (1), Clonie Tait at 4-0 (0), Benny Valgar at 2-0 (1) and Tommy O'Brien at 1-0 (0) all got through their initial year unscathed.

Retirements: Two more departed the LW ranks in 1916. Their records:

Johnny Allen (USA) 1902-16 27-25-2 (5) No Titles Highest Rank: 25
Alf Goodwin (AUS) 1910-16 16-10 (9) No Titles Highest Rank: 31

Looking Ahead: Leonard appears poised for a long title run, but a showdown encounter with ex-Champ Blackburn appears to be in the offing. Blackburn appears likely to hold onto the NABF crown, but Knockout Brown (along with Harlem Tommy Murphy and Freddie Welsh) are likely to suffer the effects of aging in the coming year. Hyland is likely to challenge for Welsh's CBU title, while de Ponthieu and Brit Llew Edwards (along with veteran Jem Driscoll) are likely contenders in Europe and Britain. Tendler appears to be best of the newcomers, but there is a long list of guys like Bronson, Wolgast, Beecher, Duffy, White and Koehler ahead of him. Tommy Cello, Alex Hart and Emanuel Jacobsen are set to enter the fray in 1917.

Predictions: I was correct with the forecast of a WBA crown for Leonard in 1916, but predicting four new fighters in the Top 10 was a bit too much as only two spots changed hands. For 1917, I will predict a Leonard-Blackburn title bout, ending in a win for Leonard. Welsh will gradually slip and lose all three belts, starting with either the GBU or EBU belt, which will be won by Driscoll. And this time I will tone down my prediction and say only three new faces in next year's top ten list.