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1918 LH Title Bouts

WBA

Jack Dillon CH (35-5-3) vs Leo Houck #4 (38-16-4)

Dillon had beaten Houck twice before for the LH title in 1913 and 1915 after being held to a draw in their initial encounter in 1911. Dillon was gunning for win #5 in a row while Houck entered the bout riding a 3-fight win streak, including a DQ over Levinsky and UDs versus Sweeney and Dave Smith.

Dillon took charge early, dominating the bout on the outside to gain an early points edge. (49-46 after five rounds) In the middle rounds, Dillon continued to pile up a huge lead, and Houck wound up taking a serious beating, suffering from swelling about his right eye. Dillon went on to register a dominating UD 15 win.

Jack Dillon CH (36-5-3) vs Tommy Gibbons #2 (25-4-1)

Dillon seeks to avenge an earlier loss (via TKO) to Gibbons who took his title belt back in 1915.

Gibbons is off to a strong start, taking the opening stanza. Jack "The Giant Killer" bounces back to take round two. Both elect to work on the inside in round three, leaving to a close action round. Round four, Gibbons tries his luck on the inside, but Dillon bombs away from the outside to take the round. Fifth round sees Gibbons back on top to lead (48-47) on the unofficial cards in an extremely close bout. Dillon moves inside in round 6, but a big cross lands for Gibbons, forcing the Champ to cover up. In round 8, Gibbons suffers a split lip but continues to make it a difficult defense for Dillon. The Champ picks up the pace in the final few rounds, overcoming a swollen right eye to dominate action on the inside and scoring a close but unanimous win (143-141, 144-140, 143-141).

Jack Dillon CH (37-5-3) vs Georges Carpentier #1 (35-3-2)

The French EBU and ex-WBA Champ, who lost the title to Dillon in 1917, is back to try again, coming off a UD 10 over Bob McAllister.

Dillon starts well, taking the initial round but then Carpentier moves to the inside, doing well in rounds 2 and 3. Both lay back on the outside in round 4, and the tide turns to favor Dillon. Dillon also takes round 5 to move ahead, 48-47, on the unofficial cards. Carpentier presses forward, but only sets himself up for more Dillon countershots. Round seven, with both men whaling away on the inside, sees more action as Carpentier nails the Champ with a big uppercut and follows up with a combination that causes Dillon to tumble to the canvas. A big left for the Frenchman in round 8, and Dillon is forced to cover up to survive. Round 9, Dillon is in full retreat but Carpentier can't deliver the knockout punch. Carpentier is cut on the nose in round 10 but is ahead 96-93 on the unofficial card. Dillon keeps the bout close with a huge round 13, and when the bout goes the distance, most observers think Carpentier deserved the win. However, the scores are read and it's a unanimous win (144-142, 144-142, 145-141) for Dillon, who narrowly escapes with his title.

Jack Dillon CH (38-5-3) vs Battling Levinsky #5 (31-11-1)

This is Levinksy's second try for the WBA belt, having lost a SD to Dillon back in 1914. Levinsky had won four bouts earlier in the year to set up the title match.

Levinsky gets off to a strong start, planting a hook to the body of Dillon in round one. The Champ quickly recovers, battling to an even round 2 and then pummeling Levinksy in round three, and Levinsky's right eye exhibits signs of swelling. Dillon goes on to dominate rounds 4 and 5 and is off to a strong start (50-47 on the unofficial card). Levinksy gradually becomes more aggressive in the middle rounds, but Dillon continues to dominate from a very defensive-minded posture on the outside. Dillon's right eye starts to swell in the later round, but a frustrated a tired Levinksy, trailing badly on all three cards, finds himself called for a flagrant low blow and is DQ'd in round 14. Dillon retains the title.

NABF: Frank Farmer starts the year with this title belt, which he puts on the line versus Tommy Gibbons. Gibbons survives a cut above the eye and dominates most of the action to register a UD 12 win. Then comes the previously-reported (Post #321) defense against a young Gene Tunney, who turned out to be overmatched. Finally, Larry Williams took on Gibbons late in the year and he, too, came up on the short end of a UD 12 verdict after Gibbons knocked him down twice in the 11th.

USBA: Bob McAllister defended the belt versus Kid Norfolk, who took advantage of an early cut over the left eye of McAllister and went on to register a UD 12 win to take the title. Norfolk then defended versus "KO" Kruvosky who took two trips to the canvas before the bout was waived off as a TKO for Norfolk in the 11th.

CBU: Harry Reeve did not defend this belt, which he captured in late 1917.

GBU: Reeve did defend versus fellow Brit Dick Smith, taking charge with a dominating fourth round before the ref stepped in to save the challenger from further punishment. Reeve by TKO 4.

EBU: Carpentier defended versus Reeve, whom he had beaten four times previously. Once again, the Brit was no match for the wily Frenchman, who hammered Reeve with an uppercut, scoring a KD in the second and following up with a second knockdown from which Reeve did not recover. Carpentier by KO 2.