[JCWeb]

Finally, here are the pound-for-pound Top Ten as of year-end 1918.
(changes from the prior year in parens)

1. Sam Langford, HW (NABF, CBU Champ) 1629 (+2)
2. Benny Leonard, LW (WBA Champ) 1622 (+2)
3. Sam McVey, HW (no titles) 1424 (+2)
4. Jack Dempsey, HW (WBA Champ) 1378 (new)
5. Harry Wills, HW (no titles) 1377 (-3)
6. Art Magirl, WW (WBA Champ) 1366 (+1)
7. Jack Blackburn, LW (NABF Champ) 1316 (-6)
8. Pete Herman, BW (no titles) 1264 (new)
9. Johnny Coulon, BW (WBA Champ) 1261 (new)
10. Packey McFarland, WW (NABF Champ) 1217 (NC)

Dropped out: Willie Ritchie, LW (#6)
Harry Greb, MW (#8)
Mike Gibbons, MW (#9)

Langford returns to the top of the pound-for-pound list for the second time (first time in 1914) but he's still a few points below his all-time year end peak at that time (1655). Langford, despite not holding the WBA belt for awhile, has been consistently in the PFP top three since 1910. Interesting to note that everyone listed with the sole exception of McFarland is a current or former WBA title holder. Benny Leonard and Art Magirl, who have the longest current consecutive win streaks, have steadily been improving their positions on the list recently, and Jack Dempsey cracks the list for the first time. One thing I will predict for the PFP list in 1919, is that Harry Greb will be back in the top group, I'm sure.

Overall, the number of 1200 and 1100 plus fighters declined from last year (10 above 1200 versus 13 the prior year and 16 at 1100+ versus 18 the prior year). At the same time, the number of 1000+ guys has gone up each year, from 22 in 1915, 24 in 1916, 25 in 1917 to 28 in 1918. Don't know what this says about ratings inflation, maybe it's just a reflection of the growing overall number of boxers in the Uni.

Looking ahead to 1919, it appears to be a pivotal year and also a challenging one as I'm looking at a record number (51) of new fighters starting up their careers. It does appear to represent a "changing of the guard," as the great fighters from the 1920s, like Dempsey, Leonard, Tunney, Greb and several guys starting out in 1919 (Mickey Walker, Loughran, Pancho Villa) will be taking over the reins from former greats like Jack Johnson (who is already done in my Uni), Langford, Abe Attell (who is no longer in the top 25 PFP after a couple years at Post-Prime), Billy Papke, and the like. There are a few guys there who kind of bridge both decades (like Jack Dillon or Carpentier at LHW, McFarland at WW or Jack Britton at LW) and, of course, a few surprises (Art Magirl who never was a real-life WW champ comes to mind) as well as disappointments (George Chip who seems to have been crowded out in the talent-rich MW division).

Managing the Uni starting in 1919 will become increasingly difficult. I have tried to target a year every month or so, 10 years in a calendar year, but to keep at that pace now I will have to start auto-simming more bouts and maybe cutting back on these lengthy reports. I will also have to figure out how to handle some of those Junior divisions (mainly JW and JL but there is one JF boxer, Carl Duane, scheduled to start out in 1920). I will probably move guys to those divisions and set up title matches as seems appropriate, as I have done with the FLYs, but maybe with less infrastructure in the form of TCs, using the WW and LW TCs to face the junior guys for record-building purposes. Expect though, at least for the next year, things to proceed at a more leisurely pace for awhile. I will, as previously promised, shift the focus to three newcomers (Loughran, Mickey Walker, and Pancho Villa) and away from the now, well-established Dempsey and Tunney. I am contemplating maybe adding some additional features but nothing definite as of this point in time.