[JCWeb]

Thanks, Lee. Just wrapped up Mar. 1928 action, here's summaries of the key bouts (from the second half of the month):

Mar. 23, 1928: Friday Night card goes down under, to Melbourne Arena in Australia, and this time the feature bout has Commonwealth HW Champ George Thompson defending the title against Jack "The Gorgeous Gael" Doyle. Doyle, a slugger, is the aggressor for most of the bout. Thompson, with slick counterpunching and defense, starts to pull ahead on points in the middle rounds. However, he is vulnerable to a couple of hooks from Doyle that result in two knockdowns in round 11. The second of these puts Thompson down and out for good. Doyle by KO 11 to take the belt in an upset on the Champ's home turf. The Irishman moves to 20-5-2 (15) while Thompson's second career loss puts him at 20-2-1 (12).

Mar. 24, 1928: London's Harringay Arena is the scene of the next fight card, and Hamilton Johnny Brown and Jack Hood square off in the feature bout for Brown's GBU WW title. Hood, who is still at Pre-Prime, may be in a bit over his head. The bout stays close in the early rounds, then Brown drives a hard cross to the chin of Hood, forcing him to cover up, near the end of round five. This seems to put Brown in the driver's seat, but he has to battle through a torn lip suffered in round eight. No knockdowns, and the bout goes the distance, with Brown retaining the belt by a very narrow margin, a majority draw (115-115, 116-114, 115-115) where he needed the final round on one judge's scorecard to avert defeat. Brown moves to 19-11-5 (9) overall while Hood checks in at 16-2-1 (9), with one more bout before hitting Prime career stage. Better luck next time for the young Hood.

Mar. 24, 1928: Polo Grounds in New York City is the scene of the next fight card and, while no title bouts are on offer, the feature bout is a rematch of two top-ranked HWs, former WBA Champions both, Young Stribling and an aging Jack Dempsey. It's a rematch of their 1926 WBA title contest, which saw Stribling take the belt via a late stoppage in the 13th. This time each man has his moments in the early rounds, then Stribling (the better boxer) piles up a points lead while evading and frustrating the heavy-handed but aging veteran, Dempsey. Stribling even shows some firepower of his own, stunning Dempsey with a big left in round seven. Dempsey finally gets in some strong shots of his own in the ninth, and Stribling's left eye starts to swell as a result. Nonetheless, it turns out to be a bit too late as Stribling hangs on for a MD 10 win (96-95, 95-95, 96-94). The victory moves Stribling to 26-4-1 (16) while the "Manassa Mauler" slips to 51-8-1 (47).

Mar. 30, 1928: Final Friday night fight card of the month sees the action shift to Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, and the 10-round feature bout pits veteran LW Ever Hammer against Sid Terris in a key "crossroads" bout for both, as both are seeking to recover from recent losses with a top 10 contender spot for the winner in the offing. Action develops slowly, and the bout is fairly even for the first few rounds. Terris suffers a split lip in round four. Hammer delivers a big hook on the inside, forcing Terris to cover up. Hammer emerges victorious after doing better in the final two rounds, taking a UD 10 (96-94, 96-94, 97-93). Hammer moves to 39-15-5 (16) overall while Terris slips to 21-6-2 (7).

Mar. 31, 1928: Manila, Philippines sees former BW king Pete Sarmiento put his OPBF title on the line against OPBF and long-time WBA FLY king Pancho Villa, who is moving up in weight to challenge for the long-dormant BW belt. Villa is at Post-Prime but the bout promises to be an interesting test as he is an all-time great FLY but will the extra age and extra weight prevent him from taking the win versus Sarmiento? Unfortunately, the bout proves to be a real disappointment and provides no answers as it ends prematurely, Sarmiento being called for persistent head-butting and DQ'd early on. The DQ 2 win for Villa moves him to 32-8-3 (14) although he is now at End career stage. Sarmiento falls to 26-9-4 (19) but still has some good years left if he can avoid the flagrant foul calls.

Mar. 31, 1928: Final fight card of the month is at the Amor Bahn in Munich, Germany. Featured bout on the program has the "Little Fox," Rene DeVos, defending his EBU MW title for the sixth time against German Hein Domgorgen. Except for a few good moments early in the bout, Domgorgen appears to be outclassed by DeVos for most of the fight. However, when the scorecards are read, one judge (obviously favoring the home country's fighter) calls it a draw. Fortunately for DeVos, the other two judges have him as the winner so DeVos takes a MD 12 (117-111, 114-114, 117-111) to move to 37-8-2 (17). Domgorgen, who may have more chances in the future, stands at 22-7 (13) in spite of the defeat.