[JCWeb]

May 1928 action is now concluded, here's a report on the feature bouts, action which saw six titles change hands in the same number of title bouts, including a changing of the guard at the top of the HW division:

May 18, 1928: Friday Night card travels to Briggs Stadium in Detroit, and featured is a 12-round bout with the NABF MW title at stake. Billy Angelo defends the belt versus Oakland Jimmy Duffy, who holds a prior TKO win in a prior bout when Angelo was still at Pre-Prime. Angelo has a tough time right from the start, as his right eye begins to swell up after just four rounds. The eye gradually gets worse, forcing a stoppage. Thus, the belt changes changes and it goes down as a TKO 9 for Duffy, who moves to 37-16-5 (8) while the loss moves Angelo to 21-7-1 (16).

May 19, 1928: Action is at the Olympia in London, England, and the main event is for the Commonwealth MW card as Aussie Alf Stewart defends versus Roland Todd from the UK. However, first there is a preliminary bout of note featuring the new Commonwealth HW champ, Jack Doyle, who takes on perennial contender, former WBA HW king Harry Wills, in a much anticipated bout. Wills, despite being past his prime, gets off to a strong start and Doyle's right eye starts to puff up even after just one round. Doyle gradually becomes the aggressor, but Wills hits his stride in the middle rounds and Doyle gradually wears down in the later rounds. It's a UD 10 win for Wills (97-92, 97-92, 95-94). Wills moves to 58-8-1 (46) and Doyle is now 20-6-2 (15). In the main event, Todd starts well and, in the late middle rounds, Stewart is hampered by a swollen right eye. The bout goes the distance, and the fact that Stewart is now Post-Prime has an effect as the belt goes to Todd in a close but UD 12 (115-113, 114-113, 115-113). Todd moves to 27-11-5 (6) while Stewart is now 21-11-2 (16).

May 19, 1928: Philadelphia is the scene of the next fight card, with the main event being for the WBA HW title. Gene Tunney, who is now at Post-Prime, defends against up-and-comer Jack Sharkey, who gets the World title shot in his first bout at Prime. After a cautious start by both men, Sharkey's right eye starts to puff up by the end of round six. The two appear evenly matched, both boxing well and neither able to connect with a strong shot. Sharkey sustains a cut under his left eye in round nine but battles his way to hold a slight points lead on the unofficial card heading into the late rounds. Tunney battles back with a good effort in rounds 11 and 12 to keep the bout close. Sharkey, battling the cut and the swollen eye, counters with a strong round 13. After a lackluster round 14, the bout goes the distance. Tunney comes up a bit short this time, and Jack Sharkey becomes the new WBA HW king by a UD 15 (146-139, 145-140, 145-140). This observer had Sharkey winning, but by a much narrower margin. Sharkey is now 19-2 (13) while Tunney slips to 41-8-3 (25). This result may well signal the end of the Dempsey-Tunney-Wills era of dominating the HW ranks as all three are at Post-Prime, and younger fighters such as Stribling and Sharkey have come to the fore.

May 25, 1928: Final Friday night fight card for May is at the Uline Arena in Washington, DC, and the feature bout has Johnny Jadick putting his JWW USBA title on the line against Harry Wallach. Jadick defeated Wallach via a MD 10 when both were still at Pre-Prime back in 1926. It proves to be a close bout, and Wallach puts Jadick under pressure in the middle rounds. Jadick battles a swollen eye in the later rounds, but he rallies to keep the bout close going into the final round. As it turns out, the final round is decisive as all three judges have the bout even going into the 12th round. The judges split 2-1 in favor of the challenger, so Wallach takes a SD 12 by the narrowest of margins (114-113, 113-114, 114-113) to become the USBA JWW Champ. Wallach moves to 15-8 (8) while Jadick is now 18-8-1 (5).

May 26, 1928: Sports Palace in Rome, Italy is the venue for the next fight card, and the feature bout matches EBU MW king Rene DeVos with British Champ Len Johnson. Bad luck for the "Little Fox," who sustains a severe cut over his left eye in the opening stanza. DeVos gamely battles on, but midway through the bout the cut becomes too severe to allow the bout to continue. The belt thus changes hands as it goes down as a TKO 5 win for Johnson. The win moves Johnson to 22-8 (14) while DeVos falls to 37-9-2 (17).

May 26, 1928: Final fight card of the month is at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Featured is the HW USBA title clash between Jim Maloney and challenger Pat Lester who is looking to make the most of his first ever title shot despite reaching Post-Prime career stage. Maloney falls behind early, and he is decked by Lester in round three. By the end of round four, Maloney's right eye starts to puff up. The other eye starts swelling as Lester delivers several unanswered blows in round five. The referee steps in to save Maloney from further punishment, and Lester becomes the new USBA HW Champ via a TKO 5 stoppage. Lester is now 23-4 (20) while Maloney stands at 18-3-1 (16) in spite of the defeat.