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Old 03-11-2010, 03:42 PM   #749 (permalink)
JCWeb
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Aug. 1928 Feature Bouts -- Part 2 of 2

Aug. 17, 1928: Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City is the scene for the next Friday night fight card, and the feature bout -- although no title is at stake -- has popular "Slapsie Maxie" Rosenbloom matched with former NABF Champ Jimmy Slattery in a battle of two top five LH contenders. Both men play it cagey for the opening few rounds, and Rosenbloom gradually pulls ahead on points. Slattery's left eye begins puffing up in round four. No knockdowns, the bout goes the distance -- and a steady performance earns Rosenbloom a UD 10 win (97-94, 97-94, 98-93). The 97-94 result seemed about right. The win moves Rosenbloom's record to a gaudy 21-1-4 (10) while Slattery slips to 24-8-1 (9).

Aug. 18, 1928: Twin bill main events on the next fight card at the Sports Palazzo in Rome, Italy. First up is former HW king Jack Dempsey, now on the downside of his career but still a big draw, as he takes on Italian HW and former EBU titleholder Erminio Spalla. The "Manassa Mauler" won a prior bout over the Italian back in 1925, but alot has changed in three years. Dempsey, a shell of his former self, presses the action but is unable to land any huge bombs in the first few rounds. Spalla, biding his time, tags Dempsey with a big right hand in round five. Two rounds later, it's lights out as another Spalla right finds its mark. Dempsey goes down and cannot beat the count. Spalla by KO 7 in a huge upset; he improves to 29-11 (21) while Dempsey is now 51-9-1, still with 47 KOs.
After the excitement of the sudden knockout wears off, the WBA Flyweight title bout takes place, with Jimmy Wilde taking on Frankie Genaro in a rematch of last year's controversial title bout that resulted in a DQ win for Wilde; both men have maintained unbeaten records since. This time, Genaro makes no mistake, adopting a strong defensive counterpunching style that proves an elusive target for the aggressive Wilde. Wilde gradually wears down throughout the bout, suffering a cut forehead in round eight. The cut proves to be troublesome, reopened twice and leading to a late stoppage; Genaro by TKO 12 on the cuts stoppage to regain the belt. It turns out to be the swansong as Wilde decides to hang up the gloves. Genaro moves to 29-8 (15) with the win while Wilde closes out a Hall of Fame career with a 54-12-4 (46) slate, having held the WBA Flyweight crown on three separate occasions.

Aug. 24, 1928: Uline Arena in Washington, DC is the site of the next Friday night card; again, two co-feature bouts headline the agenda. First of the twin features has HW Jimmy Braddock taking on Cuban Goyito Rico in an effort to jump-start his stalled career after a loss and a draw in two recent bouts. Braddock takes a few rounds to get his bearings, then he begins to seize control in the middle rounds while the Cuban battles a cut under his right eye. No KDs, the bout goes the full 10 rounds and it's a comfortable UD 10 win for Braddock (97-94, 100-91, 97-95). Braddock moves to 12-1-1 (6) and plans to remain active in coming months. Rico's record is 12-8-1 (6). The second co-main event is for the NABF BW title, and Canadian Howard Mayberry makes his fourth defense against former beltholder, veteran Harold Smith, who is now at Post-Prime career stage. Mayberry starts well, but then in the fourth round he is surprised by a strong shot from Smith and goes down. Smith's spurts are sporadic, however, and Mayberry resumes control until round seven, when he is rocked by a right hand from Smith and forced to use the ropes to remain afoot. Despite the knockdown, Mayberry proves to be more durable and goes on to take a UD 12 (117-111 on all three cards). Mayberry moves to 27-9-1 (13) while Smith is now 25-8-4 (13).

Aug. 25, 1928: Earls Court in London is the location for the next card, with the headline event pitting defending Commonwealth BW king Vic Foley against hometown favorite Teddy Baldock. Right before the main event, there is an interesting clash among two up-and-coming British MWs, both of whom had compiled unbeaten records to this point; Jock McAvoy (the "Rochdale Thunderbolt") maintains his spotless record by decking previously unbeaten Archie Sexton four times -- the 10th round KO runs McAvoy's record to 11-0 (10) with Sexton now at 11-1-1 (8) after his first loss. Then, on to the main event and it proves to be a disappointing contest. Baldock's left eye starts swelling right away as Foley repeatedly peppers him with shots. The bout lasts the distance, and it is a lopsided UD 12 win for Foley (120-110, 120-110, 119-110) for his second successful defense of the Commonwealth crown. The win lifts Foley to 26-9 (10) overall, while Baldock slips to 21-10-1 (11).

Aug. 25, 1928: Atlantic City's Convention Hall sees the next big fight promotion, and the main event is for the USBA Flyweight crown, featuring Fidel LaBarba who puts the title on the line against Emil Paluso. LaBarba, fighting for the first time at Prime, looked impressive in the early going, with combining a strong defense with some slick counterpunching. Paluso, however, battles his way back to make the bout reasonably close. In the end, LaBarba prevails in a MD 12 (118-110, 114-114, 116-112); the 116-112 result seemed the most accurate. LaBarba moves to 19-1-1 (8) while Paluso to 19-9-1 (6).

Aug. 31, 1928: Final fight card of the month is another Friday night special, returning to the Rizal Arena in Manila, Philippines. Filipino MW OPBF Champion looks to improve his standing in the division, taking on a former WBA Champ, Mike O'Dowd, in a 10-round, non-title affair. Garcia seems ready for the bout, and patient enough to wait his chances against the aging former Champ, but O'Dowd does not cooperate. The "St. Paul Cyclone" turns in a stellar performance, completely befuddling the young Filipino and even decking him for a nine-count with a wild overhand right in round seven. Garcia does not really recover, and O'Dowd takes a fairly comfortable UD 10 verdict (98-91, 97-92, 95-94) although one "hometown" judge had the bout much closer than it should have been. O'Dowd is now 42-13-2 (16) while Garcia is 20-4 (15).

Last edited by JCWeb; 03-14-2010 at 12:36 AM.
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