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Some World title bouts during the second part of October, 1928.

Oct. 19, 1928: Friday night action at the Palais du Sports in Cannes, France. First up, Primo Carnera registers his second win, this time by a second-round TKO over a TC to move to 2-0 (1) overall. Fan favorite "French Flash" Benny Valgar takes to the ring, taking on top five LW Tommy O'Brien. Valgar nails O'Brien with a perfect combination to register a knockdown in the fourth. Then, in round six, a cut is opened up over Valgar's right eye. O'Brien tries to stage a late rally, but Valgar is able to stay out of trouble while preventing the cut from worsening. The bout goes the distance without further incident, and the scorecards show a comfortable UD 10 win for Valgar (97-94, 97-93, 97-94). Valgar is now 38-12-2 (13) while O'Brien dips to 34-14-4 (16). The main event is between veteran Bartley Madden and Spaniard Paulino Uzcudan for Madden's EBU title belt. It's the "Basque Woodchopper" in his first title try, and he faces an aging veteran who had escaped with draws in his last three EBU title defenses. Uzcudan asserts himself when he nails Madden with a big uppercut in round seven, forcing the Irishman to cover up. The bout remains close into the final rounds, and the Spaniard suffers a cut forehead in round 11. Goes to the scorecard, and Uzcudan takes a narrow MD 12 (116-113, 114-114, 116-112), and Madden's title reign comes to an end. Uzcudan moves to 23-3-1 (11) with the win while Madden slips to 45-15-6 (18).

Oct. 20, 1928: Back to the Boston Garden for an exciting fight card, headlined by the "Boston Gob," Jack Sharkey, who makes the first defense of his newly-won HW crown against a relatively unknown opponent, Jim Maloney, who is not even ranked in the top ten. Sharkey holds a TKO win in a prior bout and hopes to repeat his success in what many consider to be a rather "easy" title defense. Maloney falls behind as Sharkey, the better boxer, impresses the judges and piles up a nice points lead in the early rounds. Maloney becomes more aggressive in the middle rounds, but all to no avail as he takes a pounding from the quicker fists of Sharkey. Maloney's right eye starts swelling midway through the bout, and the end comes quickly in round 12 after Sharkey decks the challenger with a huge shot. Although Maloney is able to beat the count, he looks wobbly and glassy-eyed, and the referee wisely steps in to call a halt. Sharkey by TKO 12 to keep the title. He moves to 20-2 (14) while Maloney is now 18-4-1 (16).

Oct. 20, 1928: Action moves to the West Coast and the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Another loaded fight card, headlined by the NABF WW title clash which sees Pete Latzo put the title on the line against Joe Dundee, a fighter whom he defeated way back in 1922 (via a split decision) when both were at Pre-Prime. Dundee starts well, but in round two Latzo is able to repeatedly land and cause Dundee's left eye to puff up. Dundee uses a stinging jab to force Latzo on the defensive in round five, as Latzo covers up and finds his left eye also starting to swell. Latzo's chances of retaining his belt suffer another setback when he sustains a cut over the left eye in the tenth. Overall, a solid performance from Dundee who is rewarded with a UD 12 (115-113, 115-113, 116-111); a four or five point margin seemed appropriate to this observer. Dundee moves to 30-7-4 (12) with the win while Latzo, who slips to 28-10-1 (11), hopes for better days in the future.

Oct. 26, 1928: "Friday Night fights" goes back to Manila's Rizal Arena. Featured is the OPBF FW title bout between two Filipino boxers, as Young Nationalista is defending the belt versus compatriot Johnny Hill. The main support is a 10-round MW non-title affair between two fighters ranked in the top 10, Panama Joe Gans and Frankie Schoell. Schoell, who unlike Panama Joe is still at Prime, takes advantage of the situation as Gans is a step or two slower due to the effects of aging. This enables Schoell to capture a relatively uneventful UD 10 (97-93. 99-92, 98-94) to run his record to 32-11-3 (11) whereas Panama Joe is now 49-12-1 (19). The OPBF FW title bout follows, and the two Filipinos are indeed familiar foes, having faced each other three times before, with Nationalista winning the last two encounters after dropping the initial bout when at Pre-Prime. In this bout, Nationalista draws first blood (literally) when Hill suffers a cut over the left eye in round four. A solid hook puts Hill on the deck for a 9-count a round later, and Hill's left eye looks worse as the cut and also some swelling add to concerns in the challenger's corner. Nationalista tries hard, but he is unable to finish as Hill battles on gamely. Hill battles back, rallying in the later rounds and managing to last the distance, but he falls just short. Nationalista takes a close but UD 12 (116-113, 115-114, 115-114) to keep the belt. He moves to 25-5-2 (9) while Hill, who still has a few good years ahead of him, is now 21-7-1 (15).

Oct. 27, 1928: Back to London, England, where a capacity crowd has gathered at the Olympia for another exciting fight card. Newly crowned JWW king Jack Kid Berg is making his first defense, but first up is a non-title HW contest featuring new Commonwealth Champ Jack "The Gorgeous Gael" Doyle against the highly-regarded Max Schmeling who is back to jump-start his career after tasting defeat for the first time at the hands of Jack DeMave. After a cautious couple of opening rounds, Max begins to find the range early in round three, and Doyle walks into a nice, sharp combination and goes down. He cannot beat the count, and the KO 3 moves Schmeling to 17-1 (15) while Doyle drops to 20-7-2 (15). Schmeling's handlers talk of keeping the Uhlan active, with another bout in the works for next month. After a couple of more preliminary bouts, Jack Kid Berg appears to defend his JWW crown against former USBA Champ Mushy Callahan. Berg is confident, having beaten Callahan twice before. To no surprise and to the crowd's delight, Berg pulls ahead in the early going, and Callahan's left eye shows signings of swelling as early as round four. In round five, Berg traps Callahan in the corner and unleashes a barrage of unanswered blows. Callahan tries to cover up, but Berg makes the most of the opportunity until the ref steps in to save Callahan from further punishment. Very impressive TKO 5 win for Berg, who may need to move to a different division to find more competition. Berg's successful defense runs his record to 20-1-1 (10) while Callahan is now 18-6 (8).

Oct. 27, 1928: Final fight card of the month is at the Polo Grounds in New York City, and two former Olympic Champions are matched to do battle for the WBA Flyweight crown. Frankie Genaro, the defending Champ, is matched with Fidel LaBarba, the current USBA titleholder. Not much happening until round three, when LaBarba suffers a slight nick under his left eye. After five, the Champ has a slight edge on the unofficial card as both men are content to lay back and rely on their boxing skills. LaBarba steps up the pace in the middle rounds to move ahead on the scorecards. The pace picks up in the later rounds as Genaro, seeing his title in jeopardy, presses forward. LaBarba's right eye starts to show noticeable swelling, and Genaro must battle a cut over his left eye. In the penultimate round 14, Genaro surprises LaBarba with a quick hook to the head that forces the challenger to cover up. A late surge over the final four rounds is enough for the judges to give the nod to Genaro by a close but UD 15 (144-142, 144-143, 144-143). Genaro moves to 30-8 (15) while LaBarba, at 19-2-1 (8) is hoping for another shot at the title.