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Now, on to the first of the year-end wrapups which will be telescoped into one post, given that the details of the title bouts were posted as they happened.

1928 -- HW Report

Titles and Title Bouts

WBA: Jack Sharkey unseated Gene Tunney (UD 15) then defended twice, versus Jim Maloney (TKO 12) and Tom Heeney (UD 15).

NABF: George Godfrey defended twice, versus Young Stribling (UD 12) and Pat Lester (TKO 9) before losing to Lanky Ralph Smith (TKO 2).

USBA: Title changed hands twice in two bouts. Jim Maloney defeated Martin Burke (TKO 5), then Pat Lester ousted Maloney (TKO 5).

CBU: The Gorgeous Gael, Jack Doyle, captured the belt from George Thompson early in the year (KO 11).

GBU: "Fainting" Phil Scott regained the title from Tom Cowler via a TKO 10.

EBU: Bartley Madden held on to the belt by fighting to a draw with Jack Humbeeck, but then Paulino Uzcudan took a MD 12 from Madden to take the belt.

OPBF: Tom Heeney regained the belt via a UD 12 over Cyril Whitaker and defended versus Brian McCleary (MD 12).

Division Profile

Total: 211 RL: 131 TC: 80

RL by Career Stage:
End - 9
Post - 15
Prime - 53
Pre - 40
Beginning - 14 (7 New)

Rated: 89
800+: 14
500+: 40
200+ : 79

Jan 1929 Rankings (Perf Points and Changes from Jan. 1928 in Parens):

Champ: Jack Sharkey 21-2 (14) (1395) (+17)
1. Young Stribling 29-5-1 (18) (1524) (+2)
2. Larry Gains 23-4 (14) (1408) (NC)
3. Floyd Johnson 26-6-1 (21) (1185) (+7)
4. Harry Wills 58-11-1 (46) (1184) (NC)
5. Lanky Ralph Smith 20-6-1 (7) (1163) (+48) (NABF Champ)
6. George Godfrey 37-8-1 (26) (1120) (-5)
7. Jack DeMave 21-3-2 (11) (1095) (+5)
8. Gene Tunney 42-10-3 (25) (1055) (-8)
9. Jack Dempsey 52-9-1 (47) (1003 (-4)
10. Erminio Spalla 29-11 (21) (970) (+8)

Others: 12. Pat Lester 23-5 (20) (879) (-1) (USBA Champ)
14. Tom Heeney 28-10-1 (8) (794) (+1) (OPBF Champ)
15. Paulino Uzcudan 23-3-1 (11) (791) (+5) (EBU Champ)
21. Jack Doyle 20-7-2 (15) (702) (+15) (CBU Champ)
40. Phil Scott 24-15-2 (6) (491) (+29) (GBU Champ)

Top Ten: Wills, Tunney and Dempsey at Post; everyone else at Prime. Lots of turnover with five newcomers to the top 10 compared to last year. Sharkey won all four bouts in 1928, taking advantage of an aging Gene Tunney to zoom all the way to the top spot. However, Stribling and Gains have higher Perf Point totals. Stribling has won his last three, whacking out Fred Fulton in two and taking the measure of aging veterans Wills and Tunney, after starting off the year on a sour note by dropping a NABF title tilt with Godfrey. Larry Gains recovered from two straight losses with UD wins over Martin Burke and Jack Dorval. Floyd Johnson ran his consecutive win streak to five, featuring stoppages of Weinert and George Thompson along with a pair of UDs over Wills and DeMave. Wills maintained a top five spot despite three straight losses to Tunney, Stribling and Johnson. Newly-crowned NABF titleholder Lanky Ralph Smith shot up the rankings by virtue of his quick stoppage of Godfrey, following up with a UD win over Bartley Madden; Smith has now won nine in a row, his last loss back in 1926. Godfrey impressed with stoppages of Lester and Heeney, in addition to a UD win over Stribling, but the surprising loss to Smith has halted his progress as well as snapping an eight-bout unbeaten skein. DeMave pulled off two notable upset wins, a stoppage of Schmeling and a win over Tunney, offsetting a UD loss to Johnson earlier in the year. Tunney slipped dramatically, winning just one of four bouts after hitting Post-Prime. His long-time rival Dempsey also struggling, dropping two of three before recovering with a UD 10 win over lower-rated Aussie George Cook. Spalla moved to the top ten with impressive wins over Dempsey and Spaniard Paulino Uzcudan.

Other Notables: Martin Burke dropped five spots to #11, suffering losses to Jim Maloney (via TKO) and Larry Gains but recovering with a MD over George Thompson. Lester captured the USBA title but could not sustain the momentum in his next bout, where he suffered a TKO loss to Godfrey. Maloney finished up the year at #13, struggling in title losses to Lester and Sharkey after starting well with the TKO win over ex-Champ Burke. Heeney remained in contention, but his uneven record (2-2, losing both non-OPBF title bouts) means further success is problematic. Uzcudan, on the other hand, appears to be on the verge of moving further forward, taking the EBU crown from Madden after winning a rematch from Cook (after a drawn first bout). One spot behind in #16 is the "Black Uhlan," Max Schmeling, who recovered from his first career loss (to DeMave) with successive TKO wins over CBU Champ Doyle and Van Der Veer. At 18-1 (16), Max is set to move up to Prime after his next outing. Other top 10 dropouts include Fred Fulton, who ended at #17 (down from 7th last year) after KO losses to Dorval and Stribling put him at Post-Prime at 40-17-1 (32) overall, and long-time CBU and EBU Champ Bartley Madden, who slipped from #9 to #18, after going winless for the second year in a row. Frankie Campbell finished the year strongly, with three wins in a row to end up at #19, sporting a 22-4-1 (16) career mark. Swede Harry Persson won all five of his 1928 bouts, and his 22-5 (15) career total is good for 20th spot in this year's rankings. CBU Champ Doyle had a four-bout winning streak going before being outclassed (by Schmeling and Wills) in his last two outings. Aussie George Thompson, former CBU titleholder, tumbled from #8 to #22 after going winless (one draw and three losses) in 1928. Top newcomer to the list is Tom Sayers, who checks in at #27 after going 4-0 in 1928, including KOs over Joe Sekyra and "Hoot" Burger, following with a UD over Lou Barba to move to 15-2 (11) overall. Sekyra, who is now 15-2 (12), debuts at #34. Two spots lower, at #36, is Jack Gross, who dropped a SD to Elmer Ray but recovered with an impressive UD 10 win over Burger. Much further down the list is Jimmy Braddock, whose early losses meant his 13-2-1 (6) career start was only good for 52nd spot in this year's rankings.

Prospects: Elmer "Kid Violent" Ray remained unbeaten, KOing opponents like Ernie Schaaf and Emmett Rocco after scraping through with a split duke over Jack Gross to end the year at 13-0 (10). Norwegian Otto Von Porat bounced back from his first career loss to Schmeling with three wins (a SD over Canadian Angus Snyder, a MD over Brit Don Shortland and a KO over Belgian Gustav Limousin) to end up 1928 at 13-1 (9). Highly touted Welshman Tommy Farr struggled, dropping three in a row after winning his first 11, including TKO losses to Shortland and a TC, to check in at 11-3 (8). Still unbeaten were Ben Pound, at 11-0 (9), Ad Warren, 10-0 (10 KOs) and Jimmy Mendes, 10-0 (9). Also off to a good start, Tony Galento (2 KO wins in his first two pro bouts), Primo Carnera (2 wins, 1 KO) and King Levinsky (2 wins, no KOs).

Retirements: A record-tying nine departures from the HW ranks in 1928.

Willie Meehan (USA) 1909-28 40-36-6 (8) No Titles Highest Rank: 20
Cyril Whitaker (NZL) 1922-28 18-6-1 (6) OPBF Champ Highest Rank: 14
Tom Cowler (UK) 1910-28 34-25-5 (16) GBU Champ Highest Rank: 31
Bill Tate (USA) 1912-28 32-29-4 (13) No Titles Highest Rank: 19
Jack Thompson (USA) 1913-28 30-24-7 (12) USBA Champ Highest Rank: 12
Al Roberts (USA) 1919-28 22-15-1 (11) No Titles Highest Rank: 16
Battling Jim McCreary (USA) 1918-28 24-16-6 (11) No Titles Highest Rank: 21
Al Reich (USA) 1913-28 35-26 (23) No Titles Highest Rank: 28
Bob Roper (USA) 1919-28 28-13-3 (16) No Titles Highest Rank: 6

Looking Ahead: The changing of the guard continues at the top of the HW division, as all seven of the titles changed hands during the year. Nevertheless, after two successful defenses, Sharkey seems likely to remain kind of an interim Champion until someone better comes along. Schmeling, once he hits Prime, seems a likely challenger. Young Stribling could also regain the WBA title. Gains and Johnson are likely to be candidates for the NABF title -- alot of folks are discounting the current NABF Champ, Lanky Ralph Smith, as yet to be tested against the cream of the top HWs. Doyle is likely to face a serious challenge for the CBU belt from the likes of Gains, Heeney, perhaps Don Shortland or Phil Scott. Shortland, who is off to a 14-1 career start, may require some further seasoning before challenging for Scott's GBU title. Frankie Campbell, Tuffy Griffith and Tom Sayers will look for opportunities to move up and perhaps challenge for the USBA title. In Europe, while Uzcudan is a deserving Champion, DeMave, E. Spalla, Schmeling and Persson are on the short list of strong challengers for the EBU belt. Max Baer, the Livermore Larruper, leads the seven newcomers to the HW ranks in 1929.