[JCWeb]

Thanks, KC. Getting a renewed bit of energy to push forward recently (maybe it's the cold weather these days, not much else to do). Time to report on some of the March 1928 action:

Mar. 2, 1928: "Friday Night Fights" series comes to the Forum (Molson Arena) in Montreal. Two bouts of note on tonight's card. In the co-main event, Canadian WW Jimmy McLarnin avenges one his two earlier defeats to Baby Joe Gans, taking a SD 10. The main feature bout is another rematch, for the NABF FW title, with Benny Bass defending versus ex-WBA Champ Chick Suggs, with whom we battled to a draw in a prior bout in Nov. 1927. This time, Suggs captures the belt with a UD 12. (Sorry, no details available, as I accidentally simmed this bout.) The win boosts Suggs to 29-9-4 (10) overall while Bass slips to 27-7-3 (10). Frustrated by his lack of progress in the FW ranks, Bass is contemplated a move to JLW.

Mar. 3, 1928: The action moves to Comiskey Park in Chicago. Feature bout is a USBA MW title fight between Dave Shade and Jimmy Darcy. Shade is defending the belt he won last year, while for Darcy it is his first title shot of any kind; Shade holds a MD 10 win over Darcy in a prior bout. This one turns out to be a very entertaining battle. Darcy connects with a couple of good shots, pinning a wobbly Shade against the ropes near the end of round three. Darcy cannot follow up, however, and a round later Shade rips open a cut under Darcy's right eye. The cut is not dangerous but it does cause the momentum of the bout to shift toward Shade. In round eight Shade, who is trailing in the bout, nails Darcy with a big combination that forces the challenger to cover up. By the end of the round Darcy's right eye is starting to swell and there is a second cut, this one above the left eye. Shade continues to apply pressure, flooring Darcy in the final round of the bout. It turns out that the 10-8 round with the knockdown is just enough to secure Shade a narrow UD 12 win (114-113, 114-113, 116-112). Shade moves to 28-11-4 (9) overall while Darcy is now 35-18-4 (14).

Mar. 3, 1928: Cannes, France is the scene of the next fight card, and the ferature bout sees Benny Valgar defending that LW WBA title he won via DQ over Benny Leonard; his opponent is 32-year-old Rocky Kansas, a long-time LW contender who has yet to succeed in his quest for the title. The "French Flash" starts well, using his boxing skills to pile up an early points lead. Kansas rallies in the middle rounds, after taking a more direct approach and picking up the pace as well. A key moment of the bout occurs in round seven, when Kansas survives a hard shot to the top of his head and then drops Valgar for an eight-count in a barrage of blows. A second KD in round 11 secures Kansas a comfortable UD 15 win (143-139, 143-139, 142-140) to capture the WBA title.

Mar. 9, 1928: The next Friday night fight series is back in Miami, and the feature contest pits USBA Flyweight champ Fidel LaBarba against veteran Johnny Buff. This is LaBarba's last fight at Pre, while Buff is at Post-Prime. It proves to be a tough fight for LaBarba, whose right eye starts puffing up as early as round four. Buff stays with LaBarba and is landing more punches throughout the middle rounds of the bout. Both men tire in the later rounds, and LaBarba is fortunate to escape with a SD 12 win (114-115, 115-114, 116-113) to keep the title and wrap up the Pre-Prime stage of his career with an excellent 18-1-1 (8) mark. Buff is now 24-14-2 (8).

Mar. 10, 1928: Action at the Stadium in Liverpool, UK, featuring a 12-round bout for the EBU FW belt, with Young Johnny Brown defending against his countryman, GBU titleholder Dom Volante. It turns out to be a bruising battle, with some great early action in the initial round as Volante puts Brown down, and Brown's left eye starts to show signs of swelling. Brown is cut over the other eye in round four. Midway through the bout, Volante's left eye starts swelling. A second cut, this one above the left eye, bothers Brown starting in round seven. This cut proves to be much more serious than the earlier one, and it leads to a late stoppage. Volante takes a TKO 11 to add the EBU belt to his GBU title. Volante improves to 18-5-2 (14) while Brown slips to 25-8-1 (13).

Mar. 16, 1928: "Friday Night Fights" card in San Francisco, at the Cow Palace. Feature bout is a 12-round USBA title bout, with Martin Burke putting the title on the line against up-and-comer Jim Maloney. Maloney is in his first title bout, and immediately he make an impression in the opening stanza by ripping open a gash over the right eye of Burke. The cut proves to be decisive as, after being reopened twice, it leads to a relatively early stoppage. Maloney takes the belt with a TKO 5, and he moves to 18-2-1 (16), emerging as a possible new title contender in the HW division. Burke, the one-time WBA HW Champ, continues his downslide and is now 31-9-1 (9).

Mar. 17, 1928: Gran Stadium in Havana, Cuba is the scene of the next fight card, with a World title on the line in the feature bout, Panama Al Brown is defending his BW title against Bud "The Blonde Terror of Terre Haute" Taylor. Action is slow to develop in the first few rounds, then Brown steps up the pace and begins building a large points lead. In round seven, he catches a careless Taylor with a nice, short uppercut that sends the challenger to the canvas for a nine-count. In the later rounds, things get even worse as Taylor suffers a cut lip in round 12 and then his right eye starts to swell in round 13. Panama Al goes on to a one-sided UD 15 win for his fourth successful title defense. Brown by UD 15 (144-141, 145-140, 147-138) to move to an excellent 27-3 (13) overall record while Taylor is now 26-9 (9).