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Sep. 21, 1928: It's back "Down Under" for Friday night fights, this time to Melbourne, Australia, with the feature bout being for Tom Heeney's OPBF crown as "the Hard Rock from Down Under" defends versus countryman Brian McCleary. First up, in an interesting preliminary bout, current WBA JLW Champ takes on Australia's own Billy Grime, the current Commonwealth LW king. Grime shows he means business, decking Wagner in the opening round. Wagner recovers, however, and uncorks some strong shots on his own. Midway through the fight, Grime's right eye starts swelling. Wagner takes a close UD 10 (95-94 on all three cards), overcoming the knockdown, a hostile crowd, and moving up in weight class to register an impressive victory. The Heeney-McCleary title bout that wraps up the fight card is a rematch of a 1926 encounter for the same title that was won in a close MD 12 by Heeney. The two Kiwis stage a bruising battle, and Heeney -- after loafing through the first half of the bout -- gradually steps up the pace and exhibits greater endurance and aggressiveness in the second half. McCleary survives the distance despite a cut lip, a swollen left eye, plus the effects of aging after having reached Post-Prime career stage. In a repeat of the earlier result, it's another MD 12 win for Heeney (118-110, 114-114, 117-112); a three or four point margin seemed about right. The win moves Heeney -- who still has World title ambitions -- to 28-9-1 (8) while McCleary slips to 20-10-1 (7).

Sep. 22, 1928: Sports Palace in Rome, Italy is the venue for the next fight card, and featured is an Italian MW, Mario Bosisio, challenging for Len Johnson's EBU title. However, a notable pro debut in the preliminary bout, as Primo Carnera ("the Ambling Alp") takes to the ring, scoring a third round knockdown en route to a UD 4 triumph over an Italian TC, Aldo Troscanti. In the main event, Bosisio is the aggressor for much of the early going, and he nails "Manolito" with a big uppercut midway through the fight. A fairly uneventful bout the rest of the way, and the closeness is reflected in all three judges' scoring -- a draw (114-114 on all three cards) which enables Johnson to keep the belt. Johnson is now 22-8-1 (14) while Bosisio, at 23-8-3 (12), still has a bright future.

Sep. 22, 1928: A packed fight card at Yankee Stadium in New York City is headlined by a World title bout, this time for the WBA FW belt, as Andre Routis accepts the challenge from Louis Kaplan, fighting in Kaplan's backyard after having won the belt on home soil in France. On the undercard is popular HW prospect Jimmy Braddock, who takes on another young HW, Lou Barba. "Cinderella Man" versus "Sweet Lou." Lots of action in round three, as Braddock suffers a cut eye while Barba sports a cut on the mouth. Braddock gradually pulls ahead on points with his solid, plodding style, but late in the bout the cut reopens, spurting out blood. The bout is halted, going as a TKO 8 for Barba due to the cuts stoppage. Tough loss for Braddock, who drops to 13-2-1 (6) after his second loss, while Barba's record is a solid 14-2 (7). Another prelim bout pairs two top 10 BWs, Charley Phil Rosenberg against veteran Abe Goldstein. No KDs in this one, but a cut eye and the effects of Post-Prime aging prevent Goldstein from winning; the UD 10 for Rosenberg moves him to 26-5-2 (11) while Goldstein dips to 35-10-3 (10) overall. Then, the main event, the third in the trilogy as Kaplan tries to reverse the results in two prior meetings, both of which went to Routis. Routis gets off the mark quickly, putting Kaplan on the deck in the opening stanza with a strong shot. In round four, as Kaplan is gaining momentum while displaying some strong boxing skills, a head butt slices open a gash on his forehead. The cut remains a concern, and finally in round 10 the ref decides to call a halt. Since the cut was due to an accidental butt, it goes to the scorecards and Kaplan -- who recovered strongly from the early knockdown -- is fortunate to be ahead on all cards -- Kaplan by UTD 10 (86-84, 87-84, 86-84). He regains the WBA title and moves to 32-16-1 (10) with the win while Routis, who will hit Post-Prime with his next bout, is 33-8-2 (16).

Sep. 28, 1928: Detroit's Briggs Arena is the scene for the next Friday night card; again, a top young prospect is billed on the undercard leading to a world title bout. Tony "the Roman Warrior" Canzoneri, who has lost just once in his first 15 pro bouts, faces another hot young prospect with just one loss, LW Baby Sal Sorio. Sorio surprises Canzoneri when he puts him on the deck with a strong combination for an eight-count in round one. A second KD follows in round two. The gritty Canzoneri claws his way back into the bout, cleverly shifting between fighting inside and outside, piling up enough points to overcome the early deficit from the early KDs. Sorio is bothered by a swollen right eye in the late rounds, and he fades in the later rounds. Canzoneri takes a UD 10 (96-92, 96-92, 95-93) to run his record to 15-1 (11) compared to 16-2 (12) for Sorio. The LH title bout follows, and defending Champ Loughran, making his eighth defense of the title he won back in 1926, suffers an early setback when a gash is opened over his left eye in round two. Some good cornerwork by ace cutman Eddie "The Clot" Aliano patches things up, and the cut does not become an issue later on in the fight. Brown can make no impression on the slick boxing Loughran, who impresses the judges by fighting outside for most of the bout, piling up an insurmountable points lead that enables him to relax in the later rounds, adopting a defensive posture while protecting the cut. The bout goes the distance with no knockdowns, and the cards reveal a lopsided UD 15 win for Loughran (150-134, 148-137, 148-136). Loughran moves to 34-4-2 (12) while Brown, who will hit Post-Prime with his next bout, is now 22-10-1 (18).

Sep. 29, 1928: More fight action in London, England, this time at the venerable Harringay Arena where LW turned WW Benny Leonard battles long-time top British WW, Ted Kid Lewis, in a much anticipated matchup of two likely Hall of Famers. At this point in his career, however, Lewis is a step slower and thus no match for the quicker and more accurate Leonard. Benny starts strongly, catching Lewis with a nice uppercut in round three that forces the Englishman to cover up. One round later, he decks Lewis with a strong combination. Midway through the scheduled 10-rounder, Lewis' left eye begins to swell. Two more KDs follow a couple of rounds later, and then the ref steps in to call a halt. Leonard by TKO 7 to move "the Ghetto Wizard" to 71-3-1 (40) while Lewis falls to 52-18-4 (22).

Sep. 29, 1928: Final fight card of the month is south of the border at the Mexico City Arena. Once again, it's a co-feature twinbill with two different titles at stake. First up, though, is the fourth ring battle between two top HWs, Young Stribling and the aging Harry Wills; Stribling had wins in two of three prior encounters. It's a close contest for the early rounds, and Stribling is able to grind out a UD 10 win (96-94, 98-94, 97-94) in a bout with no knockdowns or notable fireworks. Stribling moves to 28-5-1 (17) after the bout, while the loss has Wills at 58-10-1 (46). Next up is a battle for the North American Flyweight crown, formerly held by Frankie Genaro who is now WBA Champ. Cuban Black Bill is matched with Lew Perfetti for the vacant title. The two are evenly matched, and Perfetti pulls ahead in the first three or four rounds. Then Black Bill gets on track, and Perfetti's left eye starts to swell in round five, with a cut being opened over the eye in round six. The Cuban seems to be control heading into the late rounds, but a late rally by Perfetti nets him narrow UD 12 win (115-114, 116-112, 115-113). Perfetti moves to 21-8-2 (10) as a result, while Black Bill is at 20-9-4 (9). Final bout is for the WBA BW title, with Panama Al Brown defending for the sixth time. His opponent is EBU Champion Tommy Milton, whom the Panamanian dominated in an earlier bout back in 1924 when Milton was at Pre-Prime. Brown starts methodically, gradually building a solid points lead. Milton lacks the firepower to mount a comeback. By the end of the eighth round, Milton's right eye starts to swell. Two rounds later, Panama Al catches Milton with a short, clean cross for the fight's only knockdown. Milton is fortunate to last the distance but is way behind on the scorecards. Another impressive UD 15 verdict for Panama Al Brown (148-135, 144-139, 145-138) to run his record to 30-3 (13) while Milton is now 20-9-2 (9). The title shot may be the high point of Milton's career, as he is due to hit Post-Prime in 1929.