Joey Archibald

Joey Archibald (February 20, 1914 – February 3, 1998) was an Undisputed Featherweight boxing champion in April 1939. He was managed by Al Weill, and his trainer was Charlie Goldman.

Early life Archibald was born on February 20, 1914, in Providence, Rhode Island. He attended Providence College before his boxing career took off, and once studied for the priesthood. In a similar scoring, the United Press gave nine rounds to Archibald, with three to Belloise, and three even.

On December 5, 1938, while still holding the NYSAC featherweight title, Archibald lost to Petey Scalzo in a second-round knockout at Royal Windsor Arena in New York. The bout was not a title fight, and certainly not recognized as one by the National Boxing Association (NBA), a sanctioning body with a wider range and more prestige than the NYSAC. In the first round, Archibald received a hard right to the chin, but managed to rally to keep the round even. After finding an opening in the second round, Scalzo delivered three powerful right hooks to the chin of Archibald that dropped him 2 minutes, and 10 seconds after the bell. The win would cement Scalzo as the leading contender for the National Boxing Association's world featherweight championship, though Archibald's management never scheduled a rematch.

On February 6, 1939, Archibald defeated Al Mancini at Rhode Island Auditorium in Providence in a ten-round non-title points decision.

Loss of NBA World Feather title, April, 1940 The NBA withdrew the world featherweight title from Archibald in April 1940 for his refusal to fight leading contenders, particularly Petey Scalzo.

Loss of NYSAC World Feather Title, May, 1940 Archibald lost the NYSAC and Baltimore version of the world featherweight title to Harry Jeffra on May 20, 1940, in a fifteen-round Unanimous Decision at the Coliseum in Baltimore. Jeffra was knocked to the canvas three times in the second round, twice for a count of nine. The Associated Press gave Jeffra seven rounds, Archibald three, with five even.

Retaking the NYSAC World Feather title, May, 1941 Archibald regained the NYSAC version of the world featherweight title from Jeffra on May 12, 1941, in a fifteen-round split decision at Griffith Stadium in Washington before a small crowd of 1,800. With his victory, he also won championship recognition from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and California. Starting as an underdog at odds of 8-5, Archibald came back in the ninth through fourteenth rounds after suffering from a slow start that saw Jeffra leading on points, and then weathered a furious attack from Jeffra in the final round. In a close bout, only referee scored for Jeffra, with both judges backing Archibald.

Final loss of NYSAC World Feather title, September 1941 Jeffra's reign was short lived as Chalky Wright knocked him out on September 11, 1941, before a crowd of 5,500 overtook the crown in an eleventh-round knockout at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C.

Before a crowd of 5,500 on June 23, 1942, Archibald lost to the great and undefeated Willie Pep, at Bulkely Stadium, Hartford, Connecticut in an eight-round points decision. There was only one knockdown in the bout when Archibald hit the canvas for a fleeting second in the seventh round. Referee Louis "Kid" Kaplan scored all eight rounds for Pep. Archibald, who still had his speed, was unable to land more than three punches that landed cleanly against the crafty Pep, who retained an exceptional defense throughout the bout which lacked thrills but was clearly an exceptional display between two highly skilled opponents.

Despite his fine effort against Jeffra to regain the title, Archibald appeared to be a fighter in decline after 1939, though he continued to fight high quality opponents. He lost 27 out of 34 fights from July 1939 until his retirement from the ring in August 1943. His final record was 60 wins (29 KOs), 42 losses and 5 draws.

Professional boxing record

Titles in boxing Major world titles NYSAC featherweight champion (126 lbs) (2×) NBA (WBA) featherweight champion (126 lbs)

The Ring magazine titles The Ring featherweight champion (126 lbs) (2×)

Regional/International titles New England featherweight champion (126 lbs)

Undisputed titles Undisputed featherweight champion