[3] Setting himself up for a title shot on September 12, 1938, he defeated Tony Dupre, former holder of the 1936 USA New England Bantamweight Title, in a ten-round points decision at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C.[2] Archibald won the NYSAC version of the then vacant world featherweight championship when he defeated Mike Belloise, former NYSE featherweight champion, in a fifteen-round points decision at New York's lost boxing shrine, St. Nicholas Arena, on October 17, 1938.

[5][6] 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.

[7] 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.

[2] He gained universal recognition and the NBA world featherweight championship when he defeated Leo Rodak before a crowd of 5,500 on April 18, 1939, in a fifteen-round points decision at Rhode Island Auditorium in Providence.

In the thirteenth and fourteenth, with the bout close but Archibald leading by a shade, Rodak broke loose and gained the advantage with long and wary rights.

[11][3] He defeated Henry Jeffra in his first defense of the featherweight world title in a fifteen-round split decision on September 28, 1939, at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C.

The sports writers who covered the bout unanimously favored Jeffra, as did the crowd of 10,000 who heavily booed and threw newspapers into the ring for five minutes after the split decision was announced.

[14] 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.

[16][17] 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.