Mysterious Billy Smith
| Mysterious Billy Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Amos Smith |
| Rated at | Welterweight |
| Height | 5 ft 8.5 in (1.74 m) |
| Nationality |
Canadian  |
| Born |
May 15, 1871 Little River, Digby County, Nova Scotia |
| Died |
October 14, 1937 (aged 66) Portland, Oregon |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 91 |
| Wins | 34 |
| Wins by KO | 22 |
| Losses | 25 |
| Draws | 27 |
| No contests | 5 |
Amos M. Smith (May 15, 1871 – October 15, 1937), known during his career as Mysterious Billy Smith, was a Canadian boxer. He adopted the name “Billy” before turning professional in 1890. He acquired his nickname when a newspaper reporter questioned, “Who is this mysterious Billy Smith?”
Biography
Smith turned pro in 1890 and in his ninth fight, he knocked out Danny Needham to win the World welterweight championship in 1892.[1] He held on to it until Tommy Ryan beat him on points in 1894.[1] He won back the vacant title in 1898 by beating Matty Matthews, and lost it again in 1900 to Rube Ferns.[1] Smith bowed out in 1915 when stopped by Jack Root. During his career, Smith scored wins over Young Peter Jackson, Hall of Famers “Barbados” Joe Walcott and George “Kid” Lavigne.
Smith died at the age of 66 in Portland, Oregon, where he ran a saloon called “The Champion's Rest.”
He was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009.
Fighting style
Standing 5' 8 ½”, Smith was a talented two-fisted battler with quick hands who entered the ring ready to wage war. He often displayed a blatant disregard for the rules, resorting to a variety of foul tactics including but not limited to elbows, butts, knees and sometimes even biting. Smith was notorious for having a very roughhouse fighting style in the ring and was disqualified 13 times, more than any other boxer in history. His tactics earned him the label as “The Dirtiest Fighter Who Ever Lived.”
Professional boxing record
| 32 Wins (22 Knockouts), 22 Defeats (8 Knockouts), 26 Draws , 5 No Contests[2] | |||||||
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 32-22-26 |  Jack Root |
TKO | 6 (6) | 1915-12-29 | Rose City A.C, Portland, Oregon |
|
| Loss | 32-21-26 | Jim Cameron |
DQ | 3 (4) | 1911-07-21 | Dreamland Rink, San Francisco, California |
|
| Win | 32-20-26 | Al Neill |
PTS | 10 | 1910-06-10 | Exposition Rink, Portland, Oregon |
|
| Loss | 31-20-26 |  Barbados Joe Walcott |
TKO | 4 (20) | 1903-05-28 | Columbia A.C, Portland, Oregon |
|
| Loss | 31-19-26 |  Tommy Ryan |
KO | 4 (10), 1:35 | 1902-03-14 | Turner Hall, Kansas City, Missouri |
|
| Loss | 31-18-26 | Al Neill |
DQ | 10 (20) | 1902-01-23 | Pastime A.C, Portland, Oregon |
|
| Draw | 31-17-26 | Al Neill |
PTS | 20 | 1901-11-29 | Exposition Building, Portland, Oregon |
|
| Draw | 31-17-25 |  Tom Tracey |
PTS | 20 | 1901-10-25 | Exposition Building, Portland, Oregon |
|
| Draw | 31-17-24 | George Byers |
PTS | 15 | 1901-08-19 | Exposition Building, Saint John, New Brunswick |
|
| Loss | 31-17-23 | Young Peter Jackson |
TKO | 2 | 1901-06-14 | Germania Maennerchor Hall, Baltimore, Maryland |
|
| Draw | 31-16-23 | Tim Hurley |
PTS | 20 | 1901-03-21 | Opera House, New London, Connecticut |
|
| Draw | 31-16-22 | Owen Ziegler |
PTS | 10 (20) | 1901-02-12 | Lake City A.C, Erie, Pennsylvania |
|
| NC | 31-16-21 | Jack Mahoney |
NC | 11 | 1900-12-27 | Paterson, New Jersey |
|
| Draw | 31-16-21 |  Mike Donovan |
PTS | 20 | 1900-11-22 | Metropolitan A.C., Wheeling, West Virginia |
|
| Loss | 31-16-20 | Jim Judge |
DQ | 11 | 1900-11-14 | Savannah, Georgia |
|
| Loss | 31-15-20 | Barbados Joe Walcott |
DQ | 10 (20) | 1900-09-24 | Coliseum, Hartford, Connecticut |
|
| Win | 31-14-20 | Young Peter Jackson |
TKO | 18 | 1900-09-11 | Cleveland, Ohio |
|
| Loss | 30-14-20 | Jimmy Handler |
DQ | 15 (25) | 1900-06-29 | Broadway A.C., New York, New York |
|
| Loss | 30-13-20 | Barbados Joe Walcott |
PTS | 25 | 1900-05-04 | Broadway A.C., New York, New York |
|
| Loss | 30-12-20 | Matty Matthews |
KO | 19 (25), 0:28 | 1900-04-17 | Broadway A.C., New York, New York |
|
| Draw | 30-11-20 | Jack Mahoney |
PTS | 25 | 1900-03-12 | Hercules A.C., Brooklyn, New York |
|
| Win | 30-11-19 | Frank McConnell |
KO | 22 (25) | 1900-01-26 | Broadway A.C., New York, New York |
|
| Loss | 29-11-19 | Rube Ferns |
DQ | 21 (25) | 1900-01-15 | Hawthorne A.C., Buffalo, New York |
Lost World Welterweight Championship |
| Win | 29-10-19 | Charlie McKeever |
PTS | 20 | 1899-11-08 | Broadway A.C., New York, New York |
|
| Draw | 28-10-19 | Billy Stift |
PTS | 6 | 1899-09-29 | Star Theatre, Chicago, Illinois |
|
| Win | 28-10-18 | Bob Douglass |
KO | 4 (20) | 1899-09-25 | Olympic A.C., Denver, Colorado |
|
| Draw | 27-10-18 | Andy Walsh |
PTS | 25 | 1899-08-04 | Broadway A.C., New York, New York |
|
| Draw | 27-10-17 | Charlie McKeever |
PTS | 20 | 1899-06-30 | Broadway A.C., New York, New York |
|
| Win | 27-10-16 | Kid Lavigne |
TKO | 14 (20) | 1899-03-10 | Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California |
Retained World Welterweight Championship |
| Win | 26-10-16 | Australian Billy Edwards |
KO | 14 (20) | 1899-01-24 | Lenox A.C., New York, New York |
|
| Win | 25-10-16 | Barbados Joe Walcott |
PTS | 20 | 1898-12-06 | Lenox A.C., New York, New York |
|
| Draw | 24-10-16 |  Tommy West |
PTS | 20 | 1898-11-14 | Horizon A.C., Bridgeport, Connecticut |
|
| Win | 24-10-15 | Charlie McKeever |
PTS | 25 | 1898-10-07 | Lenox A.C., New York, New York |
Retained World Welterweight Championship |
| Win | 23-10-15 | Jim Judge |
KO | 20 (20) | 1898-10-03 | American S.C., Scranton, Pennsylvania |
|
| Draw | 22-10-15 | Andy Walsh |
PTS | 25 | 1898-09-05 | Greater New York A.C, Coney Island, New York |
|
| Win | 22-10-14 | Matty Matthews |
PTS | 25 | 1898-08-25 | Lenox A.C., New York, New York |
Won World Welterweight Championship |
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Golesworthy, Maurice (1988) Encyclopaedia of Boxing, Robert Hale, ISBN 0-7090-3323-0, p. 224
- ↑ Mysterious Billy Smith's Professional Boxing Record. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2014-09-29.
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant Title last held by Paddy Duffy |
World Welterweight Champion December 14, 1892 – July 26, 1894 |
Succeeded by Tommy Ryan |
| Vacant Title last held by Tommy Ryan |
World Welterweight Champion August 25, 1898 – April 17, 1900 |
Succeeded by Matty Matthews |