| C. C. Smith | |
| Realname: | Charles C. Smith |
| Nationality: | American |
| Nickname: | The Black Thunderbolt |
| Birth Date: | 3 May 1860 |
| Birth Place: | Macon, Georgia |
| Total: | 66 |
| Wins: | 40 |
| Ko: | 32 |
| Losses: | 14 |
| Draws: | 5 |
| No Contests: | 7 |
C.C. Smith (May 3, 1860? – October 1, 1924), a.k.a. Charles C. Smith, Charles A.C. Smith, and Charlie Smith, was an African American boxer who claimed the status of being the World Colored Heavyweight Champ and was the first boxer recognized as such.
Smith was born in Macon, Georgia, likely into slavery, and he and his mother moved north in 1865. His birth date is given as May 3, 1860, but since he supposedly did not begin boxing until he was 19 and claimed the title in 1876, the birth year likely is spurious. Some sources cite 1869 as the year his boxing career began, and others 1879, which would have been three years after he claimed the championship.
He began fighting as a bareknuckle boxer. The 5'11" Smith, whose moniker was "The Black Thunderbolt", fought as a heavyweight out of Buffalo, New York. Bill Muldoon, his manager, said he was a great pugilist possessed of cunning and a terrific punch. He reportedly fought 225 bouts.[1]
In 1891, he traveled with Muldoon's traveling carnival, where he boxed with future lightweight champ Joe Gans, who was beginning his career. Gans would become the first African American to hold a world's championship boxing title.[2]
Smith killed a man in the ring. On October 24, 1894, Amos Theis died of injuries inflicted by Smith during a bout in Louisville, Kentucky.[3]
In 1903, when he was in his forties or fifties, he fought and defeated the former British Heavyweight champ, 40-year-old Jem Smith,in Manchester, Lancashire, England via a knockout. He reportedly fought Colored Heavyweight Champ (and future world heavyweight champ) Jack Johnson in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1906, but it was likely an exhibition or never occurred due to Smith's age.
Smith's official record is 39 wins (33 by knockout) against 14 losses (he was KO-ed nine times) and five draws. He also recorded one newspaper decision win.[4]
He died on October 1, 1924.
In 2020 award-winning author Mark Allen Baker published the first comprehensive account of The World Colored Heavyweight Championship, 1876-1937, with McFarland & Company, a leading independent publisher of academic & nonfiction books. This history traces the advent and demise of the Championship, the stories of the talented professional athletes who won it, and the demarcation of the color line both in and out of the ring.
For decades the World Colored Heavyweight Championship was a useful tool to combat racial oppression-the existence of the title as a leverage mechanism, or tool, used as a technique to counter a social element known as “drawing the color line.”
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 66 | Win | 40–14–5 | Contaden | KO | ? | Jul 15, 1903 | ||
| 65 | Win | 39–14–5 | Jem Smith | KO | ? | Jun 15, 1903 | ||
| 64 | ND | 38–14–5 | Billy Rhodes | ND | 4 | Aug 15, 1901 | ||
| 63 | Loss | 38–14–5 | Jim Fitzpatrick | TKO | 7 (20) | Oct 25, 1899 | ||
| 62 | Win | 38–13–5 | Tom McCarthy | DQ | 3 (20) | Mar 6, 1899 | ||
| 61 | Loss | 37–13–5 | George Gardiner | KO | 7 (?) | Dec 25, 1898 | ||
| 60 | Loss | 37–12–5 | Ed Dunkhorst | PTS | 20 | Nov 24, 1898 | ||
| 59 | Win | 37–11–5 | Johnny Ruhlin | PTS | 4 | Oct 15, 1898 | ||
| 58 | Loss | 36–11–5 | Peter Maher | KO | 3 (6) | Feb 15, 1898 | ||
| 57 | Win | 36–10–5 | Jim Delaney | KO | 2 (?), | May 31, 1897 | ||
| 56 | Win | 35–10–5 | Fred Taylor | KO | 1 (?) | May 10, 1897 | ||
| 55 | Win | 34–10–5 | George Watson | KO | 1 (20), | Mar 26, 1897 | ||
| 54 | Loss | 33–10–5 | Peter Maher | PTS | 6 | Feb 15, 1897 | ||
| 53 | Win | 33–9–5 | Al Murphy | PTS | 3 | Nov 20, 1896 | ||
| 52 | Win | 32–9–5 | Mike Queenan | TKO | 2 (20) | Aug 6, 1896 | ||
| 51 | Win | 31–9–5 | Amos Thesis | KO | ? | Oct 24, 1894 | ||
| 50 | Loss | 30–9–5 | Jack Slattery | DQ | 5 (?) | Jan 11, 1894 | ||
| 49 | ND | 30–8–5 | John Hughes | ND | 4 | Sep 5, 1893 | ||
| 48 | Draw | 30–8–5 | Con Riordon | PTS | 4 | Jul 4, 1893 | ||
| 47 | Win | 30–8–4 | Jerry Slattery | KO | 1 (?) | Jun 15, 1893 | ||
| 46 | Loss | 29–8–4 | Con Coughlin | DQ | 3 (?) | Apr 15, 1893 | ||
| 45 | Win | 29–7–4 | John Jackson | KO | 1 (?) | Apr 14, 1893 | ||
| 44 | Win | 28–7–4 | Con Coughlin | KO | 1 (?) | Apr 13, 1893 | ||
| 43 | Win | 27–7–4 | Mike Brennan | DQ | 3 (6) | Nov 26, 1892 | ||
| 42 | Loss | 26–7–4 | Joe Choynski | KO | 4 (?) | Nov 21, 1892 | ||
| 41 | Win | 26–6–4 | Mike Brennan | KO | 3 (?) | Nov 5, 1892 | ||
| 40 | Loss | 25–6–4 | Joe Butler | KO | 3 (?) | Oct 5, 1892 | ||
| 39 | Win | 25–5–4 | Frank Craig | KO | 2 (?) | Sep 12, 1892 | ||
| 38 | ND | 24–5–4 | Frank Craig | ND | 4 | Aug 29, 1892 | ||
| 37 | Loss | 24–5–4 | George Godfrey | KO | 4 (?) | Aug 15, 1892 | ||
| 36 | Win | 24–4–4 | Bill Gabig | TKO | 2 (4) | Apr 25, 1892 | ||
| 35 | Win | 23–4–4 | Billy Baker | KO | 9 (?) | Sep 1, 1891 | ||
| 34 | Loss | 22–4–4 | Billy Baker | PTS | 9 | Jul 1, 1891 | ||
| 33 | ND | 22–3–4 | Fred Morris | ND | 6 | May 15, 1891 | ||
| 32 | Draw | 22–3–4 | George Godfrey | PTS | 6 | Jan 15, 1885 | ||
| 31 | Win | 22–3–3 | Edward McKeown | KO | 2 (?) | Nov 20, 1884 | ||
| 30 | 21–3–3 | Big Sullivan | NC | 1 (?) | Oct 27, 1884 | |||
| 29 | Loss | 21–3–3 | Tom Robinson | KO | 1 (?) | Mar 18, 1884 | ||
| 28 | Loss | 21–2–3 | Mervine Thompson | KO | 8 (?) | Mar 10, 1884 | ||
| 27 | Win | 21–1–3 | Charles Hadley | DQ | 2 (?) | Feb 2, 1884 | ||
| 26 | ND | 20–1–3 | Charles Hadley | ND | 4 | Dec 15, 1883 | ||
| 25 | Draw | 20–1–3 | Tommy Cleary | PTS | 6 | Nov 15, 1883 | ||
| 24 | Draw | 20–1–2 | Jack Stewart | PTS | 6 | Oct 5, 1883 | ||
| 23 | Loss | 20–1–1 | Jack Stewart | TKO | 2 (6), | Aug 16, 1883 | ||
| 22 | 20–0–1 | Harry Woodson | ND | 3 | Jul 16, 1883 | |||
| 21 | Win | 20–0–1 | Thomas McAlpine | PTS | 4 | Apr 18, 1883 | ||
| 20 | Win | 19–0–1 | W. Shipman | KO | ? | Apr 17, 1883 | ||
| 19 | Win | 18–0–1 | Professor Corlin | KO | ? | Apr 16, 1883 | ||
| 18 | Win | 17–0–1 | Amos Lavender | KO | ? | Apr 15, 1883 | ||
| 17 | Draw | 16–0–1 | Professor John Donaldson | PTS | 4 | Nov 14, 1882 | ||
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Dan Carr | KO | 8 (?) | Jan 15, 1882 | ||
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Dan Carr | KO | 4 (?) | Nov 11, 1881 | ||
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Bill Johnson | KO | 2 (?) | Aug 15, 1881 | ||
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Professor John Donaldson | KO | 4 (?) | Jun 15, 1881 | ||
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Maurice Casey | PTS | 4 | Mar 15, 1881 | ||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Joseph Massie | KO | 8 (?) | Nov 16, 1879 | ||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Jack Chapel | KO | 12 (?) | Aug 15, 1879 | ||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Jim Whalen | KO | 23 (?) | Jul 12, 1879 | ||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Jack Silver Bill Driscoll | KO | 3 (?) | Jun 29, 1879 | ||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Steve Taylor | KO | 14 (?) | Jun 22, 1879 | ||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Mike Green | KO | 29 (?) | Jun 15, 1879 | ||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Mervine Thompson | PTS | 3 | May 15, 1879 | ||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | William Spillings | KO | ? | Apr 15, 1879 | ||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Battler Stevenson | KO | ? | Mar 15, 1879 | ||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Ed Gray | KO | ? | Feb 15, 1879 | ||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Welsh | KO | ? | Jan 15, 1879 | ||