| Wallace "Bud" Smith | |
| Height: | 5 ft 6+1/2 in |
| Weight: | Lightweight |
| Nationality: | American |
| Birth Date: | 2 April 1924 |
| Birth Place: | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Death Place: | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Style: | Orthodox |
| Total: | 61 |
| Wins: | 31 |
| Ko: | 18 |
| Losses: | 24 |
| Draws: | 6 |
| No Contests: | 0 |
Wallace "Bud" Smith (April 2, 1924 – July 10, 1973) was a world lightweight boxing champion in 1955, who also competed in the 1948 Olympic Games. His trainer was John Joiner of Cincinnati, and his manager was Vic Marsillo. Smith was murdered in 1973.[1] [2] [3]
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Smith was the 1947 A.A.U. Featherweight Champion. He won Chicago's 1948 lightweight Golden Gloves inter-city tournament with a furious attack against Luis Ortiz, achieving a knockout in 2:45 of the second round. He represented the United States at the 1948 Olympic Games in the lightweight division. Smith defeated Chuck Davey of Michigan State University, to earn a spot on the team.[2]
On August 24, 1949, he defeated Joe Discepoli in a ten-round unanimous decision in Cincinnati to take the USA Ohio State Lightweight Championship. He reportedly ended his amateur career with a 52-4 record.[2]
Smith turned pro on November 29, 1948 with a first-round knockout of Torpedo Tinsley at the Music Hall in Cincinnati. Over the next seven years, Smith established himself as one of the world's top lightweights with victories over top-rated Red Top Davis, Orlando Zulueta, and Arthur Persley.[2] [1]
On November 20, 1954, Smith knocked out Arthur Persley in nine rounds in Miami on his way to his 1955 title shot.[1]
On May 5, 1953, Smith first defeated Cuban prodigy Orlando Zulueta in a ten-round unanimous decision at Cincinnati Gardens. On December 11, 1953, Smith defeated Zulueta again in a ten-round Unanimous Decision at Madison Square Garden.[1] The win helped Smith earn his much desired title bout against Jimmy Carter, as Zuleta was the number two contender for the lightweight crown at the time. In a somewhat close match before a small crowd of only 2,991, Smith's aggressiveness and solid punching won him the match, though Zulueta scored frequently with quick left jabs to the head and rights to the body.[4]
On June 29, 1955, Smith beat the 4-1 odds against him and defeated 3-time world lightweight champion Jimmy Carter in a fifteen-round split decision at Boston Garden to take the title. The fight was fierce and bloody and only 1,983 fans turned out for the contest between the black contestants who were not especially well known. Carter needed fifteen stitches over his eyes to mend from the rough bout, in which he likely took the worst damage of his career. Even Smith needed three stitches to recover from the bout.[5] [1]
Four months later on October 19, 1955, he successfully defended the title against Carter in Cincinnati, winning in a fifteen-round unanimous decision.[6] A national TV audience was unable to see the announcement of the final decision, because one of the judges, Joe Blink, had difficulty in adding up his scorecard, in what Sports Illustrated described as "the long, long count" [7]
On August 24, 1956, Smith lost his title in an upset to Joe Brown in a fifteen-round split decision in New Orleans. Smith was down twice in the fourteenth round. The Associated Press had Smith ahead eight rounds to seven, though the officials gave him a greater lead, and Smith may have won the bout if not for suffering a broken right hand in the second round.[8] In a rematch with Brown on February 13, 1957, Smith lost to Brown in an eleventh-round TKO in Miami. Smith went on to fight one more year, ending his career after losing 11 straight fights, half by knockout.
Smith formally retired from boxing in 1959. The years passed by, and Smith dropped out of the public spotlight. His life was far from an easy one, with several brushes with the law, but the good-natured Smith was a popular figure in his neighborhood.[9]
On July 10, 1973 Smith saw a man beating up a woman in Cincinnati and stepped in. After a struggle, the man pulled a gun and shot Smith in the head, killing him.[10] [9]
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | Loss | 31–24–6 | Gomeo Brennan | TKO | 5 (10) | Apr 1, 1958 | ||
| 60 | Loss | 31–23–6 | Duilio Loi | KO | 9 (10) | Mar 1, 1958 | ||
| 59 | Loss | 31–22–6 | Al Nevarez | UD | 10 | Feb 11, 1958 | ||
| 58 | Loss | 31–21–6 | Bobby Scanlon | TKO | 10 (10) | Oct 31, 1957 | ||
| 57 | Loss | 31–20–6 | Cisco Andrade | TKO | 9 (10) | Jul 25, 1957 | ||
| 56 | Loss | 31–19–6 | Mickey Crawford | UD | 10 | May 23, 1957 | ||
| 55 | Loss | 31–18–6 | Joe Brown | TKO | 11 (15) | Feb 13, 1957 | ||
| 54 | Loss | 31–17–6 | Joe Brown | SD | 15 | Aug 24, 1956 | ||
| 53 | Loss | 31–16–6 | Joe Brown | UD | 10 | May 2, 1956 | ||
| 52 | Loss | 31–15–6 | Tony DeMarco | TKO | 9 (10) | Mar 5, 1956 | ||
| 51 | Loss | 31–14–6 | Larry Boardman | SD | 10 | Feb 7, 1956 | ||
| 50 | Win | 31–13–6 | Jimmy Carter | UD | 15 | Oct 19, 1955 | ||
| 49 | Win | 30–13–6 | Jimmy Carter | SD | 15 | Jun 29, 1955 | ||
| 48 | Draw | 29–13–6 | Johnny Gonsalves | SD | 10 | Jan 8, 1955 | ||
| 47 | Win | 29–13–5 | Arthur Persley | KO | 9 (10) | Nov 20, 1955 | ||
| 46 | Loss | 28–13–5 | Joe Miceli | SD | 10 | Sep 11, 1955 | ||
| 45 | Win | 28–12–5 | Rafel Lastre | KO | 7 (10) | Aug 31, 1955 | ||
| 44 | Win | 27–12–5 | Rafel Lastre | TKO | 9 (10) | Jul 27, 1955 | ||
| 43 | Loss | 26–12–5 | Johnny Gonsalves | MD | 10 | May 1, 1955 | ||
| 42 | Loss | 26–11–5 | Joe Miceli | KO | 5 (10) | Feb 20, 1955 | ||
| 41 | Win | 26–10–5 | Orlando Zulueta | UD | 10 | Dec 11, 1954 | ||
| 40 | Win | 25–10–5 | Billy Hazel | KO | 1 (8) | Nov 5, 1954 | ||
| 39 | Win | 24–10–5 | Arthur King | TKO | 5 (10) | Sep 14, 1954 | ||
| 38 | Win | 23–10–5 | Charley Spicer | RTD | 6 (10) | Aug 24, 1954 | ||
| 37 | Win | 22–10–5 | Carl Coates | TKO | 6 (10) | Aug 3, 1954 | ||
| 36 | Win | 21–10–5 | Johnny Williams | KO | 1 (6) | Jun 26, 1954 | ||
| 35 | Draw | 20–10–5 | Luther Rawlings | MD | 10 | May 19, 1954 | ||
| 34 | Win | 20–10–4 | Orlando Zulueta | UD | 10 | May 5, 1954 | ||
| 33 | Loss | 19–10–4 | Orlando Zulueta | SD | 10 | Mar 23, 1954 | ||
| 32 | Draw | 19–9–4 | Johnny Saxton | SD | 10 | Mar 15, 1954 | ||
| 31 | Win | 19–9–3 | Len Dittmar | TKO | 5 (12) | Sep 15, 1953 | ||
| 30 | Loss | 18–9–3 | George Barnes | PTS | 12 | Aug 18, 1953 | ||
| 29 | Loss | 18–8–3 | George Barnes | PTS | 12 | Jun 6, 1953 | ||
| 28 | Win | 18–7–3 | Frank Flannery | PTS | 12 | May 16, 1953 | ||
| 27 | Win | 17–7–3 | James Montgomery | PTS | 8 | Apr 7, 1953 | ||
| 26 | Win | 16–7–3 | Miguel Mendivil | TKO | 2 (8) | Mar 4, 1953 | ||
| 25 | Win | 15–7–3 | Teddy Davis | SD | 8 | Jan 1, 1953 | ||
| 24 | Loss | 14–7–3 | Miguel Mendivil | PTS | 8 | Nov 27, 1951 | ||
| 23 | Loss | 14–6–3 | Tommy Campbell | MD | 10 | Sep 11, 1951 | ||
| 22 | Draw | 14–5–3 | Orlando Zulueta | PTS | 8 | Jul 23, 1951 | ||
| 21 | Loss | 14–5–2 | Virgil Akins | PTS | 8 | Apr 17, 1951 | ||
| 20 | Draw | 14–4–2 | Dave Marsh | PTS | 8 | Apr 10, 1951 | ||
| 19 | Loss | 14–4–1 | Virgil Akins | PTS | 10 | Apr 4, 1951 | ||
| 18 | Win | 14–3–1 | Frankie Betts | TKO | 2 (6) | Mar 6, 1951 | ||
| 17 | Loss | 13–3–1 | Danny Womber | PTS | 8 | Nov 8, 1950 | ||
| 16 | Draw | 13–2–1 | Jesse Underwood | MD | 10 | Jun 14, 1950 | ||
| 15 | Win | 13–2 | Jay Watkins | UD | 10 | May 3, 1950 | ||
| 14 | Loss | 12–2 | Jimmy Carter | UD | 10 | Mar 28, 1950 | ||
| 13 | Win | 12–1 | Guiseppe Colasanti | UD | 10 | Feb 7, 1950 | ||
| 12 | Win | 11–1 | Paulie Brooks | KO | 4 (10) | Dec 13, 1949 | ||
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | Tommy Campbell | MD | 10 | Nov 14, 1949 | ||
| 10 | Loss | 9–1 | Paulie Brooks | MD | 10 | Oct 25, 1949 | ||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Jay Watkins | KO | 4 (10) | Oct 5, 1949 | ||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Don Bowman | KO | 1 (10) | Sep 20, 1949 | ||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Joe Discepoli | UD | 10 | Aug 24, 1949 | ||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Jesse Underwood | UD | 8 | Jul 11, 1949 | ||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Don Keeling | KO | 2 (6) | May 23, 1949 | ||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Doug Medley | PTS | 8 | Mar 28, 1949 | ||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Doug Medley | PTS | 6 | Feb 28, 1949 | ||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Joe Kelly | TKO | 1 (6) | Jan 24, 1949 | ||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Torpedo Tinsley | KO | 1 (6) | Nov 9, 1948 | ||