Mysterious Billy Smith

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?”

Mysterious Billy Smith
Statistics
Real nameAmos Smith
Weight(s)Welterweight
Height5 ft 8 1⁄2 in (174 cm)
NationalityCanadian
Born(1871-05-15)May 15, 1871
Little River, Digby County, Nova Scotia, Canada
DiedOctober 14, 1937(1937-10-14) (aged 66)
Portland, Oregon, US
Boxing record
Total fights91
Wins34
Wins by KO22
Losses25
Draws27
No contests5

Biography
Portrait of Smith

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 1902.[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
34 Wins (22 Knockouts), 25 Defeats (8 Knockouts), 27 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 lineal welterweight title
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 lineal welterweight title
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 lineal welterweight title
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 lineal welterweight title

See also

References
  1. Golesworthy, Maurice (1988) Encyclopaedia of Boxing, Robert Hale, ISBN 0-7090-3323-0, p. 224
  2. 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
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