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	(1871-05-15)May 15, 1871 Little River, Digby County, Nova Scotia
Died	October 14, 1937(1937-10-14) (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

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 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

• Lineal championship
• List of lineal boxing world champions
• List of welterweight boxing champions

References