Wallace "Bud" Smith (April 2, 1924 – July 10, 1973) was an Undisputed 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.

Amateur career 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.

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.

Professional career Smith turned pro on November 29, 1948, with a first-round knockout of Torpedo Tinsley at 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.

On November 20, 1954, Smith knocked out Arthur Persley in nine rounds in Miami on his way to his 1955 title shot.

Defeating Orlando Zulueta, May, December 1953 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. 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."Smith Scores Win Over Cuban", The Fresno Bee The Republican, Fresno, California, pg. 11, December 13, 1953

Taking the World Lightweight Championship, June 1955 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.Hoobing, Bob, "Gains Split Decision in Bloody Bout", The Bridgeport Telegram, Bridgeport, Connecticut, pg. 80, June 30, 1955

Single defense of the title, October 1955 Four months later on October 19, 1955, he successfully defended the title against Carter in Cincinnati, winning in a fifteen-round unanimous decision."Bud Smith Wins Confused Decision Over Jimmy Carter," Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque, New Mexico, p. 18, October 20, 1955 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" Sports Illustrated, pgs. 12-13, October 31, 1955

Losing the World Lightweight Championship, August 1956 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."Joe Brown Captures Lightweight Crown", The Gazette and Daily, York, Pennsylvania, pg. 22, August 25, 1956 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.

Life after boxing

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."Ex-Ring Champ is Shot to Death", The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pg. 25, June 11, 1973

Murder

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.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes61Loss Gomeo BrennanTKO5 (10)Apr 1, 1958 60Loss31–23–6 Duilio LoiKO9 (10)Mar 1, 1958 59Loss31–22–6 Al NevarezUD10Feb 11, 1958 58Loss31–21–6 Bobby ScanlonTKO10 (10)Oct 31, 1957 57Loss31–20–6 Cisco AndradeTKO9 (10)Jul 25, 1957 56Loss31–19–6 Mickey CrawfordUD10May 23, 1957 55Loss31–18–6 Joe BrownTKO11 (15)Feb 13, 1957 54Loss31–17–6 Joe BrownSD15Aug 24, 1956 53Loss31–16–6 Joe BrownUD10May 2, 1956 52Loss31–15–6 Tony DeMarcoTKO9 (10)Mar 5, 1956 51Loss31–14–6 Larry BoardmanSD10Feb 7, 1956 50Win31–13–6 Jimmy CarterUD15Oct 19, 1955 49Win30–13–6 Jimmy CarterSD15Jun 29, 1955 48Draw29–13–6 Johnny GonsalvesSD10Jan 8, 1955 47Win29–13–5 Arthur PersleyKO9 (10)Nov 20, 1955 46Loss28–13–5 Joe MiceliSD10Sep 11, 1955 45Win28–12–5 Rafel LastreKO7 (10)Aug 31, 1955 44Win27–12–5 Rafel LastreTKO9 (10)Jul 27, 1955 43Loss26–12–5 Johnny GonsalvesMD10May 1, 1955 42Loss26–11–5 Joe MiceliKO5 (10)Feb 20, 1955 41Win26–10–5 Orlando ZuluetaUD10Dec 11, 1954 40Win25–10–5 Billy HazelKO1 (8)Nov 5, 1954 39Win24–10–5 Arthur KingTKO5 (10)Sep 14, 1954 38Win23–10–5 Charley SpicerRTD6 (10)Aug 24, 1954 37Win22–10–5 Carl CoatesTKO6 (10)Aug 3, 1954 36Win21–10–5 Johnny WilliamsKO1 (6)Jun 26, 1954 35Draw20–10–5 Luther RawlingsMD10May 19, 1954 34Win20–10–4 Orlando ZuluetaUD10May 5, 1954 33Loss19–10–4 Orlando ZuluetaSD10Mar 23, 1954 32Draw19–9–4 Johnny SaxtonSD10Mar 15, 1954 31Win19–9–3 Len DittmarTKO5 (12)Sep 15, 1953 30Loss18–9–3 George BarnesPTS12Aug 18, 1953 29Loss18–8–3 George BarnesPTS12Jun 6, 1953 28Win18–7–3 Frank FlanneryPTS12May 16, 1953 27Win17–7–3 James MontgomeryPTS8Apr 7, 1953 26Win16–7–3 Miguel MendivilTKO2 (8)Mar 4, 1953 25Win15–7–3 Teddy DavisSD8Jan 1, 1953 24Loss14–7–3 Miguel MendivilPTS8Nov 27, 1951 23Loss14–6–3 Tommy CampbellMD10Sep 11, 1951 22Draw14–5–3 Orlando ZuluetaPTS8Jul 23, 1951 21Loss14–5–2 Virgil AkinsPTS8Apr 17, 1951 20Draw14–4–2 Dave MarshPTS8Apr 10, 1951 19Loss14–4–1 Virgil AkinsPTS10Apr 4, 1951 18Win14–3–1 Frankie BettsTKO2 (6)Mar 6, 1951 17Loss13–3–1 Danny WomberPTS8Nov 8, 1950 16Draw13–2–1 Jesse UnderwoodMD10Jun 14, 1950 15Win13–2 Jay WatkinsUD10May 3, 1950 14Loss12–2 Jimmy CarterUD10Mar 28, 1950 13Win12–1Giuseppe ColasantiUD10Feb 7, 1950 12Win11–1 Paulie BrooksKO4 (10)Dec 13, 1949 11Win10–1 Tommy CampbellMD10Nov 14, 1949 10Loss9–1 Paulie BrooksMD10Oct 25, 1949 9Win9–0 Jay WatkinsKO4 (10)Oct 5, 1949 8Win8–0 Don BowmanKO1 (10)Sep 20, 1949 7Win7–0 Joe DiscepoliUD10Aug 24, 1949 6Win6–0 Jesse UnderwoodUD8Jul 11, 1949 5Win5–0 Don KeelingKO2 (6)May 23, 1949 4Win4–0 Doug MedleyPTS8Mar 28, 1949 3Win3–0 Doug MedleyPTS6Feb 28, 1949 2Win2–0 Joe KellyTKO1 (6)Jan 24, 1949 1Win1–0 Torpedo TinsleyKO1 (6)Nov 9, 1948

Titles in boxing Major world titles NYSAC lightweight champion (135 lbs) NBA (WBA) lightweight champion (135 lbs)

The Ring magazine titles The Ring lightweight champion (135 lbs)

Regional/International titles Ohio State lightweight champion (135 lbs)

Undisputed titles Undisputed lightweight champion

See also Lineal championship List of lightweight boxing champions

References

External links

boxrec.com https://titlehistories.com/boxing/na/usa/ny/nysac-l.html