Jem Smith

BORN   January 21 1863; Shoreditch, London, England
DIED September 10 1931
HEIGHT 5-8 1/2
WEIGHT 170-212 lbs
MANAGER Frank Grimm

Smith was a stocky fighter with a stiff punch who was more of a brawler and wrestler than he was a boxer; Yet, he won the Heavyweight Championship of England

During his career, Smith defeated such men as Woolf Bendoff, Jack Davis, Jack Wannop, Ted Pritchard and Jim Burge

1881
Feb 10 J. Preston                                                   W   
       W. Brand                                                     W   
       
          -Smith won a 140-lb Boxing Competition in London, England
           
1882
       Bob Preston               London, England                    W  8
          -Bare knuckles were used for this fight
       
          -Smith won a 154-lb Boxing Competition in London, England
       
       Tom Liddard               London, England                    W  6
          -Bare knuckles were used for this fight
       "Snowey"                                                     W  4
          -Gloves were used for this fight

1883
       Bill Brand                London, England                    W   
       Bob Preston               London, England                    W   
       Arthur Cooper             London, England                    W   
          -The previous 3 bouts were part of an Open Middleweight Competition
       Bill Davis                London, England                    W   
          -Bare knuckles were used for this fight

1884
       Charlie Jackson           Birmingham, England                W  9
          -Bare knuckles were used for this fight
       Henry Arnold              London, England                    W 14
          -Gloves were used for this fight
       Jack Massey                                                SCH   
          -This bout was scheduled but not held;
          Smith paid forfeit
       H. Skidmore               Barking, England                   W  3
          -Gloves were used for this fight;
          Skidmore weighed 224 lbs
Dec 17 Wolf Bendoff              London, England                    W 12
          -Gloves were used for this fight;
          Smith broke his hand in the 3rd round

1885
Dec    Henry "Sugar" Goodson     London, England                    W   
Dec    Jack Wannop               London, England                    W   
Dec    Tom Longer                London, England                    W   
          -The previous 3 bouts were part of Tom Symond's 
          Open Heavyweight Competition; Smith won
Dec 16 Jack Davis                near Lingfield, England           KO  6
          -Heavyweight Championship of England;
          Bare knuckles were used for this fight

1886
Feb 16 Alf Greenfield            Maison-Lafitte, France             D 13
          -Heavyweight Championship of England;
          Bare knuckles were used for this fight;
          The crowd broke into the ring
Mar    Jack Davis                London, England                   EX   
May 24 Charles "Toff" Wall       London, England                   EX  3
          -Wall outclassed Smith and knocked him down
May 25 Charles "Toff" Wall       London, England                  SCH   
          -This bout was scheduled but not held; Smith did not show
Dec  1 Jack Knifton              in France                        SCH   
          -This bout was scheduled but not held;
          Police prevented the bout
Dec  6 Jack Knifton              London, England                    D   
          -Police arrived at the site and arguments arose;
          Smith wanted to fight; Knifton decided not to;
          The fight was called a "draw"
Dec 11 Jack Knifton              London, England                  SCH   
          -Heavyweight Championship of England;
          This bout was scheduled but not held;
          Police intervened

1887
Feb  5 Charlie Mitchell          in England                        EX  3
Feb 17 Charles "Toff" Wall       Leeds, England                    EX  3
          -Some sources report "London, England"
Mar    Charlie Mitchell          Picadilly, England                EX  4
Apr 14 Charles "Toff" Wall       Leeds, England                    EX  3
Apr 15 Charles "Toff" Wall       Leeds, England                    EX  3
Apr 16 Charles "Toff" Wall       Leeds, England                    EX  3
       Alf Greenfield            London, England                   EX   
May 11 Charles "Toff" Wall       London, England                   EX  3
May 25 Charles "Toff" Wall       London, England                   EX  3
Jun 24 Charles "Toff" Wall       London, England                   EX  3
Jul  2 Charles "Toff" Wall       London, England                   EX  3
Jul  3 Charles "Toff" Wall       London, England                   EX  3
Aug 15 Charles "Toff" Wall       Birmingham, England               EX  3
Dec 19 Jake Kilrain              Isle des Souverains, France        D 106
          -Fox (of the Police Gazette) recognized Kilrain as
          Heavyweight Champion of the World following this bout;
          London Rules and bare-knuckles were used

1888
Jan 10 Jake Kilrain              London, England                   EX  3   
Feb  8 Jake Kilrain              Enfield, England                  EX   
Feb 10 Jake Kilrain              Portsmouth, England               EX
       
          -Smith beat several minor opponents in England

1889
Apr  1 Charlie Mitchell          London, England                  SCH   
          -This bout was scheduled but cancelled;
          Smith cut his foot badly during training
Sep 30 Jack Wannop               London, England                    W 10
          -Gloves were used for this bout; 
          Very little hard hitting was done
Nov 11 Peter Jackson             London, England                   LF  2
          -Smith was disqualified for using wrestling tactics
Nov    Jack Fallon               in England                         L   
Nov 14 Peter Jackson             Westminster, England              EX  3
Nov 15 Peter Jackson             Westminster, England              EX  3
Nov 16 Peter Jackson             Westminster, England              EX  3
Nov 19 Jim Young                 Westminster, England              TK  3
Nov 19 Peter Jackson             Westminster, England              EX  3
          -The previous 2 bouts were held the same date
Nov 20 Peter Jackson             Westminster, England              EX  3
Nov 22 Peter Jackson             Westminster, England              EX  3
Nov 23 Peter Jackson             Westminster, England              EX  3
Nov 30 Patsey Collins            London, England                   TK  2
Dec 23 Frank "Paddy" Slavin      Bruges, Belgium                    D 14
          -Heavyweight Championship of England;
          The crowd broke into the ring

1891
Jul 27 Ted Pritchard             London, England                   LT  3
          -Heavyweight Championship of England;
          Queensberry rules were used

1895
May 10 Ted Pritchard             London, England                   KO  2
          -Heavyweight Championship of England;
           Some sources report "KO 3"
Nov 26 Dick Burge                London, England                   WF  9
          -Heavyweight Championship of England

1896
Jan 27 Dan Creedon               London, England                   LK  2
          -Heavyweight Championship of England
Feb 26 Charles "Toff" Wall       London, England                   EX  3

1897
Feb 19 George Chrisp             Newcastle, England                LF  5
          -Chrisp claimed the Heavyweight Championship of England;
          Some sources report "LT 5"; Smith was supposed to stop
          Chrisp inside of eight rounds

1911
Jan 11 Jack Kingsland            Acton, England                    EX  3

1918
Dec 30 Jack Massey               London, England                    W  4


****The Following Bouts Are Reported But Not Confirmed ***

1887
Apr 11 Charles "Toff" Wall       Bradford, England                 EX   

1903 
       C.A.C. Smith              Manchester, England               LK   

Review courtesy of Tracy Callis, Historian, International Boxing Research Organization
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