Buck Smith facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Buck Smith |
|
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname(s) | Country |
| Rated at | Welterweight |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in |
| Reach | 68 in |
| Born | July 22, 1965 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 228 |
| Wins | 182 |
| Wins by KO | 121 |
| Losses | 20 |
| Draws | 2 |
| No contests | 24 |
Buck Smith (born July 22, 1965) is an American professional boxer. He fought in the welterweight division. Buck Smith was known for fighting many times. He is famous for having a lot of knockout wins, with 120 KOs!
Becoming a Boxer
Buck Smith started his professional boxing career in 1987. What's amazing is that he had never boxed before! For his very first fight, he volunteered from the audience in Oklahoma City because a boxer didn't show up. He fought someone named Ali Smith and earned $50. He only had 15 minutes to get ready and fought in his regular clothes and basketball shoes.
Even though he lost that first fight, Buck Smith lasted all the rounds. After that, he became determined to be a boxer. He then went on a long winning streak, fighting almost every week! He usually fought against less experienced boxers in small places in the Midwest. Buck Smith said that he liked fighting often because it was better to get paid to fight and win against easier opponents than to practice for free.
Buck Smith's Boxing Record
Buck Smith officially fought 224 professional boxing matches. He won 179 of these fights, and 120 of his wins were by knockout. He lost 19 times and had 2 draws (ties). It's even possible he fought more matches under different names!
Even with his many fights, Buck Smith never won any big boxing titles. However, he did have some impressive wins. He knocked out Kirkland Laing in the 7th round, who was a strong boxer and European champion. Laing had even beaten the famous boxer Roberto Durán. Buck Smith also knocked out Robert Wangila in the second round, who was an Olympic gold medalist from 1988.
His win against Wangila was so big that he was featured in Ring Magazine, which is a very important boxing publication. At that time, Buck Smith had a record of 96 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw, with 70 knockouts. He was even ranked 13th in the welterweight division by the WBC.
Buck Smith also fought against some famous boxers who were or became champions. These included Buddy McGirt, Mark Breland, Julio César Chávez, and Antonio Margarito.
Fighting Twice in One Day
Buck Smith once fought two boxing matches on the same day! On May 19, 1992, he fought Marco Davis in Wichita, Kansas, and won by knockout in two rounds. Less than three hours later, he drove back to Oklahoma City and won another fight against Rodney Johnson.
He had another busy month in March 1993, when he fought a total of 12 professional boxing matches! He won all 12 of them, with 9 wins by knockout. Today, fighting so often is not allowed because of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act of 1996. This rule says that boxers must have at least seven days between their fights.
Buck Smith's last fight was on June 30, 2007. He lost to Marcus Oliveira by knockout in the second round. His last win was in December 1997 against Manuel Esparza. This means he didn't win any fights in his last twelve years as a professional boxer. His final record is 179 wins, 20 losses, 2 draws, and 25 no contests in 226 fights.
Images for kids
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Buck "Tombstone" Smith and Big Joe Haug in Oklahoma City, OK after his second fight of the night and traveling 170 miles from Wichita, KS where he fought Marco Davis three hours earlier.
