Solomon Garcia Smith (March 6, 1871 – August 28, 1933) was an American professional boxer in the featherweight division. He was a World Featherweight champion and is the first world champion of Hispanic descent.

Early life Smith was born in Los Angeles, the son of a Mexican mother and an Irish father. He was an outstanding long-distance track runner in his youth, which may have later aided his ability to endure long boxing bouts.

Professional career

Solomon Garcia Smith made his professional debut in 1888 at the age of 17. In his 21st bout on September 25, 1893, he challenged future hall of famer George Dixon for the World Featherweight Championship but was defeated by seventh-round tko. The fight drew the largest paying crowd recorded at Brooklyn's Coney Island Athletic Club. After the bout, Smith was arrested for participating in a fight with Johnny Griffin in Roby, Indiana, two months earlier. Wyatt Earp had been the timekeeper.

He improved his skills in subsequent bouts and established himself as one of the top fighters in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions, fighting to draws against future hall of fame member Young Griffo and future two-division champion Frank Erne, along with scoring quality wins over opponents such as former champion Torpedo Billy Murphy and avenging a disqualification loss to Oscar Gardner.

World Featherweight Championship The crowning moment of Smith's career came on October 4, 1897, when he defeated George Dixon in a rematch bout to capture the World Featherweight title, thus ending the Canadian champion's six-year reign. The San Francisco Call wrote of Smith's performance: "Instead of swinging wild and recklessly, as he was wont to do in his early fighting days, he gauged his distance and timed his blows like a polished veteran. His quick ducking under the left arm of his opponent to avoid a jaw warmer was a revelation to his admirers, who repeatedly cheered him when he escaped the hot shots aimed at the jaw point by Professor Dixon"

Smith was seen as a promising champion, having avenged losses to two of the three men who held victories over him up to that point, Dixon and Gardner, with the third being reigning lightweight champion and future hall of fame member Kid Lavigne who had outpointed Smith in an eight round contest. However, after twice retaining his title, he relinquished it due to a mishap against Dave Sullivan. Smith had the misfortune to break his left arm near the wrist in the second round of their bout, ending his chances to give a good showing. Unable to use his left at all in the fourth and fifth rounds, he was deemed unable to continue.White, Charley, "Inside the Ring With the Great Fighters, Smith Fought Many Good Battles", The Evening World, New York, New York, pg. 7, 22 August 1911

His career took a downward spiral following that loss as he won only one out of the fifteen remaining bouts in his career. He retired after a knockout loss to Billy Snailham in 1904.

Professional boxing record All information in this section is derived from BoxRec, unless otherwise stated.

Official Record

All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted as a win, loss or draw. ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateAgeLocationNotes66Loss29–13–20 Billy SnailhamKO3 (20)Aug 26, 1904 65Loss29–12–20 Billy DeCourseyKO10 (?)Nov 11, 1902 64Loss29–11–20 Kid McFaddenDQ7 (?)Sep 5, 1901 63Draw29–10–20 Joe BernsteinPTS20Jun 18, 1901 62Draw29–10–19 Joe BernsteinPTS20May 10, 1900 61Loss29–10–18 Joe BernsteinDQ14 (25)Jun 22, 1900 60Win29–9–18 Billy MaynardKO10 (20)May 28, 1900 59Draw28–9–18 Turkey Point Billy SmithPTS6Mar 17, 1900 58Loss28–9–17 Billy BarrettPTS20Mar 3, 1900 57Draw28–8–17 Frank PattersonPTS25Jan 15, 1900 56Loss28–8–16 Jack McClellandDQ6 (?)Oct 2, 1899 55Loss28–7–16 Joe BernsteinKO13 (25)Aug 18, 1899 54Draw28–6–16 Frank PattersonPTS25Jul 10, 1899 53Draw28–6–15 Frank PattersonPTS20May 20, 1899 52Loss28–6–14 Oscar GardnerKO6 (25)Feb 7, 1899 51Loss28–5–14 Dave SullivanTKO5 (25)Sep 26, 1898 50Draw28–4–14 Tommy WhitePTS25Aug 1, 1898 49Win28–4–13 Billy O'DonnellDQ7 (20)Jul 7, 1898 48Draw27–4–13 Eddie SantryPTS6Apr 18, 1898 47Win27–4–12 George DixonPTS20Oct 4, 1897 46Win26–4–12 Johnny GriffinKO7 (20)Aug 20, 1897 45Win25–4–12 Martin FlahertyPTS25May 4, 1897 44Win24–4–12 Oscar GardnerPTS20Mar 13, 1897 43Draw23–4–12 Tommy WhitePTS25Jan 12, 1897 42Win23–4–11 Willie SmithTKO8 (20)Nov 9, 1896 41Draw22–4–11 Johnny LavackPTS10Jun 30, 1896 40Win22–4–10 Frank PattersonPTS10Jun 22, 1896 39Draw21–4–10 Dolly LyonsPTS10Jun 1, 1896 38Win21–4–9 Jerry BarnettTKO5 (6)Mar 21, 1896 37Draw20–4–9 Johnny LavackPTS15Feb 22, 1896 36Win20–4–8 Torpedo Billy MurphyTKO14 (20)Dec 23, 1895 35Win19–4–8 George SiddonsUD8May 15, 1895 34Win18–4–8 Jack MullenPTS6Apr 11, 1895 33ND17–4–8 Jerome QuigleyND4Mar 22, 1895 3217–4–8 Billy McCarthyND4Mar 16, 1895 31Draw17–4–8 Tom DennyPTS10Mar 4, 1895 30Loss17–4–7 Oscar GardnerDQ5 (15)Nov 27, 1894 29Draw17–3–7 Johnny Van HeestPTS15Oct 26, 1894 28Draw17–3–6 Frank ErnePTS10Oct 2, 1894 27Draw17–3–5 George "Kid" LavignePTS8Mar 7, 1894 26Draw17–3–4 Young GriffoPTS6Jan 3, 1894 25Win17–3–3 Dan RyanDQ4 (6)Dec 1, 1893 24Win16–3–3 Jimmy MurphyKO2 (6)Nov 13, 1893 23Loss15–3–3 George DixonTKO7 (?)Sep 25, 1893 22Win15–2–3 Johnny GriffinKO4 (?)Jul 10, 1893 21Loss14–2–3 Oscar GardnerKO6 (?)Jun 10, 1893 20Loss14–1–3 Oscar GardnerPTS6May 8, 1893 19Win14–0–3 Frankie McHughNWS6Apr 15, 1893 18Win14–0–3 Johnny Van HeestKO14 (?)Dec 29, 1892 17Draw13–0–3 George SiddonsPTS56 (?)Sep 29, 1892 16Win13–0–2 Dan DalyKO3 (?)Jul 8, 1892 15Win12–0–2 Dal HawkinsKO13May 24, 1892 14Win11–0–2 Harry DallyPTS4Mar 30, 1892 13Win10–0–2 Tommy SmithKO2 (?)Feb 25, 1892 12Win9–0–2 Danny MahoneyKO15 (?)Dec 3, 1891 11Win8–0–2 Billy ManningKO6 (?)Aug 27, 1891 10Draw7–0–2 Dave WilliamsPTS10Sep 3, 1890 9Win7–0–1 Young AbbottPTS4Dec 5, 1889 8Win6–0–1 Billy JonesTKO13 (?)Dec 1, 1889 7Win5–0–1 Pete CummingsTKO1 (?)Nov 1, 1889 6Win4–0–1 Young Billy MooreTKO5 (?)Oct 1, 1889 5Win3–0–1 Young Billy MoorePTS?Sep 1, 1889 4Win2–0–1 Jack GoldenKO2 (?)Jun 1, 1889 31–0–1 Joe 'Kid' HoganNC29 (?)Dec 12, 1888 2Draw1–0–1 Joe SotoPTS6Aug 1, 1888 1Win1–0 Billy SmithTKO7 (?)Jul 1, 1888

Unofficial record

Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions to the win/loss/draw column. ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateAgeLocationNotes66Loss30–13–20 Billy SnailhamKO3 (20)Aug 26, 1904 65Loss30–12–20 Billy DeCourseyKO10 (?)Nov 11, 1902 64Loss30–11–20 Kid McFaddenDQ7 (?)Sep 5, 1901 63Draw30–10–20 Joe BernsteinPTS20Jun 18, 1901 62Draw30–10–19 Joe BernsteinPTS20May 10, 1900 61Loss30–10–18 Joe BernsteinDQ14 (25)Jun 22, 1900 60Win30–9–18 Billy MaynardKO10 (20)May 28, 1900 59Draw29–9–18 Turkey Point Billy SmithPTS6Mar 17, 1900 58Loss29–9–17 Billy BarrettPTS20Mar 3, 1900 57Draw29–8–17 Frank PattersonPTS25Jan 15, 1900 56Loss29–8–16 Jack McClellandDQ6 (?)Oct 2, 1899 55Loss29–7–16 Joe BernsteinKO13 (25)Aug 18, 1899 54Draw29–6–16 Frank PattersonPTS25Jul 10, 1899 53Draw29–6–15 Frank PattersonPTS20May 20, 1899 52Loss29–6–14 Oscar GardnerKO6 (25)Feb 7, 1899 51Loss29–5–14 Dave SullivanTKO5 (25)Sep 26, 1898 50Draw29–4–14 Tommy WhitePTS25Aug 1, 1898 49Win29–4–13 Billy O'DonnellDQ7 (20)Jul 7, 1898 48Draw28–4–13 Eddie SantryPTS6Apr 18, 1898 47Win28–4–12 George DixonPTS20Oct 4, 1897 46Win27–4–12 Johnny GriffinKO7 (20)Aug 20, 1897 45Win26–4–12 Martin FlahertyPTS25May 4, 1897 44Win25–4–12 Oscar GardnerPTS20Mar 13, 1897 43Draw24–4–12 Tommy WhitePTS25Jan 12, 1897 42Win24–4–11 Willie SmithTKO8 (20)Nov 9, 1896 41Draw23–4–11 Johnny LavackPTS10Jun 30, 1896 40Win23–4–10 Frank PattersonPTS10Jun 22, 1896 39Draw22–4–10 Dolly LyonsPTS10Jun 1, 1896 38Win22–4–9 Jerry BarnettTKO5 (6)Mar 21, 1896 37Draw21–4–9 Johnny LavackPTS15Feb 22, 1896 36Win21–4–8 Torpedo Billy MurphyTKO14 (20)Dec 23, 1895 35Win20–4–8 George SiddonsUD8May 15, 1895 34Win19–4–8 Jack MullenPTS6Apr 11, 1895 33ND18–4–8 Jerome QuigleyND4Mar 22, 1895 3218–4–8 Billy McCarthyND4Mar 16, 1895 31Draw18–4–8 Tom DennyPTS10Mar 4, 1895 30Loss18–4–7 Oscar GardnerDQ5 (15)Nov 27, 1894 29Draw18–3–7 Johnny Van HeestPTS15Oct 26, 1894 28Draw18–3–6 Frank ErnePTS10Oct 2, 1894 27Draw18–3–5 George "Kid" LavignePTS8Mar 7, 1894 26Draw18–3–4 Young GriffoPTS6Jan 3, 1894 25Win18–3–3 Dan RyanDQ4 (6)Dec 1, 1893 24Win17–3–3 Jimmy MurphyKO2 (6)Nov 13, 1893 23Loss16–3–3 George DixonTKO7 (?)Sep 25, 1893 22Win16–2–3 Johnny GriffinKO4 (?)Jul 10, 1893 21Loss15–2–3 Oscar GardnerKO6 (?)Jun 10, 1893 20Loss15–1–3 Oscar GardnerPTS6May 8, 1893 19Win15–0–3 Frankie McHughNWS6Apr 15, 1893 18Win14–0–3 Johnny Van HeestKO14 (?)Dec 29, 1892 17Draw13–0–3 George SiddonsPTS56 (?)Sep 29, 1892 16Win13–0–2 Dan DalyKO3 (?)Jul 8, 1892 15Win12–0–2 Dal HawkinsKO13May 24, 1892 14Win11–0–2 Harry DallyPTS4Mar 30, 1892 13Win10–0–2 Tommy SmithKO2 (?)Feb 25, 1892 12Win9–0–2 Danny MahoneyKO15 (?)Dec 3, 1891 11Win8–0–2 Billy ManningKO6 (?)Aug 27, 1891 10Draw7–0–2 Dave WilliamsPTS10Sep 3, 1890 9Win7–0–1 Young AbbottPTS4Dec 5, 1889 8Win6–0–1 Billy JonesTKO13 (?)Dec 1, 1889 7Win5–0–1 Pete CummingsTKO1 (?)Nov 1, 1889 6Win4–0–1 Young Billy MooreTKO5 (?)Oct 1, 1889 5Win3–0–1 Young Billy MoorePTS?Sep 1, 1889 4Win2–0–1 Jack GoldenKO2 (?)Jun 1, 1889 31–0–1 Joe 'Kid' HoganNC29 (?)Dec 12, 1888 2Draw1–0–1 Joe SotoPTS6Aug 1, 1888 1Win1–0 Billy SmithTKO7 (?)Jul 1, 1888

See also List of Mexican boxing world champions List of world featherweight boxing champions

References

External links