Two former belt holders who failed to make a successful defense. Pretty even matchup. Bonecrusher was stopped 7 times in his career, but a lot of those were when he was past it, and I believe he had the better chin prime for prime. He seemed to have better power as well. He managed wins over Bruno, Ribalta, Weaver, Witherspoon, David Bey, among others. Best name on Martin's record is Gerald Washington, and there's not much else after that. Bonecrusher is more proven, and he's my pick via late stoppage...
Maybe. Just looking through Smith's Boxrec page, the only guys on the list I remember being Southpaws are Mike Rouse, who Smith stopped, and Moorer, who he lost to by wide UD when he was well past it. Not much to go off of there. I don't see this being a thriller, but it would have been a solid, competitive matchup. I think Martin would definitely win some rounds, and may be up on the scorecards, but I think Smith would eventually find that chin, perhaps the way he did with Bruno late in that fight, and end it, which I believe he might have to. If it goes the distance, I like Martin's chances.
Another vote for Bonecrusher. Having watched several of Martin's fights, it is really difficult to pick him over any fighter of note. He really never deserved to be a belt holder. For all his limitations (mostly due to a really late start in boxing) Bonecrusher won the belt against a really good fighter. He also beat several other good fighters. And, for all the **** he gets for his performance against Tyson, it was light years better than Martin performed when he stepped up against Joshua.
I would favor Smith. He's vastly more experienced and Martin is there to be hit. If an ancient Ortiz can land bombs, then surely Smith has more than just a puncher's chance. Martin has better fundamentals, but lacks the jab, defense, and footwork to really keep Smith off of of him, and this gets really ugly by the mid rounds the more Smith gains confidence and turns it into a brawl. Smith by KO within 6-8 rounds.
