Gunboat Smith deafeats Sam Langford

Yes, I would agree that he was the top heavy among Johnson's challengers for a time. He held a decision victory over Jess Willard before the latter won the title from Johnson and gave a rising Jack Dempsey all he could handle in their first match. The Gunboat did very well against the crop of White Hope challengers and in fact held the 'White Heavyweight Championship' for a brief time.

I never saw a film of Smith boxing, so I will make it a point to check it out. Thanks!

 

Smith beat younger versions of Moran and Willard, and some thought Jess entitled to the verdict . Smith had a window of about 18 months when he made some noise but was put in perspective by being floored by20 years old 170lbs Carpentier and dsq'd , then wrecked by Langford.
ps A 22 years old Dempsey had no problems beating Smith.

Jack Dempsey vs. Gunboat Smith (1st meeting)
(Redirected from Fight:51226)
Jump to:navigation, search
Jack Dempsey beat Gunboat Smith by PTS in round 4 of 4

• 
  "); margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3.5ex;">
• Date: 1917-10-02
• Location: Recreation Park, San Francisco, California, USA
• Referee: Toby Irwin

The United Press reported: "Jack Dempsey won this fight and won it handily."

Newspaper article: "Chases Gunboat Around the Ring" The Tacoma Times, October 3, 1917

 

Smith beat younger versions of Moran and Willard, and some thought Jess entitled to the verdict . Smith had a window of about 18 months when he made some noise but was put in perspective by being floored by20 years old ,170lbs Carpentier and dsq'd and then wrecked by Langford.
ps A 22 years old Dempsey had no problems beating Smith.

Jack Dempsey vs. Gunboat Smith (1st meeting)
(Redirected from Fight:51226)
Jump to:navigation, search
Jack Dempsey beat Gunboat Smith by PTS in round 4 of 4

• 
  "); margin: 0px 0px 1rem; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3.5ex;">
• Date: 1917-10-02
• Location: Recreation Park, San Francisco, California, USA
• Referee: Toby Irwin

The United Press reported: "Jack Dempsey won this fight and won it handily."

Newspaper article: "Chases Gunboat Around the Ring" The Tacoma Times, October 3, 1917

 

Smith beat many Jack Johnson title opponent, but never received a shot from 1912-1915 when Johnson was champion He was too good, Johnson wanted easier marks.

By 1917, Smith had seen better days and started to lose a lot. This was not a big win for Dempsey. Going into the 1917 match with Demspey Smith had only won 3 of his last 6 fights.. After fighting Dempsey Smith only won 1 off his next 13!

 

There is not boxing film on Smith in the ring, only sparring. If I am mistaken on that, let me know!

 

Lol, like I said 1917, Smith was past his best. He only won

This content is protected

This content is protected

of his next 13 after having Johnson. Re-read that again. If that is not the sign of a shot fighter, I don't know what is.

As stated Gunboat Smith did better vs. Johnson title opponents than Johnson himself and knocked him silly in their 4 round edition match. HE deserved a title shot period.

Ironic, Luther McCarty and Gun Boat Smith were the best of the white hopes, Johnson fought neither. Then again neither were " hopes " they had ability, which is a reason why we never saw it.

Jack Demspey beating a shot version of GB Smith when he did means about as much as Jack Downey who was 1-0-4 beating Jack Demspey.

 

Let me explain this to you MR Liar. Five of his next 13 fights were no decisions another one was a ko win, and another a draw so that 7 of that 13 he did not lose .One of the losses was a rematch with Dempsey another a loss to Fulton ,and another a loss on a foul to Weinert.
Nobody suggested Dempsey beating Smith was a great feat ,all I did was prove it was an easy win! You need somebody reading and explaining things to you!


Johnson offered to fight McCarty in Canada for Tommy Burns McCarty who had drawn the colour line anyway was sidelined by Burns to fight his protege Arthur Pelkey,which was the end of McCarty!FFS do some research, I'm tired of educating a moron like you!

 

By the way, Peter Hellers book was with out doubt one of the best boxing books I have ever read !!! If you havn,t then treat yourself.

 

Yes,great book .What did you make of Smith's claim that Johnson staged a fake knockdown against Ketchel to increase the value of the movie rights. I'm sure you read how he said he put Johnson through the ropes ,and nearly out of the ring in a sparring session.

 

Yes, I received a copy as a Christmas gift when it first came out, and to borrow the old cliche, I truly couldn't put it down! Gunboat Smith's story was one of the most interesting to read. Being one of the last survivors of the White Hope era, he was one of few who could talk about it from firsthand experience.

 

.
Thank you for the article about the Smith-Dempsey fight - I had not seen any contemporary newspaper accounts of it before. I had only seen an account in either Dempsey or Doc Kearns' autobiographies about the fight where Smitth had landed a good shot on Dempsey and Dempsey was feeling down after the fight. Kearns asked what was wrong and Dempsey apologized for letting Kearns down. When Kearns asked what he meant, Dempsey replied about losing the fight. Kearns replied "You won! They had to pull you off him at the final bell!" That story sounds more like a Kearns account. While interesting and colorful, Gunboat Smith's accounts as well as Kearns' need to be taken with a graiin of salt. Incidentally, the short story directly beneath the newspaper article about Willie Meehan wearing out his welcome in the San Francisco area was interesting and humorous.

 

The names Sam Langford and Ed “Gunboat” Smith would be enough to pen an entire shelf-full of books. But while one is often considered one of the greatest fighters to ever smash his mitts into a pair of gloves, the other is largely lost to the wake and smoke trails of history.

They fought twice, though, highlighting massive social issues of the time, and underlining what exactly it might take to craft a truly great fighter.

Smith and Langford had already been scheduled to meet in New York, but the city’s ban on “mixed race” bouts snuffed out the idea. In early October, when it became apparent that the fight would be rescheduled for November 17 or thereabouts, Sheriff Julius Harburger issued a statement.

“From the days when Abraham Lincoln issued his pronunciamento and proposition making colored men free and equal, which was ratified by the Fourteenth Amendment and received and lived up to in fourty-eight states and territories, no board in the city, known as a boxing commission, can adopt rules in violation of the principles of our constitution and governmental affairs.”

In essence, a white sheriff stuck his neck out to not only support the rights of a black fighter to prove his worth against a white counterpart, but to thumb his nose at a hypocritical and misguided system that wouldn’t come crashing down until decades later.

Gloves helped build the system, and over time, gloves would tear that system to pieces.

This content is protected

Jim Coffroth, one of the first notable and adventurous boxing promoters, aided in matching Smith against Langford against the backdrop of the Thanksgiving season. However, multiple media outlets warned against pitting the men against one another to determine a likely successor to the heavyweight championship, citing racial tensions and violence stemming from Jack Johnson vs. James Jeffries bout in 1910.

Johnny McGann, matchmaker for Boston’s Atlas Athletic Association, took credit for pushing the bout forward despite public outcry over matching black and white fighters.

Smith prepared for the fight at a gym in Sheepshead Bay, N.Y., while Langford trained in a roadhouse he was known to frequent in Revere Beach, Boston. Michigan big man Al Kubiak reportedly helped Smith get into proper shape for the scrap.

Two fights prior, Smith’s sub-par performance against Kentucky heavyweight Carl Morris had pundits like W.W. Naughton questioning his worthiness against the likes of Langford. Prior to Smith’s DQ win in five rounds, Morris had taken the fight to Smith, apparently having his way, more or less. There were doubts surrounding Langford’s conditioning, though; a 5’7″ heavyweight with fine endurance has never been a common sight, and this instance was thought of as no exception.

But Langford’s defeat of Michigan heavyweight Jack Lester in five rounds in late October left an impression, as about one week later Lester would say to a Times-Picayune reporter, “I’ve been in fourty-nine fights and the toughest of them all was with that ****** Langford. Anybody that says Langford has gone back is mistaken. He is better than he ever was. You remember I licked Sam McVey in twenty rounds, and you may recollect that McVey conquered Langford. Well, Langford was just twice as hard as McVey.”

Langford was referred to in the pre-fight promotion as “the white hope annihilator” by Peter Kelley of the Boston Journal.

In fact, the term “white hope” was repeated throughout the promotion, and it became clear that despite all the respect and adulation of a figure like Langford earned, white press and fans craved another white heavyweight champion, and Langford stood in the way.

As was often the case during this era, certain venues would recycle officials in fight after fight, which Smith’s manager Jim Buckley opposed. Eventually outside referee Dick Fleming was brought in, which helped to finalize matters and give the Atlas Athletic Association its first world class match up. Buckley expressed concern over the size of the ring, though, suggesting he didn’t like Smith’s chances against Langford’s hellish body attack and output.

Langford’s defense was subtle and likely unappreciated early in the fight, though even a news wire via the Anaconda Standard said, “Langford did not seem to be bothered by long range blows, turning away many without great effort and standing up to others without defense.” Rolling with and parrying punches was a style that simply wasn’t popular nor totally familiar yet, and the art of proper inside fighting fell on blind eyes most of the time.

This time, a crowd of about 6,000 was somehow able to appreciate Langford’s patience, though he took more punches than most were used to seeing. Still, Langford was fine with eating a jab or five to wear down Smith downstairs.

Said the Boston Herald: “In the fifth round Langford boxed with desperation. One of his wild flings caught Smith over the left eye and closed it, and a few seconds later another in the same spot opened up a cut and allowed Smith a return of sight to the optic.” Langford’s unlucky assault allowed Smith the opportunity he needed to get back to work, probing from a distance and scoring while Langford concentrated on Smith’s ribs and bread basket.

Again from the Boston Herald: “In the eighth round Sam tossed science and defense to the winds and waded into Smith, swinging almost blindly in his attempts to land. Smith took a number of crushing blows to the head and jaw and a volley of rapid punches to the body forced him to clinch. It was the first of a second series of spurts Langford showed in which he had the best of it, but they were short lived.”

Despite clearly showing signs of life and giving Smith cause for concern, Langford’s lack of conditioning may have indeed betrayed him, as he was only able to muster another flurry in the 11th round.

When Smith was handed the decision, those in attendance were surprised that Langford wasn’t given the benefit of the doubt, given that he was both the local man and the fighter who appeared to close more strongly. Smith may have won, but he reportedly had little interest in a return bout, wearing the greatness of Langford all over his expression afterward.

His instinct proved legitimate; Langford pummeled Smith in three rounds just under one year later, avenging a defeat that seemed out of place, even given Langford’s portliness.

Conversely, Smith briefly carried with him the “white heavyweight championship,” which he would attempt to use as a marketing tool in the following years. Nonetheless, the results couldn’t lie, and his chin, restraint and quality all proved to be less than satisfactory. He would occasionally pull off a solid win afterward, but was usually throttled back to the reality of a constantly evolving heavyweight division.
ShareTweet

 

Excellent info.Thank you!

 

That's not a lie you stupid man. I said he won 1 of his last 13, which is acccurate, and it's obvious Smith was on the decline. You felt the need to post Demspey won a 4 round match over a declining Smith. Means nothing a no name fighter beat Demspey in 4 rounds. What means something is Fireman Flynn knocked Dempsey out in one round, one of the most embarrassing results in the history of the division.

So what if Langford beat Smith a year later. That only increased his stock, right?. As we know Johnson ducked Langford too! And pulled out of a signed contract to meet Langford in 1909. Jack the runner....

As champion, Johnson ( now read this slowly as you are a brain defective lair who once claimed a 137 IQ ) could have fought McCarty anywhere in the world! We never saw it . The main reason is Johnson didn't want it.

Johnson ducked Langford and Jeannette quite clearly, didn't pick Gun Boat Smith who was better than his title opponent where championship tenure. In fact Smith beat the same people more convincingly than Johnson did! And, let's not forget Smith knocked Johnson silly as a novice in 1909, Johnson prime.

Feeling better now?

Don't you get tired of being caught in lies, and getting you face kicked in on this topic? You must has something seriously wrong. Get help.