James "Bonecrusher" Smith in todays heavyweight scene

Off topic.... But anyone who says Larry "The Homer" Holmes was slow compared to Ali is full of ****.......................... I have "Holmes-Shavers 1" rolling from '78......... Holmes is a master who is pitching a shutout / no hitter against Shavers in 1978.......... Shavers is game, but also clueless as to how to solve Larry Holmes............... Holmes is moving and sticking and is very fast / quick............... Cheers.......

MR.BILL

 

He still looked slow in the Peter fight. Compare him before he retired to now and you'll see a noticeable difference.

 

It's well possible he could win a belt, but I doubt he'd hold it all that long. He certainly isn't beating either Klitschko.
He was, as noted, pretty slow and although he had a good chin, he could be stopped cold, as Ruddock proved.

 

I love Bonecrusher, but despite his power, he was truly one of the worst of the champs.

He was throughtly outboxed by Tubbs and Witherspoon, and only really beat Tim in the second fight because tim did not care after being ripped off by King. Not that it is a shame to be outboxed by Witherspoon or Tubbs, but it illustrates that there was a wide gulf in talent between the other eighties flahs in the pan heavies.

He was big, powerful and had a good chin, but slow, timid when challenged, and knew nothing what so ever about the art of scientific boxing.

 

I'd take Smith over Valuev. BoneCrusher would be in the top ten today for sure. He might win a belt if he stuck around long enough, but I do not think he was good enough to keep it.

 

I agree that "Lazy Bones" Smith was good enough and powerful enough to capture a belt, but he was always slower than Molasses....... Smith could be out-boxed by a slick / slippery guy......... As he often was.........

Aside from the K. bros., today's crop is pretty weak..... I don't think much of Ruslan Chagaev, either.........

SR.BILLARDO

 

From what I've seen of Smith I don't think he beats Valuev. Valuev is incredibly 2 dimensional, but he does best against 'big' guys who don't move about much. Watch his fight with a shot Liakhovich. He gets taken apart by skilled boxers who can move about and avoid getting hit, but I don't think Smith is the guy to do it

No way he beats Wlad Klitschko... come on, thats crazy talk :nut

 

I see this is an old thread, and one that I haven't commented on, so given that its a shitty day and I'm off work I'll jump in...

James Smith was a big guy, with a hard punch and serviceable chin.. But, he was very slow, limited in skill and had questionable stamina and defense. Most of the men who he couldn't KO ended up beating him, unless they were of grade B level, ie.. Jesse Ferguson, Jose Ribalta, etc.. If we're talking about raw power, then he certainly had enough to stop Wlad in theory, but the problem is that he was for the most part, a right handed fighter, and its mainly the left that troubled Wladimir. He was also as mentioned, slow and limited in skill, and frankly I think both Klitschko's could out jab him with little trouble... Both Klits had size that few men ever matched or exceded Smith with, along with the right styles and skills to trouble him... Other men like Chambers, and a few others could have outpointed him as well.... As for Valuev, well he's gone now, as this thread was posted when he was still active... I think that Valuev vs Smith is a toss up. I can't see either man stopping the other, but I am inclined to taking Nikolay on points. Smith would not be able to impose his size on the much larger Russian, and Valuev for all his short cummings, was able to utilize his jab and reach to outpoint a fair number of foes.....

CONCLUSION: Smith might have had enough to crack today's top 10 and perhaps even hang around there for a while, but I don't see him winning a title or making a huge name for himself... In fact, he'd probably have similar status to a man like Tony Thomson.

 

he would do very well he has size power and a good jab that can confuse a fighter thus allowing him to use his overall ring tactics to get the job done:yep:think