This content is protected 1. Rate the fight out of 10 2. Rate how underrated the fight out of 10 3. Your thoughts
1. Since I think of a 5 as an average fight, I will give this one a 6. It was a bit better than an average fight. Both men landed big punches throughout and both were hurt more than once. 2. Probably a 7/ 10. Not a very dramatic and not the most action-packed fight of all time, it's not downright shocking that no one mentions this one, however, it should still be mentioned. It was a fairly good fight. 3. I do think that this was a robbery. Ribalta hit Smith repeatedly with that left-right 1-2 and it had an effect on Bonecrusher. Had Ribalta won the decision, he might have gone on to become a big name in the 80s and early 90s; who knows. Ribalta really looked like a very good fighter here though. Very fast with good combinations, good jab, and plenty of power. He also took some killer rights from Bonecrusher which did not hurt him at all. Thanks for posting this. I have always wanted to see at least some of the fight. The highlights confirm that I will want to buy this fight one of these days.
Defenitely, during his heyday he was a borderline good fighter who managed to stop Frank Bruno, Tim Witherspoon and beat Ribalta in a close fight. He went 12 rounds with ATG larry Holmes, lost to very good and underrated fighter in Tubbs and Marvis (Who when his father let him fight with the style he was made for, not using Joe's swarming style, did scored some solid wins). And a loss to an inshape, world class amateur James Broad at a time where he had come in at short notice and was not in great shape.
Somehow it reflects the pros & cons of James Smith. Awesome physical abilities. He got serious heavy hands with the ability to hurt anybody within a split-second. Power problem: It could happen, but then, it could not. Including the follow up of re-hurting (finishing) the task. One-sided unflexibel fight style (like fighting in spurts), virtually no use of boxing, reach & jab. Ribalta had guts & grit, fine mobility for his height, but lacked boxing and power a bit. Prime George Foreman vs. durable (but raw) powerhouse James Smith might be one of the finest un-artistic fantasy gunfights out there!
