Lyle could outbox him, he had better fundamentals and jab, also was faster, if it was a war, it becomes more even, but still favour Lyle due to having the tighter punches and technique, he could shorten them up better.
Best for best, I'll take Bonecrusher. Better chin, just as much power, better punch placement. I think it'd be a very long night, though.
I normally have an instant preference in match ups , but this one got me thinking Smith was a fighter that I could never make my mind up about. After beating Bruno in his 15th fight he was then put in with Holmes and lost 4 of his next 5 fights. He then had 4 good wins in a row beating the likes of Bey and Weaver before getting a shot at Witherspoons' title. Smith won in round 1 on a freezing cold December day with Madison Sq Garden half empty. Witherspoon later claimed he was happy to lose to get out of his contract with Don King. Smith was a relatively late call up for the fight if I remember. The bout was offered to Tyrell Biggs but the Duvas turned it down as Don King wanted a large slice of Biggs contract in return. Biggs instead beat Snipes on the undercard of Witherspoon/Smith. After beating Witherspoon, Smith then lost to Tyson. More losses followed before a string of wins against lower grade opponents or names who were past their best before more losses led to the end of his career. He turned pro quite late and had just turned 30 when he beat Bruno in his 15th fight. Hard to know where his peak was and a difficult fighter to give a consistent rating. Lyle had a similar late start and a similar record of a few good wins followed by losses at the top end. I'm quite happy to say I haven't got a firm opinion of who wins this . Any opinion would be a guess.
A toss up fight for me. I think Smith likely had the better chin, power is about equal, Lyle had a little more determination to win.
