Saw he fought with Julio Cesar Chavez twice. He looked pretty good on the film although JCC overpowered him. Looked him up on Boxrec and he had 137 fights. Was this guy any good, could he have ever won a title?
Marty was a barnstormer along the lines of Young Stribling, Harold Brazier and Buck Smith. Beating a multitude of non-entities. However, Stribling and Brazier could really step up and did many times, beating some outstanding talent along the way. Marty could have been better, but who knows, if he had been brought along fighting better competition rather than fight stiffs and then thrown in against a Chavez or Miguel Gonzalez. Quite a gulf between his competition.
There's more than a few guys fighting on that middle of America circuit that have a ton of fights. I read an article in OKC about one that was 65-1, all 4-6 rounders in spots around Oklahoma. I met Buck Smith there, while I was putting up the ring and he was setting up tables and chairs for a charity fight card.
He certainly looked schooled but like everyone else here said he basically had an extended career and stayed at a certain level too long a buck smith type. He appears to be a good example of a fighter with little real interest in being a world champion and management keeping him at a lower level too long.....the punches, footwork and chin looked decent but they have to be refined against better and better competition and his really wasn't.
Any memories of the man? Nice guy? I've always advocated for Buck on here, he wasn't a world beater but he was game as hell with a devestating left hook that he sprung his entire body into... he knocked Kirkland Laing as spark out as Colin Jones did after being completely outboxed for several rounds by the much more naturally talented Laing. Smith also upset once touted Olympian and eventual tragic boxing story Robert Wangila, applying tons of pressure on Wangila, bullying him against the ropes and knocking him out in two. Wangila would die from injuries suffered during the course of a bout and pass away just a few years later. Smith was also one of the last men ever to fight the 15 round distance, something he did in late 1990 (I have no idea what organization or commission was behind that one) against fellow have gloves will travel fighter Harold Brazier. For a man with no amateur career, who learned how to fight by training on homemade equipment in his garage, he was a dangerous and even interesting figure.
Buck Smith was a fun fighter to watch. I wish Brazier vs Smith had been televised. Buck Smith had a good fight with Kevin Pompey.
Ah! I'll definitely have to keep an eye out for the Pompey bout... I too wish the Brazier/Smith fights were televised. I don't even know if they were recorded, honestly. You would imagine so but in the small gyms, fairs, and random halls these guys fought in all over the country... who knows?
He was very soft-spoken. I didn't know who he was earlier in the day when we were setting up. We talked after the card, looking out the window at the crowd leaving. He was working for the promoter while I was setting up a ring that belonged to another promoter.
Nice post Brazier was a much better overall fighter. And, you're right fighting good competiton w/out getting ruined helped Brazier. He was thrown in early and lost some fights, But, he was able to break out of that mid-western circuit and was a legitimate top 10 contender. He upset quite a few guys and was competitive with the best. It was always nice when an opponent type broke out of that status into a legitimate contender. Freddie Pendleton was another example.
1993-05-08 Eric Jakubowski 3 0 0 Grand Forks Civic Auditorium, Grand Forks W TKO I saw this result on box rec. Damn, he beat up his brother. LOL.
