By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com
My friend, the late Boxing Historian Al Nelson, who was much older than I and who lived at the turn of the 20th Century, told me back in 1969 about a fighter named Jeff Smith, saying “This guy was as tough as nails” … this was a quote in which I took great interest. So, I did some research of my own on this middleweight boxer.
I was amazed at the crop of high level fighters that he faced in his career which included Harry Greb, Gene Tunney, Mike Gibbons, Georges Carpentier, Les Darcy, Tommy Loughran, and George Chip.
Smith began his boxing career in 1910, and engaged in 183 bouts, until his retirement in 1927. In that 17 year span he compiled 141 wins, 34 losses, and 5 draws, with 3 no-contests.
In retirement, he became a physical education instructor with the Bayonne Board of Education and the Fort Dix (New Jersey) Army Base, and also taught boxing lessons at a local YMCA.
A highlight of his career was facing Eddie McGooty in Sydney, Australia, on March 14, 1914, losing a very unpopular decision in 20 rounds. The decision was so despised that it was later rescinded, with Smith being awarded the Australian version of the World Middleweight Title.
Another amazing part of his career was that he had a tremendous rivalry with the legendary Harry Greb, engaging him in seven fights. Smith lost six times and drew once. Greb had great respect for Smith and stated “My toughest fight was with Jeff Smith. Tommy Gibbons gave me a hard battle, but nothing like the Smith beating.”
On December 8, 1924, Smith faced another legendary boxer, Gene Tunney. He would lose a unanimous 15 round decision to the larger Tunney, being knocked down twice.
Jeff Smith was inducted into the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1969, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2013.
Born Jerome Jefferds on April 23, 1891 in New York, he was certainly one of the most traveled fighters in history. Known as “The Bayonne Globetrotter”, he fought in France, Australia, England, Canada and Mexico. Smith passed away on February 3, 1962 at the age of 70, in Levittown, New Jersey.