Sid Smith (2 February 1889 – 28 April 1948) was an English professional boxer who competed from 1907 to 1919. He was the first officially recognised BBBofC British flyweight champion, holding the title from 1912 to 1913, and was also recognized by the International Boxing Union as the world flyweight champion in 1913.

Professional career Born in Bermondsey, London, of Jewish heritage, Smith learned to box as a boy at the Oxford Medical Mission in Bermondsey.

He had his first professional fight on 1 February 1907, a day before his eighteenth birthday, beating Jack Brooks on points over six rounds.

He was not known to be hard hitter but was fast, and displayed outstanding footwork.

Smith held an early claim to the championship of England, beating Stoker Bill Hoskyne over 20 2-minute rounds in September 1911, at The Ring, Blackfriars, London on points, and beating Louis Ruddick on points in October 1911 at Liverpool Stadium.

Taking the British Empire flyweight title, December, 1911 On 4 December 1911, he was matched with Joe Wilson, at the National Sporting Club, Covent Garden, winning the Club's newly introduced English (later British) title in the flyweight division and the first Lonsdale Belt. Wilson stepped in with two weeks notice to replace Sam Kellar, the originally scheduled boxer. Smith was down four times in the twenty round bout for short counts, but was still reported to have won handily.

Smith arrived in New York in February 1912 with British bantamweight boxer Billy Merchant."About the Boxers", The Wilkes-Barre Record, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, pg. 9, 7 February 1912 In a rare American bout on 24 February 1912, Smith fought a six-round draw by newspaper decision of the Philadelphia Item against talented Jewish boxer Louisiana in Philadelphia. In a fast bout, both boxers exhibited exceptional ringcraft, and footwork."Tommy Langston Fights Merchant a Draw", The Gazette Times, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pg. 7, 26 February 1912 Many boxing reporters, as well as Smith's manager W.E. Ames and Smith himself, hoped for a match with American boxer and reigning world bantamweight champion Johnny Coulon for a world championship, but Coulon's handlers were not interested. At the time, America did not have a flyweight boxing division, allowing Smith to compete against America's top bantams, including Coulon.Silver, Mike (2016). Stars of the Ring, Published by Rowman and Littlefield, Los Angeles, pps. 83-84.Hoping for world championship in "Curley Really Defeats Flynn Can Defeat Jack Johnson", Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, Ohio, 25 February 1912

On 19 September 1912, he made the first defence of his British flyweight title against Curley Walker at the Ring in Southwark, England, winning on points in a twenty-round bout.

Taking the European and world flyweight titles, April, 1913

In April 1913, he fought in Élysée Montmartre, Paris against reigning champion Frenchman Eugene Criqui for the European flyweight title and the World flyweight title, as recognized by the International Boxing Union. The bout was billed as the 112 pound (flyweight) championship. He beat Criqui on points over twenty rounds to take both titles. The ruling was a unanimous decision. An exceptional competitor, Criqui would move up a weight division and take the world bantamweight championship as well in 1923.

On 2 June 1913, he defended his titles against Bill Ladbury at Blackfriars, London. He lost the bout after holding his titles only seven weeks, suffering a technical knockout when the fight was stopped in the eleventh round.

On 24 October 1913, unable to return to the ring for the sixth round, he lost to Charles Ledoux at the Élysée Montmartre in Paris.

He lost his last bout with his talented rival, former British bantamweight champion and future world flyweight champion, Jimmy Wilde on 27 March 1916 at Hoxton Baths, London, in a third-round knockout of a fifteen-round match. Smith lost two previous meeting with Wilde, a knockout loss in a title bout in December 1914, and an eighth-round technical knockout loss in December 1915. In their December 1914 bout in Liverpool, Wilde successfully defended his claim to the British 112 pound (flyweight) title.

He continued fighting until December 1919, when he had his last fight, beating Johnny Marshall in an eleventh-round technical knockout on 26 December 1919, at the Royal Albert Hall.

Life after boxing retirement After retiring from boxing, he went into coaching boys, earning a living with a 'guess your weight' machine at markets in South London, though plagued by health problems. He trained professionals, including Joe Lynch prior to his fight with Jimmy Wilde, and was recruited to the Knights of Columbus to train United States Army boxers stationed in Britain. He also entertained, appearing on the stage with Harry Wheldon.

He had three sons, Sid, a jockey, Harry, and Bobby.

Smith died on 29 April 1948, his funeral was held on 4 May at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Leytonstone.

Professional boxing record All information in this section is derived from BoxRec, unless otherwise stated.

Official record

All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column. ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes101Win78–17–5 Johnny MarshallTKO11 (15)Dec 26, 1918100Win77–17–5 Jerry LyonsRTD9 (10)Oct 12, 191899Win76–17–5 Billy GarrardPTS6Sep 17, 191898Win75–17–5 Sid WhatleyPTS10Apr 22, 191897Loss74–17–5 Joe ConnRTD4 (20)Oct 15, 191796Loss74–16–5 Tommy NobleTKO5 (20)Apr 23, 191795Win74–15–5 Billy AffleckTKO13 (20)Feb 12, 191794Loss73–15–5 George ClarkPTS20Jan 29, 191793Win73–14–5 Sid WhatleyKO16 (20)Jan 8, 191792Win72–14–5 Jack JosephsPTS15Jun 22, 191691Win71–14–5 Ivor DayPTS15Jun 1, 191690Win70–14–5 Dido GainsPTS20May 20, 191689Loss69–14–5 Jimmy WildeKO3 (15)Mar 27, 191688Win69–13–5 Sid ShieldsPTS15Feb 17, 191687Loss68–13–5 Jimmy WildeTKO8 (15)Dec 20, 191586Draw68–12–5 Johnny BestPTS20May 3, 191585Draw68–12–4 Johnny BestPTS20Mar 20, 191584Win68–12–3 Young RileyPTS6Mar 17, 191583Loss67–12–3 Joe SymondsRTD4 (20)Feb 15, 191582Win67–11–3 Johnny MarshallDQ4 (20)Dec 19, 191481Loss66–11–3 Jimmy WildeTKO9 (15)Dec 3, 191480Win66–10–3 Billy Young RowlandsPTS20Oct 26, 191479Loss65–10–3 Alf WyePTS20Mar 23, 191478Win65–9–3 Alf WyePTS20Feb 16, 191477Loss64–9–3 Alf WyePTS15Nov 3, 191376Loss64–8–3 Charles LedouxRTD6 (20)Oct 24, 191375Win64–7–3 Ike Young BradleyPTS10Oct 9, 191374Loss63–7–3 Bill LadburyRTD11 (20)Jun 2, 191373Win63–6–3 Joe SymondsPTS15May 16, 191372Win62–6–3 Eugène CriquiUD20Apr 11, 191371Win61–6–3 Charlie WardPTS10Mar 28, 191370Win60–6–3 Danny ElliottPTS8Mar 25, 191369Win59–6–3 Kid HoganPTS6Mar 15, 191368Win58–6–3 Sam KellarPTS20Feb 24, 191367Win57–6–3 Charlie WardPTS6Feb 14, 191366Win56–6–3 Albert BouzonniePTS10Feb 12, 191365Win55–6–3 Danny ElliottPTS6Jan 23, 191364Win54–6–3 Albert BouzonniePTS10Dec 20, 191263Win53–6–3 Curley WalkerPTS20Sep 19, 191262Draw52–6–3 Joseph "Louisiana" BiderbergNWS6Feb 24, 191261Win52–6–3Joe WilsonPTS20Dec 4, 191160Win51–6–3Louis RuddickPTS20Oct 19, 191159Win50–6–3Georges GaillardPTS10Oct 2, 191158Win49–6–3Stoker Bill HoskynePTS20Sep 25, 191157Win48–6–3Kid HoganKO8 (10)Aug 4, 191156Win47–6–3Kid HoganPTS10Mar 20, 191155Win46–6–3Kid HoganPTS6Mar 8, 191154Win45–6–3George PetersPTS15Jan 30, 191153Win44–6–3Kid HoganKO7 (20)Jan 25, 191152Win43–6–3Stoker Bill HoskynePTS6Jan 11, 191151Win42–6–3Bob FinchKO2 (10)Dec 26, 191050Win41–6–3Alex LaffertyPTS20Dec 5, 191049Win40–6–3George HearnePTS6Nov 16, 191048Win39–6–3Bert MoughtonPTS10Nov 12, 191047Loss38–6–3Paddy CarrollPTS20Nov 10, 191046Win38–5–3Harry ProsserPTS6Oct 19, 191045Win37–5–3Ginger OsborneRTD9 (10)Oct 10, 191044Win36–5–3Bob FinchPTS6Oct 3, 191043Win35–5–3Kid LoganPTS6Sep 1, 191042Win34–5–3Paddy CarrollPTS10Jun 6, 191041Draw33–5–3Albert CocksedgePTS20Feb 23, 191040Win33–5–2Paddy CarrollPTS20Feb 17, 191039Win32–5–2Joe ShearPTS10Jan 27, 191038Win31–5–2Bill KynePTS6Jan 17, 191037Win30–5–2Jim ButlerPTS20Jan 10, 191036Win29–5–2Bill KynePTS6Dec 20, 190935Win28–5–2Ernie GodwinPTS6Dec 18, 190934Loss27–5–2Johnny HughesPTS6Dec 11, 190933Win27–4–2Bill KynePTS6Dec 6, 190932Win26–4–2Ted TimminsPTS6Oct 8, 190931Win25–4–2Albert DabbsPTS6Oct 4, 190930Win24–4–2Frank ExallKO2 (6)Sep 20, 190929Loss23–4–2Bill KynePTS6Jun 5, 190928Win23–3–2Albert CocksedgePTS10Mar 23, 190927Win22–3–2Jack WisePTS6Mar 15, 190926Win21–3–2Albert CocksedgePTS15Feb 8, 190925Loss20–3–2Albert CocksedgePTS6Jan 9, 190924Win20–2–2George HearnePTS6Dec 21, 190823Win19–2–2Jack MorrisPTS6Nov 30, 190822Win18–2–2Frank MorcombePTS10Oct 30, 190821Win17–2–2Harry LyonsPTS6Sep 1, 190820Win16–2–2Jack FoxPTS6Jul 4, 190819Loss15–2–2Charlie DewPTS10May 25, 190818Draw15–1–2Albert CocksedgePTS6Apr 27, 190817Win15–1–1Curley OsbornePTS6Apr 2, 190816Draw14–1–1Frank ExallPTS6Mar 21, 190815Win14–1Young HearleyRTD2 (6)Mar 9, 190814Win13–1Drummer Le HayPTS6Feb 15, 190813Win12–1Frank MorcombePTS6Feb 1, 190812Win11–1Jim GloverPTS6Jan 25, 190811Win10–1Frank MorcombePTS6Jan 20, 190810Loss9–1Charlie DewPTS10Jan 13, 19089Win9–0Arthur JonesTKO3 (6)Jan 4, 19088Win8–0Charlie DewPTS6Dec 14, 19077Win7–0Curley OsbornePTS6Nov 30, 19076Win6–0Drummer Le HayPTS6Nov 27, 19075Win5–0Curley OsbornePTS6Nov 16, 19074Win4–0Curley OsbornePTS6May 25, 19073Win3–0Drummer Le HayPTS6Apr 13, 19072Win2–0Drummer Le HayPTS6Mar 30, 19071Win1–0Curley OsbornePTS6Mar 23, 1907

Unofficial record

Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions in the win/loss/draw column.