Howard 'Kayo' Smith ~ "Good Fighter - Bad Breaks"

[Bill Paxtom]

Thursday ~ April 8, 1976

Olympic Auditorium ~ Los Angeles, California

~ Howard Smith Back In Olympic Ring ~

Howard 'Kayo' Smith ~ 21-1-0 {16 KO's}
vs.
John 'Speedy' Jordan ~ 19-8-3 {10 KO's}

Howard Smith, the #4 WBC-ranked Heavyweight is back in the Ring after an extended
'11-Month' hiatus. His last bout was back on May 8, 1975 - when he 'clobbered'
Larry Middleton by a KO in 5.

John 'Speedy' Jordan {Norfolk, Virginia} has won 5-Straight in the Virginia small-club
fight circuit, and hopes to score an 'upset'.

~ Howard Smith And John Jordan Bout Ends By 'No-Decision' ~

The 10-Round Heavyweight bout between Howard 'Kayo' Smith and John 'Speedy' Jordan
ended by a No Decision in Round 4, as Smith landed an accidental low-blow into Jordan
at 1:44 of Round 4.

Smith {207 lbs.}, the California State Heavyweight Championship, boxed well over the
first 2-Rounds, as he slammed Jordan {196 lbs.} with jolting left-hands and an occasional
'2-Punch' combination.

In Round 3, Smith again controlled the action, and just past the mid-way point in the
session he started working Jordan's body.

But the 31 year-old Norfolk, Virginia Heavyweight hung tough, and made it a fight at
the {2:10 Mark} when he came back with some decent body punches of his own to back
the 29 year-old Smith off.

Both fighters got into a 'heated exchange' at the end of Round 3, as they traded heavy
hooks into each others body.

In Round 4, both fighters met at Center-Ring, and each continued with their body-attack.

But at the {0:40 Mark}, Howard drove Jordan backwards and into the Ropes, and started
to let his body-blows fly into the Virginia Heavyweight.

Smith went after Jordan's body with hard hooks into the mid-section and sides.

Then at the {1:00 Mark}, Smith let a right-hand stray 'too low', and Jordan 'dropped' to the
canvas in pain from the punch.

The Referee determined it was an 'accidental-blow', and permitted John Jordan a
2-Minute 'rest period'.

The Referee - Dick Young asked Jordan if he wanted to continue, and he said >
"Ill give it a try, but I'm hurting down there."

When the action resumed, the Virginia Heavyweight tried to fight on, but it was
obvious that Jordan was still hurting. Howard Smith 'pulled' his punches, and
backed off when Jordan was not fighting back.

The Referee - Dick Young then halted the action, and called the bout over at
{1:44} of Round 4.

Under California State Boxing Rules, the bout is ruled a 'No Decision'.

Howard Smith was ahead on all '3' Scorecards {3-0 / 3-0 / 3-0} at the time the bout
was ended by an 'accidental' low-bow.

[Bill Paxtom]

Saturday ~ April 10, 1976

Howard 'Kayo' Smith

Howard Smith was back in the Ring on Thursday Night at the Olympic Auditorium
against Virginia Heavyweight - John 'Speedy' Jordan.

Unfortunately, the bout only went 4-Rounds, as Howard accidentally struck his opponent
John 'Speedy' Jordan low, and the bout was halted and ruled a 'No Decision'.

Howard, who is ranked as the #4 WBC Heavyweight was using the bout as a 'tune-up'
to sharpen his skills for a possible 'Television Bout' with Earnie Shavers in May or June 1976.

The 29 year-old Californian had been 'idle' for 11-months {since May 8, 1975} before
Thursday Night's bout.

Howard, who has been a sparring-partner for Top Contender - Ken Norton, is an always
ready fighter, and hopes things turn around in 1976, after a 'near quiet' 1975.

[Bill Paxtom]

Thursday ~ May 20, 1976

Howard Smith, the #4 WBC-Ranked Heavyweight signed to fight Atlanta, Georgia based
Heavyweight - Dan 'Ronnell' Johnson at the Olympic Auditorium next Thursday
on May 27th.

Howard Smith and Dan Johnson have fought before {3 1/2 years earlier}, back on
November 16, 1972 , where Howard won by a Knockout in Round 10 in a rather grueling bout.

If Howard Smith is impressive, he has a date lined up in New York against 'unbeaten'
Johnny Boudreaux, which will be on the undercard of the George Foreman vs. Joe Frazier
rematch.

Howard {Age; 29 years, 4 months} has a record of 21-1-0 {16 KO's}.

Dan Johnson {Age; 26 years, 7 months}, a hard right-hand puncher, has a record of
19-4-0 {17 KO's}, including '7' straight wins, with all coming by Knockout.

[Bill Paxtom]

General Information

Howard 'Kayo' Smith

In 1968,

Howard was the Fifth Army Heavyweight Champion and was stationed in
Fort Carson, Colorado.

The Army Boxing Team visited the Canon City, Colorado Prison to face their
Boxing Team.

Howard {Age; 21} was pitted against the 'vicious punching' Ron Lyle, who was
a 27 year-old hardened Felon.

In their 1st-Bout, Ron Lyle used his strength to out-muscle the boxer Howard Smith
over 3-Rounds, as Lyle was awarded the Decision.

In their rematch, Howard got right on top of Ron, and never let him get off his
big punches. It was a one-sided bout, with Howard stopping Ron in Round 3.

Howard Smith >

"In our 1st-bout, I let Ron dictate the flow of the bout, and he out-muscled me. He
was very strong, but wasn't all that skilled at the time."

"In the rematch, I jumped all over him and kept punching. I really nailed him in
Round 2, and dropped him for a 3-Count. The Prison Inmates were in shock, as
nobody ever did that to Ron before."

"In Round 3, I smothered him with a barrage, because he really didn't know how to
roll with the punches or slide from the incoming right-hands. I had him out on his
feet and hanging over the Top Rope strand. The Referee jumped in and stopped it."

"After the bout, they handed me a big '3-Foot' Trophy for the 'Best Performance' at
the event."

"I told Ron that he was very good and had a hard punch. But he needed to work on
his speed, because he was kind of slow."

"He thanked me, and then told me that nobody ever hit him that hard before, even
with a Baseball Bat."

[brocktonblockbust]

howard got a bum deal becaise ali was fighting ~bums~

[Bill Paxtom]

howard got a bum deal becaise ali was fighting ~bums~

Can you just imagine saying "Jean-Pierre Coopman" with a straight face.

[Bill Paxtom]

Thursday ~ May 27, 1976

Olympic Auditorium ~ Los Angeles, California

Television Broadcast > Channel 13

Howard 'Kayo' Smith ~ 21-1-0 {16 KO's} ~ 203 lbs.
vs.
Dan 'Ronnell' Johnson ~ 19-4-0 {17 KO's} ~ 208 lbs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~ World-Ranked Howard Smith Unimpressive In Win Over Dan Johnson ~

Howard Smith was lackluster and unimpressive thru the first 8-Rounds of his bout with
hard-punching Dan Johnson of Atlanta, Georgia.

Smith used an occasional left-jab, and a less frequent right-hand during a dull and
uneventful 8 Rounds. Only a minor flurry in Round 4, and a hard combination in
Round 6 was the most action dished out from the 'highly-regarded' California
Heavyweight.

During Rounds 7 and 8, a disinterested Smith moved back the Ropes, and let the
strong-punching Atlanta Heavyweight hit him with left-hooks and right-hands,
without offering a quality return punch.

But in Round 9, a re-charged Smith came out with a 'flash-bang', and hammered a
game Dan Johnson around the Ring. Smith poured it on, as he 'stunned' Johnson
several times with right-hand crosses.

With only {3 Seconds} left in the Round, Smith unloaded a vicious right-hand to the
head, dropping Johnson to the canvas.

As Referee - Dick Young tolled off the Count, Johnson rose and was 'saved-by-the-bell'.

Coming out for Round 10, a 'still groggy' but game Dan Johnson hustled out to Center-Ring
and tried to make a fight out of it.

Johnson started winging in wide-hooks, as Howard stayed outside and used measuring
left-jabs in an attempt to set up Johnson for a right-hand.

The action was 'even' for the first 50-Seconds. Then Johnson attempted a wide right-hook,
but Howard beat him to the punch and caught Johnson on the chin with a 'hard' right-cross
at the {1:02 Mark}.

Johnson was 'stunned'. Then Howard fired off a fast 'left-right-left', sending Johnson backwards
to the left-side Ropes.

With a 'stunned fighter' in front of him, Howard unleashed a tremendous overhand-right that
landed on Johnson's head, sending him crashing to the canvas.

Referee - Dick Young counted out Dan Johnson at 1:21 of Round 10.