Ronnie Smith

Liverpool-born Ronnie Smith took up boxing by going to a local gym after school at the age of 10. A schoolmate of his was the 1960s singer Cilla Black. Despite taking up boxing, Smith wanted to be a jockey and left home at the age of 14 to become a stable boy, but soon returned after being homesick. Smith joined the Liverpool Transport Amateur Boxing Club and, after a promising junior career, decided it would be better to further his career by moving to London where he worked as a van driver and joined the famous Fisher Amateur Boxing Club in Bermondsey.

Smith went on to win the 1964 ABA featherweight title by beating Ken Cooper. That victory got him a place on the Great Britain team for the Tokyo Olympics and, despite being fancied to win a medal, Smith was beaten by Burma´s (now Myanmar) Tin Tun after the referee stopped the contest after just 67 seconds of the opening round. It was felt that having to lose weight to make the featherweight limit left Smith weak.

Smith turned professional after the Olympics and between 1965-66 had 10 fights, winning nine and losing one. After retiring, Smith moved to the United States and got a job in the restaurant at the Baltusrol Golf Club, New Jersey, where he witnessed two US Open Championships and served dinner to the US President Gerald Ford. Smith later moved to Virginia and worked for the Virginia Museum. He died in the USA in 2011.