Dave Smith (1886 – 29 May 1945) was a champion New Zealand-born boxer.
Smith had success as an amateur boxer in New Zealand, winning Otago and Dunedin titles, and moved to Australia in 1907 to pursue a professional career.
[Dave Smith—A Great Australian Heavyweight]
, ''Toodyay Herald'', 25 October 1946, p. 9. Retrieved 13 October 2014
He became the
heavyweight champion of Australia, and travelled to the United States looking for a shot at the world title.
On his return to Australia he beat
Bill Lang to win the Commonwealth heavyweight title.
He appeared in the films ''
From Bondage to Freedom'' (1911) and ''
In the Last Stride'' (1916). He was also announced to play the lead in a film called ''An Australian Hero and the Red Spiders'' which may not have been made.
[ ]
Dave Smith died on 29 May 1945 in Sydney.
Dave was the 2009 Inductee for the
Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame
The Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame is a sports hall of fame which was founded in 2001 and began inducting boxers into the Hall of Fame in 2003. Since then annual induction dinners have been held across Australia.
Inductees are nominated ...
Old Timers category.
References
External links
Dave Smith boxing recordat Boxrec
1886 births
1945 deaths
New Zealand male boxers
Heavyweight boxers
Australian male boxers
New Zealand emigrants to Australia
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