Holmes entered the fight as the lineal heavyweight champion after relinquishing the WBC title earlier that year following a dispute over sanctioning fees. Rather than vacate boxing’s throne, the 35-year-old simply carried his championship status into the newly formed IBF, making Smith the first challenger to his new title.
It was Holmes’ first appearance in nearly a year after stopping Marvis Frazier in one round in his previous outing. Across the ring stood Smith, who brought a 14-1 record and considerable momentum after rallying to knock out unbeaten British contender Frank Bruno in the 10th round. Although Smith lacked Holmes’ championship pedigree, his punching power earned him a reputation as one of the division’s most dangerous contenders.
Referee Davey Pearl was the third man in the ring as Holmes weighed 222 pounds and Smith came in at 227.
Holmes took command early, pumping his trademark left jab to keep Smith at the end of his punches. The champion controlled the range through the opening rounds, forcing Smith to follow him while picking away with quick, accurate shots.
Smith spent much of the early going following Holmes around the ring, waiting for chances to throw his right hand over the champion’s jab. Whenever Holmes lingered in range, the challenger fired the punch, looking for an opening to turn the fight in his favor.
During the middle rounds, Smith found success with several heavy right hands that briefly caught Holmes’ attention and produced some of the champion’s most uncomfortable moments of the fight. Holmes, however, quickly regained control, returning to his jab, movement and superior ring generalship to keep Smith from building any sustained momentum.
The fight took another turn in the seventh round when a clash of heads opened a deep cut around Smith’s left eye.
Holmes went back to the cut as the fight wore on, landing clean shots around Smith’s left eye. The damage became more noticeable with each round, but Smith continued trying to work his way inside despite the worsening injury.
By the 12th round, the damage had become too severe. After ringside physicians examined Smith’s cuts, Pearl halted the contest at the 2:10 mark, awarding Holmes a technical knockout victory. Holmes was comfortably ahead on all three scorecards when the bout was stopped.
The victory extended Holmes’ unbeaten record to 46-0 and kept his heavyweight title reign intact. He successfully defended the championship twice more before suffering the first defeat of his career in a controversial decision against Michael Spinks in September 1985.
Smith rebounded from the loss by upsetting Tim Witherspoon to capture the WBA heavyweight title in 1986, becoming a world heavyweight champion before later losing the belt to Mike Tyson in 1987. His later success gave Holmes’ victory even greater historical significance, as the unbeaten champion had turned back another future heavyweight titleholder during one of boxing’s greatest championship reigns.
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