Jimmy Lee Smith is a retired heavyweight professional boxer from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Smith made his professional debut on July 27, 1989 with a third-round knockout win against Randy Ramman, who was also appearing in his first professional fight. Smith won his first seven fights as a pro, five of them by knockout, before facing five-time Upper Midwest Golden Gloves champion [1] John Sargent for the unofficial Minnesota heavyweight title on December 7, 1990. Sargent, 8-0 at the time, won the fight by split decision. After an eight month hiatus Smith returned to the ring, taking a points win against unknown Robert Smith, setting the stage for a mismatch with former heavyweight world champion "Terrible" Tim Witherspoon. Smith lost to Witherspoon by first-round knockout. Smith wasted no time getting back in the ring, taking a split decision win from journeyman Andrew Stokes just three months later, then taking the biggest win of his career a mere two months after that, when he beat 27-1-1 Mark Carrier in July 1992. Next up was highly ranked contender Carl "The Truth" Williams, who disposed of Smith in three rounds. Smith took one more fight as a pro, defeating Rocky Sekorski on points, and then retired.
In a brief but incredibly ambitious professional career Smith compiled a record of 11-3, with six of his wins coming by knockout.[2] The unusual thing about Smith's career is the way he rushed to face top contenders right away, never taking time to develop his skills as most prizefighting prospects do. While most prospects are still facing tomato cans and learning the basics after fourteen professional fights, Smith had already tasted glory and flamed out.