After the loss, Smith embarked on a long winning streak, fighting just about every week, albeit against very ordinary opposition in small Midwestern club venues.
He would usually drive himself to fights in his red Honda Civic, with his manager (and lone cornerman) riding shotgun.
Smith admitted that he used his heavy schedule to his advantage: his theory was that it was better to get paid to fight and beat lesser opponents than to spar against better ones for little or no money.
This included a 7th-round KO over contender and European champion Kirkland Laing (who once beat the legendary Roberto Durán) and a second-round knockout over 1988 Olympic gold medalist Robert Wangila.
At the time, Smith sported an official record of 96-2-1 with 70 wins by KO and was ranked 13th at welterweight by the WBC.
He also lost to several former and future champions that included Buddy McGirt, Mark Breland, Julio César Chávez and Antonio Margarito.
The trio of fighters were nicknamed the Knucklehead Boxing Club, and traveled throughout the Midwest making frequent appearances on fight cards.