1974 World Professional Karate Championships: Jeff Smith’s Title

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On September 14, 1974, at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, Jeff Smith became the first Professional Karate Association (PKA) World Light Heavyweight Champion. At Mike Anderson’s World Professional Karate Championships, broadcast on ABC’s Wide World of Entertainment, he knocked out Budimir Vejnovic of Yugoslavia and then outpointed Wally Slocki of Canada in the final. Joe Lewis and Bill Wallace won the other American titles that night.^1,2,3

What were the 1974 World Professional Karate Championships?

The event, promoted by Mike Anderson, is generally treated as the founding event of American full-contact karate and of the PKA.^2,4 Fourteen fighters from eight countries competed for $3,000 per champion.^1,5 The American fighters other than Lewis were chosen on their Professional Karate magazine rankings: Smith, Wallace and Howard Jackson.¹ Smith came in rated second in the country; by the end of the year Professional Karate named him the number-one point fighter in the United States.^1,6

How did Jeff Smith win the title?

The contemporaneous fight report describes both bouts:¹

Preliminary vs. Budimir Vejnovic. Vejnovic was the All-European light-heavyweight champion. With 12 seconds left in the first round, Smith dropped him with a left ridge hand, and Vejnovic “remained on his back for three minutes.”
Final vs. Wally Slocki. Smith took round one on all seven votes. Slocki won round two with leg-scissors takedowns and punches. In round three the referee penalized Slocki for unsportsmanlike conduct, and all seven votes went to Smith.

Mike Miles’s history of kickboxing gives the same account of the night.⁵ Joe Lewis (heavyweight), Bill Wallace (middleweight) and Isaias Duenas of Mexico (lightweight) won the other titles; Smith and Duenas both had taekwondo roots.^7,8 Wikipedia notes that the original champions became established as “legends of the kickboxing.”⁷

Professional Karate magazine cover, Summer 1974, Jeff Smith wins Bruce Lee Trophy — Professional Karate, Summer 1974: “Jeff Smith Wins Bruce Lee Trophy.”

How did he get to Los Angeles?

Smith’s 1974 season included the Battle of Atlanta, Ed Parker’s Internationals in Long Beach (where he beat Darnell Garcia), the Houston Karate Olympics, and a European tour with Wallace, Lewis, Jim Butin and Howard Jackson. In West Berlin that spring, Linda Lee presented the American team, which faced the new European champions, including Vejnovic.^9,10 He was also the first recipient of the Bruce Lee Award, selected by Linda Lee and Professional Karate magazine.^11,12,13 The full season is on Point-Fighting Career.

Jeff Smith on Mike Anderson

When the promoter Mike Anderson died in September 2026, Smith confirmed the news to Martial Arts Professional and signed his tribute “Light Heavyweight World Champion, World Professional Karate Championships, Los Angeles, 1974”: “We lost a great Martial Artist today … One of the True Pioneers in the Martial Arts. We all owe him a debt of gratitude helping build our Martial Arts to become a Worldwide Sport of where it is today!”¹⁴

Frequently asked questions

Who won the 1974 PKA world championships?

Jeff Smith (light heavyweight), Joe Lewis (heavyweight), Bill Wallace (middleweight) and Isaias Duenas (lightweight), on September 14, 1974, in Los Angeles.^1,7

Who did Jeff Smith beat for the 1974 title?

Budimir Vejnovic of Yugoslavia by knockout in the preliminary, then Wally Slocki of Canada by decision in the final.¹

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