Home › Championship History › Jeff Smith vs. Karriem Allah, 1975: The Thrilla in Manila Card

On October 1, 1975, Jeff Smith beat Karriem Allah by an 11-round split decision at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, in the Washington area. The bout was a heavyweight title fight sanctioned by Don King’s organization and was fought on the closed-circuit card for Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III, the “Thrilla in Manila,” a broadcast seen by an estimated one billion viewers worldwide.1,2,3,4

Where was the Karriem Allah fight?

The fight took place at the Capital Centre, the arena in Landover, Maryland, that served the Washington market, as a live segment of the closed-circuit presentation of the Ali–Frazier fight in Manila.1,5 Smith describes it in a Martial Arts Professional interview as a win for the “heavyweight title under Don King’s sanctioning body.”1 A Martial Arts Professional history dates the bout to October 1, 1975, the date of the Manila main event, and places it at the Capital Centre.6

Poster: Battle of Champions, Karriem Allah vs. Jeff Smith, World Heavyweight Contact Karate Championship, live from Capital Centre, Washington, D.C., on giant theatre screen TV, a Don King Production
Closed-circuit theater poster: “Battle of Champions, Karriem Allah vs. Jeff Smith, World Heavyweight Contact Karate Championship,” live from the Capital Centre, a Don King Production.

Who was Karriem Allah?

Karriem Allah (also spelled Kareem Allah) was a heavyweight backed by Don King and placed on the closed-circuit broadcast. Martial Arts Wealth Mastery frames the bout as a Don King miscalculation that Smith “thoroughly dominated.”7

How did Jeff Smith win?

Allah took the early rounds. Smith came back to win an 11-round split decision.2,8 Mike Miles’s history of kickboxing, independent of Smith’s own accounts, also records a split-decision win under full-contact rules, presented before Ali–Frazier III.3

Official Karate Special Fighting Champions magazine cover, Jeff Smith and Karriem Allah
Official Karate Special Fighting Champions: “Jeff Smith Stops Karriem Allah.”
Karriem Allah, promoter Don King and Jeff Smith, from left, around their 1975 World Heavyweight Contact Karate Championship fight
From left: Karriem Allah, Don King and Jeff Smith, around their October 1, 1975 World Heavyweight Contact Karate Championship fight, a Don King Production.

Why does the fight matter?

It put a karate champion in front of the largest boxing audience of the era. The Taekwondo Hall of Fame and USAdojo both highlight it in their profiles of Smith.8,9 It came between his first PKA title in 1974 and his title defenses in Paris and Atlanta in 1976; see the championship record.

Frequently asked questions

When did Jeff Smith fight Karriem Allah?

On October 1, 1975, the night of Ali–Frazier III, the “Thrilla in Manila.”6,1

Where did Jeff Smith fight Karriem Allah?

At the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, in the Washington area, on the Thrilla in Manila closed-circuit card. The fight was not held in Manila.1

What title did Jeff Smith win against Karriem Allah?

A heavyweight title sanctioned by Don King’s organization, by an 11-round split decision.1,2

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Sources

  1. Martial Arts Professional, “Jeff Smith Interview”
  2. Karate in English (Lewis–Wallace history blog), “Jeff ‘DC Bomber’ Smith” fight chronology
  3. Mike Miles, “A History of Kickboxing, 1950s–1970s”
  4. Wikipedia, “Thrilla in Manila”
  5. Wikipedia, “Capital Centre”
  6. Martial Arts Professional, “Elvis Presley and Karate: The Documented History” (2026)
  7. Martial Arts Wealth Mastery, “Leadership Lessons from Grand Master Jeff Smith”
  8. Taekwondo Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame page
  9. USAdojo, “Jeff Smith” profile