FIVE THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT: China Smith

1. Close call. Smith did not get to walk at his high school graduation. Smith was one-half credit short in math and did not find out until a few weeks before graduation. Luckily, a teacher worked with him to help him finish so he would receive his high school diploma. “It was hurtful to be unable to walk,” he says.

2. First Fight. Smith’s first professional boxing fight in Sarasota was held at Robarts Arena, and more than 1,500 people had to be turned away because so many people came out to see him fight.

3. Family Business. Smith’s family owns the oldest black business in Sarasota, the Town Hall Restaurant. Smith spent plenty of time working at the restaurant and is always reminded by his family to “never get too big where you cant put one of these aprons on,” he says.

4. Deputy Dragon? Not quite. Smith did attend the academy in hopes of becoming a deputy and worked in the High Security Maximum facility in Manatee County as a correction officer. However, while he did finish the academy he did not pass the State’s exam to become a deputy. “I felt bad, but if you do everything you can and come up short and you did the best you could do, that’s all you can do,” he says. “I finished strong at the academy and built a great relationship with the department.”

5. Mama’s Boy. Smith is very close with his family, especially his mother. “I am mama’s boy, and I don’t understand how kids get to be so disrespectful,” he says.

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