User blog comment:Blackendedsoul/Smoker's Bravery/@comment-3119203-20120320025225

To me cockiness is acting confident and overinflating yourself when you are really nothing. So, Smoker is not cocky: he is confident. He is sure of his strength. These are two different things.

Let's talk a bit about Smoker's personality. He has challenged 1) A Shichibukai famed for his cruelty 2) A man with a 550,000,000 bounty and 3) The most wanted to the man in the world (he did not challenge him, but his tone suggested to me that he could have fought if he felt like it). Smoker is strong, and if you are, then why hide it? He is intimidating, and especially in Loguetown where he was first stationed, you need to be. Pirates were afraid of him, and it prevented crime. Now he is the commanding officer of G-5, one of the toughest Marine stations in the world. If he did not put on a tough front, then he would lose respect. Imagine this: Smoker confronts a famous pirate, hears his bounty, and backs down. Got it? He would lose the respect of his men and he would lose the respect of his position. He wants to be promoted for the sake of power, and acting like a freakin pansy would not help him at all.

Now the strength to back it up. Firstly, let's take a look at his Devil Fruit: a logia. From experience, logias are amazingly strong. Even Caribou, who had no experience with one, was a legitimate threat with a 210,000,000 bounty. Pretty good for a new pirate. Logias in the hands of the physically capable and those who know how to use them are downright terrifying. Smoker has the physical ability (held down Luffy easily) and the experience (been in the Marines for some time, obviously knows the ins and outs of his Devil Fruit), making him strong. Personally, I think the only thing holding him back from an admiral position is his rebellious personality, and he doesn't even have a particularly destructive Logia. This places him easily on par with Shichibukai and pirates of Ace's level.

In conclusion, was walking up to Ace bold of him? Yes. But could he have matched Ace? Yes. Therefore, it isn't cockiness, but confidence. Sureness and pride in his abilities. Call it what you will, but this is my take on it.