The
fight everyone is focusing on this week is the pay-per-view contest
taking place this Saturday night at the MGM Grand between WBA junior
middleweight titlist Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather. For Ishe Smith,
the night before at the Hard Rock Hotel is the biggest night of his
professional career, one he really cares about as he’s scheduled to face
Ayi Bruce on a Fox Deportes-televised card. Oh, he’s had bigger
showcases on the likes of HBO and Showtime but this fight represents a
turning of the page for Smith, who’s as enigmatic as he is talented.
You might say this page represents the beginning of a new chapter- of both his career and life.
“In
a way, it does feel like that. Unfortunately, it’s been awhile; it’s
been rough to get fights,” said Smith, who last faced live fire back in
November of 2010, when he stopped Alexander Quiroz in two rounds in Fargo, North Dakota(yes,
there is pro boxing in North Dakota). “I’ve had a couple fall through;
sometimes the second chapter is better than the first. I’ve learned a
lot in the beginning of my career and the middle and now, this is the
second chapter. I’m looking to make it a nice one.”
Was
it that long ago when Smith was propped up by Fernando Vargas for his
sharp skills as a sparring partner in the lead-up to the Oxnard native’s
grudge match against Oscar De la Hoya? Well, yeah, actually; a full
decade has passed since “Sugar Shay” first entered our consciousness.
Since then, Smith has gone on a rollercoaster ride of a career, good
enough to earn significant opportunities but never good enough to
capitalize on them- all the while becoming a polarizing figure to those
in the industry.
.
"I
think, in the beginning, I came from nowhere. I splashed down on the
scene; Fernando Vargas gave me a shout out on HBO and everybody wanted
to see who I was and I signed with Gary Shaw and then, I just kinda took
off,” he explained of his journey in pro boxing. “From that point, I
had a couple of bad things happen in my career. I wasn’t making a lot of
money for my fights, then I went to “The Contender” and that split
decision [loss to Sergio Mora, Smith’s first], it kinda just
mentally...I mean, I looked at myself like I couldn’t be beat.”
Unless
you were inside the “Contender Arena” in Pasadena, CA. that night, you
can’t necessarily form an opinion on who really won since all those
fights were highly edited on NBC. But on this boxing reality show, Smith
was its version of Omarosa from “The Apprentice,” an individual who
drew the ire of the audience for his behavior during the show. Most were
not sad to see him eliminated by the upstart “Latin Snake,” believing
he deserve his comeuppance.
“When I lost that split decision, especially feeling like I won it, it
got set me back a little bit. Then I came off that; I had some problems
with ‘The Contender’ people, didn’t want to do that anymore,” said
Smith, who earned a reputation as a malcontent for not acquiescing to
the every wish of co-Executive Producer Jeff Wald’s “promotional”
entity, “Tournament of Contenders.” But while others who didn’t win that
inaugural season- most notably Alfonso Gomez- were able to craft a nice
living by sticking with them, Smith decided to leave the organization.
“Then I signed with Golden Boy and, at the time, I wanted big fights and
end up fighting Sechew Powell and I had a lot of stuff going on
personally in my life with my marriage and stuff like that. I never
fully felt like I was that young kid.”
Smith lost a desultory 10-round decision to Powell in February of 2007.
He
then made this blunt admission, “I was a young a**hole. When I look
back on it, I should’ve been that guy who studied the game a little
more, not been so brash and I never really recovered, especially from
the divorce. I think it wasn’t till about ‘10, when we became friends
and we were working together with the kids. I just put a lot of stuff
behind me and realized I had made some mistakes in my career.”
As his relationship with his ex-wife, Latoya, improved, so did his performances inside the square circle.
“I
think when I fought Fernando Guerrero, even in defeat, that was the
best- to me- I ever looked, in my eyes,” he said of his 10-round loss in
July of 2010 on “ShoBox” that many observers had him winning. “Even
when I go back and look at it, because Guerrero was a tough kid, he had a
lot of heart, a lot of will and I went in there and fought him. I’m not
going to sugarcoat you; I don’t think I beat Daniel Jacobs. A lot of
people say, ‘Well, Harold Lederman [of HBO] had you beating Sechew
Powell’- I don’t think I beat him. I think I just left a little bit in
those fights, to leave a little doubt, but I do think I beat Fernando
Guerrero. I do think I beat Sergio Mora but I don’t think that I beat
[Joel] Julio either. I think I left a little in those fights and that
was all personal problems, no excuses. I never mentioned my divorce. I’m
pretty private; I never mentioned my divorce. It’s something I don’t
wish on anyone and I’m just trying to get back to that stage. I’m a lot
wiser and older.”
Smith
is now 33 years old and you can hear it in his voice; he’s been humbled
to a certain degree. But he’s also a man now content with a clear
conscience as he moves forward. What do they say about youth being
wasted on the young?
He
states, “I think I took my gift for granted and like I said, I was
kinda an a**hole. I was like, ‘I can’t be touched.’ I went out there and
I fought like that and I think as I got older and I sat down and you
get to raising kids, you can look back over your life and you’re like,
‘Damn, I wish I would’ve done some things different.’ I wouldn’t be
where I am today without that guy but I wish I would’ve done some things
different. But I am who I am; I’m just looking to make it a good
chapter but definitely, I’ve been humbled.”
The
once angry and disgruntled Smith is now reflective and wise but there
is a stark reality that still exists. He has to go out there and make a
living, which, for a good deal of time, he simply was not able to do as
he could not land a paying gig inside the squared circle.
“I
had made some good money in ‘10 but it started getting to that time,
probably about the end of last year, that I was getting like, ‘Whoa,
what am I going to do here?’ It was a very rough time for me because I
knew I had a lot of fight left in me,” said Smith, a few months shy of
34. “I’ve never been knocked out; I’ve never been down. I mean, Showtime
voted the Fernando Guerrero fight one of the best of the year along
with six to eight other fights on their end-of-the-year program. And I’m
like, ‘Why can’t I get a fight?’ I just couldn’t believe it. It came a
time where I was just like, ‘Maybe I should do something else.’”
There
was still one thing gnawing at him. For all his high-profile bouts,
Smith never actually fought for a title. He says what inspired him was
the career of his “Contender” colleague, Gomez (who was to have faced
Jessie Vargas on Saturday night before his back gave out), who was able
to persevere in boxing and get the most from his ability. Perhaps if he
had fought for a belt or two, he’d walk away. “That’s what keeps me
motivated,” he explains, “to say, ‘Get your shot; make the most of your
shot; take it from there.’ That’s what kept me in the game, kept me
motivated, kept me going to the gym.”
Smith
is a guy who can handle himself with anyone in the gym (after all, it’s
how he first gained recognition in the sport) and he got a call from
the camp of one Floyd Mayweather, who, in addition to his duties inside
the ring, also runs Mayweather Promotions (which, by its sheer
influence, can create opportunities for boxers).
When
he was asked if he signed with them, Smith answered, “It was something
that we spoke about. I came in; they called me in to help Floyd. I told
them I was having some problems getting some fights and I was having
some issues.” Smith’s association with “Money” goes back to when they
boxed for trophies and medals. “I’ve known Floyd since I was 10 years
old and we’ve been sparring since we were 10 and we went to the ‘96
[Olympic] Trials together and he went into represent the country, of
course, and I lost to Zab Judah in the semifinals. [Mayweather] told me
to not worry about it; he was going to keep me busy. I would say, yeah
[I did sign with them] but this is boxing; I don’t know.”
Smith speaks highly of his old friend.
“One
thing I can say about him, if he tells you he’s going to do something,
he’s going to do it. I’ve had promoters where I had signed contracts
these past two years and they fell out and he looked me in the face- he
and Leonard Ellerbe- ‘We’re going to get you a fight; something opens
up, we’re going to get you a fight, man. You’re a good fighter. We’re
going to make sure you get a fight.’ About four days later, they called
and texted, ‘Hey, we got you a fight, man; get ready. You’re going to be
fighting on May 4th.’
“I’m excited. I just gotta go out there and make the most of it.”
TWITTER
For
a good period of time, while you didn’t see him in the ring, Smith was
as active as any fighter in the always interesting Twitterverse. And
last year, he had a rather memorable back-and-forth going with Peter
Quillin, whom he wanted to face. Things got quite heated between the two
and Smith admits he let the frustrations of his stalled career get the
better of his emotions.
“I
think it was a combination of him and I was really frustrated but then I
stepped out of the box and said, ‘This isn’t doing me no good,’ because
people already have a view of the type of man I am,” said Smith, well
aware of the perception he carried with the public. “So I said, ‘Peter, I
wish you the best. Good luck in whatever you do.’ I left it alone. One
thing I realized is that we’re never going to fight. He’s not going to
agree to it, so why am I going to argue with a guy to get a fight and
it’s not going to happen? I would fight him in a heartbeat and in the
beginning, yeah, I was a little animated and I was upset because of the
way he came off towards me, ‘Oh, you’re this; you’re that.’ At the end
of the day, I’m like, ‘It’s not going to happen; it doesn’t make sense.”
He admits, there was a time when he wouldn’t have backed off so graciously.
“The
old me, the young me would’ve probably kept going on Twitter every
single day, doing interviews. I used to do interviews, calling people
out all the time. I don’t do that kinda stuff anymore,” said Smith, who
realizes that, at this juncture, the focus should be on regaining his
own career momentum.
PLAYOFF FLURRIES
Interesting
move by Golden Boy to win the purse bid for the IBF junior middleweight
title contest between titlist Cornelius Bundrage and Cory Spinks. I
think the hope is that “K9” retains the title so they can set up a
unification bout with WBC beltholder Saul Alvarez down the line...Bob
Arum tells me that the plan (for now) is to set up a Showtime
doubleheader in August with Mikey Garcia and Nonito Donaire at the Home
Depot Center in Carson, CA...Is anyone really surprised by the
revelation that Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd was on crack during the 1986
season for the Red Sox?...Hey, on the bright side for Knicks fans, at
least they can never say Amare Stoudemire has never attacked the glass...
