Ishe Smith (AP Photo)
It’s not uncommon for one’s aspirations in the sport of boxing to far exceed the eventual accomplishments that end up following. Boxing is a hard business in and out of the ropes and carving a niche in the game takes a lot of work.
While Las Vegas native Ishe Smith may not have fully realized all of his potential up until this point in his career, he will be the first to tell you that he has an underlying pride with everything that has come his way through boxing.
Known best to mainstream fans as being a key part of the first season of ‘The Contender’, Smith has found a way to keep his ‘afterlife’ afloat following the show’s conclusion. Still, in recent years Smith has suffered some closely disputed losses that have been hard to take and going into this year he had his share of question marks surrounding him.
As the year reached its third quarter it was announced that Smith would be moving up to Middleweight to challenged young and undefeated upstart Danny Jacobs in Houston, Texas. Many felt Smith was biting off more than he could chew but his performance in the ring spoke of a fighter whose career had been rejuvenated as he had great moments against his much younger foe despite losing a unanimous decision. When the smoke had cleared Smith may have been dealt another hard loss but in defeat he showed serious signs that there is still much fight left in his career.
I recently caught up with Smith and gathered his thoughts on everything that his career has meant to him. From learning his craft out in Las Vegas, gaining nationwide exposure on ‘The Contender’, and trying to maintain the faith afterwards, there is much to Smith’s persona that one can appreciate. In his own words this is Ishe Smith: Coming a long way…
Picking it up fast…
“I was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. I had a good childhood. I remembered I got picked on a lot because I was little for my age. That kind of brought me into boxing. My mom had a friend that boxed and I remember I had got picked on and I came in the house crying and her friend started showing me things when I was like seven or eight and it kind of stuck after that. I kept going with it. I’m a fast learner and I picked up pretty fast and I was pretty good at it. When I had the first fight it was all about the competition and just hearing everybody cheer for you. That’s what I enjoyed most about it.”
Training in Las Vegas…
“I trained at Golden Gloves Gym out here in Las Vegas. Probably the best gym out here in Las Vegas at the time. Unfortunately we don’t have that gym anymore because it closed a little while back. Still that’s where I learned my craft and I had grown up watching Azumah Nelson, Terry Norris and all those guys in the gym and I used to try to mimic everything they did. I was a fast learner and growing up and watching those guys taught me a lot.”
A different feeling…
“Early on I never had a feeling that I would be successful. I guess it was just that people were always telling me that I was going to be a champ. I never really had that feeling until I actually had a couple fights and I was actually winning. I was fighting guys with like thirty fights and I just really picked up on it really quick. One of the reasons I picked up on things was that I used to watch old tapes of Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, and Muhammad Ali and I just learned so fast. I used to try to mimic everything they did. That’s kind of where I got my style from, watching those old tapes.”
Being undefeated and fighting on Showtime…
“It was great because I was young and brash and fighting on national television was the perfect fit. I was on my way and it was definitely good to be a part of that and to fight on Showtime because they were always good to me. I’ve been very blessed to be where I am in my career. At some time at some point I go somebody recognizes me and I don’t think everybody can say that. I wouldn’t say I have made it and became a champ but I’ve done well for myself and I don’t take it for granted. I’ve come a long way and everybody knows me because I’ve been doing this since a little kid.”
Appearing on NBC’s The Contender…
“It was good. I don’t think I appreciated it at the time but as I have gotten older and older and matured I think it was good for my career. It was great to be a part of that show and experience it with those guys. Some of those guys have gone on to do great things and some of them haven’t. Those guys will always be my comrades but even though we don’t talk much we will always be a band of brothers and we did something that had never been done before. No matter how many other seasons of the contender that they create we were first. I would say for the most part we were portrayed pretty accurately. They left some stuff hidden because that’s television and how much can you really show in an hour? I think some of the fights were a little over edited but I wish people would have gotten to see some of the real fights up front. That’s what it is and life will never be perfect. I don’t regret it at all. It was a great experience.”
The following years…
“It was a tough time because I had issues. It was hard to take that defeat to Sergio and it took me a while to get over it. 2005 and 2006 was pretty tough. I would say that my career has been like an up and down rollercoaster since the Contender. I finally feel like its coming around a little bit and I am finally getting my feet back under me.”
Working with Golden Boy Promotions…
“Golden Boy are great people are great people and they are great to work with. I worked with them a few times and even for my last fight. They’ve always treated me well and always be good to me. I have nothing bad to say about them and I can say they are good promoters and I’ve been in boxing a long time. Bernard Hopkins is a good person and he keeps it real. Whether you like or not he is going to tell you how it is. It’s good to be around him and I was actually in camp with him in New Orleans and it great sharing those couple of months with him.”
The questionable defeat to Danny Jacobs…
“It was a tough loss. I think if I had to sum that loss up it would be that I lost because I abandoned one thing, my jab. I just don’t think I jabbed enough. It was tough being an athlete when you lose like that and you feel you did something wrong. I feel that it was an entertaining fight but I just think if I had jabbed a little more than it would have been a different outcome. I jus think that I was so obsessed with the fact that I could punch a bit I focused on that. It felt good to be at 160 and I just forget to box. That cost me the victory more than anything. He threw a lot of shots but they weren’t really effective. I thought I landed the more effective shots but you just don’t know what these judges are looking at nowadays. I know one judge scored it 100-89, I mean come on?”
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at Trimond@aol.com, www.FaceBook.com/CRHarmony, and www.Twitter.com/CRHarmony. More of his work can be found by clicking HERE
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