Heading into his bout Friday night against undefeated Dominican Fernando Guerrero, Ishe Smith seemed to realize the importance of the contest and his preparation was telling. Training under the tutelage of former Light heavyweight champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad at the Hit Factory Gym in Las Vegas, Smith trained rigorously and had sparring sessions with the likes of Chad Dawson and Zab Judah in what he called his best camp in ten years.
Smith?s performance against Guerrero spoke of his immense dedication as the two stalwarts slugged away at each other for ten entertaining, back and forth rounds. Unfortunately for Smith he came up short on the judges cards, losing a unanimous decision by scores of 97-91, 96-93 and 95-93. Smith started strong, saw Guerrero seize command in the middle rounds, and later turned the tide of the bout after dropping his 23-year old foe in the eighth round.
Guerrero sees his record rise to 19-0 with 15 knockouts in what was undoubtedly the stiffest test of his career. Smith falls to 21-5 with 9 early outs but fought a very tactical fight that saw him adapt to the power of his younger foe while landing some serious leather of his own. The body work from both men was notable and both guys will be eyeing bigger contests down the road. In speaking to the Examiner last month Smith revealed that he would prefer to fight at 154 pounds but that he was open to taking fights at 160 simply because that?s where the opportunities where at. Perhaps a move to Jr. Middleweight would serve Ishe best.
On the undercard, Akron, Ohio?s Shawn Porter overcame a spirited effort from Philadelphia?s Ray Robinson to win a unanimous decision. Giving up 3 inches to his 24-year old foe, Porter?s best moments of success came when he was able to bully his way to the inside and fire of punishing combinations. Porter scored a knockdown in the sixth round that seemed to seal the deal for him but Robinson was game throughout. Official tallies read 99-89, 98-91, and 97-92 in a bout that appeared to be much closer.
In the opening bout to the ShoBox: The New Generation tripleheader, undefeated Mike Dallas Jr. improved to 15-0-1 with a rather uneventful unanimous decision over Lanard Lane.
For images of Ishe Smith, Fernando Guerrero, Shawn Porter and more please check out the slideshow below?
Shawn Porter improved his record to 16-0 with 12 knockouts. For more of Porter please look below?
