To the surprise of no one, former junior middleweight titlist Ishe ?Sugar Shay? Smith(26-6, 12 KOs) ran roughshod over the tough, but woefully outmatched, club fighter Ryan Davis (24-14-3, 9 KOs) in what could only be described as one of the worst nationally-televised main events seen in recent memory. The ritual execution of Davis, whose most notable attribute were his questionable wardrobe choices, was part of a Golden Boy Live card which was largely meant to serve as a promotional appetizer for tomorrow?s Mayweather vs. Maidana PPV fight. These bouts are supposed to wet the appetite of an on the fence boxing fan and ultimately coax them into throwing down their cash for a PPV. This did not do the trick.
In fairness, Smith was originally supposed to face current junior middleweight titlist Erislandy Lara in a title bout ? a far more attractive option. Alas, Lara got the call from Canelo and exited quicker than a Cuban amateur who sees an open door an international boxing tournament (bad choice of words?). Thus, with a few weeks notice they found Ryan Davis, a fighter coming off a four fight losing streak and whose largest claim to fame is going the distance with Zab Judah during the George W. Bush administration.
Surprisingly, those accolades did not translate into competent prizefighting and the pugnacious Davis was quickly deposed by Smith in two awful rounds. The ringside announce crew tried to sell the fight as prizefighting, when in fact it was more akin to an al-Qaeda beheading. The only thing sadder than the fight were the obvious signs that the great Paulie Malignaggi is still obviously feeling the effects from the Shawn Porter lashing as he slurred his way through the broadcast.
Ultimately, this fight did nothing for the average fan and no new PPV buys are likely to come from this. Sure I?m being a bit cynical, but shame on the Nevada State Athletic Commission for sanctioning this and shame on all who thought this was worthy of television. A more competent opponent than Davis could have been found and we could have all been saved this massacre.
