Ishe Smith

Infobox Boxer


name=Ishe Smith
imagesize=
realname=Ishe Oluwa Kamau Ali Smith
nickname=Sugar Shay
weight=Light Middleweight
height=height|ft=5|in=10
reach=
nationality=American
birth_date=Birth date and age|1978|7|22
birth_place=Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
death_date=
death_place=
style=
total=22
wins=19
losses=3
draws=
no contests=
KO=9|

Ishe Oluwa Buni kula shane Kamau Ali "Sugar Shay" Smith (b. July 22, 1978, Las Vegas) is a professional boxer, and was a competitor on the first season of the reality TV show "The Contender".

Personal life

A devoted Christian, Ishe and his wife LaToya, have been compared to Rocky and his wife Adrian. Fact|date=February 2007 They have one son. Smith was declared bankrupt after run-ins with certain agents and managers, but has come back with the teetotal religious zeal that saw him unbeaten in his first four years as a professional. He wears Psalm 27 (bibleverse|Psalms|27|) on the back of his shorts. "ishe oluwa" in the Yoruba language means "gods work".

The Smith family was joined by the youngest member of the family Ajani Smith, a boy, when Latoya Smith gave birth on February 2, 2006.

Boxing career

Smith's career highlight may be taking three minor vacant titles in one fight; the vacant WBC Continental Americas Welterweight title, the vacant USBA Welterweight title and the vacant WBO NABO Welterweight title.

The Contender

He beat Alfonso Gomez in 2001, and the two became roommates when they were contestants on reality TV show "The Contender". On the show, he was placed on the West Coast team and fought his rival Ahmed Khaddour in the third episode's fight, a bout which was steel-tipped by the pair's frosty relationship. Smith also did not enamour himself to Anthony Bonsante, who he criticised for fighting someone he wasn't meant to - despite the bout having no bearing on Smith's standing in the competition.

When Juan de la Rosa was medically disqualified at the end of the first round fight, certain other boxers bought back Khaddour, a tactic employed to get under Smith's skin. After Brinkley criticised him for speaking his mind too often and being intimidated by him, Brinkley selected him to fight Sergio Mora, the tournament's eventual winner - which he lost to by split decision. He then faced his nemesis Bonsante in a Fans Favourite Fight, and despite suffering illegal moves, won a unanimous decision.

Post Contender

Since "The Contender", he has criticized the show's management company for trying to force him to fight Jesse Brinkley at a severe weight disadvantage for a relatively small fight purse. A natural welterweight, Smith feels that he should be allowed to drop back down to a lower weight class and fight more rounds against opponents outside "The Contender" in preparation for an eventual title shot or be allowed out of the show's management contract as "Contender" contestants Ahmed Khaddour and Jimmy Lange, among others, have been.

Ishe Smith won his arbitration trial earlier this year and got out of the "Contender" promotions to sign a contract with Oscar de la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions. Ishe Smith has been under Bernard Hopkins' guidance since he joined Golden Boy Promotions. He had stated that he is very happy with the Golden Boy Promotions.

He was featured on a June 7 fight card promoted by Bernard Hopkins on ESPN Friday Night Fight, where he dominated his opponent Patrick Thompson through 10 rounds to get a unanimous decision. He fought at 154 lbs, in the junior middleweight division, which is considered a division with a ton of opportunities for young prospects at this time.

Smith fought Sechew Powell, a junior middleweight contender on February 17, 2007, and lost a unanimous decision, potentially halting his hopes of landing a title shot. Smith lost the fight despite scoring a knock down. After the decision was announced, many of Powell's own hometown fans booed the decision. The reason for the boos were because the judges gave Powell eight out of ten rounds and many viewers of the fight, both live and television, felt the fight was much closer and could have gone either way by one point.Fact|date=May 2007

On April 30th, Smith lost a unanimous decision to Joel Julio in British Columbia, Canada.

Ishe returned to the ring on August 1,2008,winning an unanimous decision over the previously undefeated Pawel Wolak.

Golden Boy Promotions

After Golden Boy Promotions signed numerous other fighters including many former and current champions, Ishe Smith had become idle because Golden Boy Promotions are holding cards to feature more known names than Ishe Smith. Smith was frustrated by this and made a statement saying that he is considering joining the UFC, because he is in a desperate need of a fight.

External links

* [http://www.sugarshay.com/ Personal Website]
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