Makijs
17-02-2006, 11:07
Smith ready to answer important questions
http://www.secondsout.com/USA/news.cfm?ccs=229&cs=18711
By Evan Korn in New York:
When "The Contender" premiered in March 2005, Ishe Smith was one of boxing's fresh faces, a 14-0 Welterweight steadily climbing the rankings. Nearly one year later, Smith, now 16-1, is without a promoter and has been inactive for nine months, an eternity for a prospect. He is stuck in pugilistic quicksand, the type that often gobbles up fighters, along with their respective primes. But the Las Vegas resident, arguably the show's most controversial and outspoken member, doesn't second guess his decision to stall his career in search of reality television immortality.
http://www.secondsout.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/Icon/Item/Smith_Ishe_fighterswebsite1.jpg
"I don't regret that part of my life," Smith told SecondsOut. "I think it was a great experience for me. This down time has actually been a help for me. I've learned to be more in touch with my business."
On the business front, Smith is now advised by John Hornewer, a man with whom he speaks of with great reverence. After past squabbles with Gary Shaw Promotions and Guilty Boxing, Hornewer and "Sugar Shay" are looking to make their next promotional relationship less sour than the prior two.
"(Hornewer) is talking to some people, and we're just trying to find the right deal," Smith said. "I'm 27, so the next deal I sign is possibly going to take me into retirement, so he's just trying to get the right deal for me. It's taking a little bit longer than I expected. I'm confident we'll have something done shortly."
While he sits home and waits for the next chapter of his career to begin, Smith cannot help but dwell upon "The Contender". Ishe became the show's most polarizing figure, a bald-headed, pugilistic Omarosa. When controversy arose, Smith always appeared to be either giving or receiving verbal barbs, engaging in memorable wars of words with cast mates Ahmed Kaddour, Jesse Brinkley, and Anthony Bonsante... to name a few. His feud with Kaddour (who he defeated in the first round of the tourney), was television gold. Their squabble made David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen look like best pals. Despite the venom spewed his way by many of his housemates, he does not regret ruffling more than his share of feathers.
"For me, I'm very outspoken," Smith said. "I didn't go there to please people or to try and make people feel happy or wanted. I went there to be myself, and I don't know any boxer that is calm and collected and doesn't speak their mind. All fighters are a little bit rough around the edges. They're going to have certain things they say when things are on their mind, and they didn't showcase that with a lot of fighters."
"You put sixteen fighters in a house together, and there are going to be problems," Smith added. "They just seemed to showcase all my problems. Them showing that just showed that I'm human."
Does he feel the producers, through the magic of editing, attempted to pigeonhole him as the bad guy?
"I don't know," he said. That's a question you'd have to ask them."
While Smith seems to have come to grips with his role as a reality-television villain of sorts, his first professional defeat, a disputed split decision loss to eventual series winner Sergio Mora, remains a sore subject.
During the show's preliminary rounds, fights were scheduled for five stanzas, a disadvantageous length for an experienced pro like Smith, who had grown accustomed to 10 and 12 round contests.
The bouts were heavily edited, as staccato shots of quasi-celebrities, concerned family members and outlandish sound effects of punches outshone the in-the-ring battles. When NBC aired the episode containing the Smith-Mora contest, it appeared to be a back and forth affair. Mora won the decision, but NBC chose not reveal that it was a split decision. Even the score totals of the judges remained a mystery...unless you read Thomas Hauser's brilliant muckraking pieces on the behind the scenes shenanigans of "The Contender." Everything about that fight draws Smith's ire, whether it is the suspicious judging, edited content, or post fight attitude of his opponent.
"I definitely think the judging was bad, and I'm going to continue to say that because I truly believe I beat him," Smith. said. "He knows he was hurt. For him to come on the record and say he wasn't hurt shows you what kind of guy he is".
"He was not only hurt... he was hurt very badly," Smith added. "It was to the point where Tommy Gallagher said that if it went another round, he probably wouldn't have been able to come out. For him to maybe downplay it and act like he wasn't hurt, it makes me a little bit mad."
The real controversy surrounding the fight arose from the two dissenting judges, one of whom failed to give Smith a single round. Considering the one-sided nature of the final round, where, by all accounts, Mora was on "queer street", wouldn't it figure that Smith could have at least notched that round?
"I ask myself that every single time I think about the fight," Smith lamented. "How could the judge possibly give him every single round? It doesn't make sense to me that one of the judges gave him every single round. It's just crazy. One judge had me winning 4-1, one judge had him winning 4-1, and one judge had him winning 5-0. In my eyes, that's a bunch of crap."
While many of Smith's fellow "Contenders", including Alfonso Gomez, Peter Manfredo and Miguel Espino, have gone on to be part of high profile ESPN shows, Ishe remains on the sidelines, stuck in professional and promotional limbo. Considering his loftier status than the aforementioned fighters before the show began, one might assume Smith harbors feelings of envy, recurring thoughts that the spotlight should still be focused on him. "Sugar Shay" insists that's not the case.
"Those guys, they need a showcase," Smith said. "Me, myself, I want to fight my way up. I've started at the bottom before. I started fighting for Guilty Boxing, fighting at The Orleans, making $1500 a fight. I have no problems starting at the bottom. I like this role. I like being the guy that hasn't fought in a while."
While "The Contender" experience had more than its share of dark times, moments where Smith readily admitted he shed a tear or two, he relishes his notoriety. People of all ages continue to ask for his "John Hancock" on the street. His e-mail bin is flooded with fan mail from around the world. That, he says, made the sometimes nightmarish experience worthwhile.
"I sacrificed a lot to do the show and to be a part of it, that it makes it feel good when someone comes up to you, and knows you, and respects you for what you did," he said. "It definitely makes it worth it. I really do appreciate the fans and all the love they give me."
In the contemporary American sporting landscape, where boxing continues to move further away from the mainstream, how many active fighters could draw a crowd in a restaurant? Outside of the usual suspects-- like De La Hoya, Jones, Holyfield and possibly guys like Vargas, Mosley, and Tarver, most pugilists couldn't draw a drunk to a complementary wine tasting. Because of "The Contender, Smith, for better or worse, is in the same company as his more accomplished counterparts. Unless your name is Anna Kournikova, a recognizable face breeds heightened expectations, something Ishe claims he is ready to fulfill. He just needs the right backing.
"Hopefully, the promoter I sign with can capitalize on that because I'm going to do my job and put on good, entertaining fights," he said.
Smith, who eventually plans on campaigning at 154 pounds, is setting his sights on guys like Alejandro Garcia, Roman Karmazin, and Kassim Ouma. For now, Smith doesn't plan on calling those guys out, as it would be equivalent to some ex-con applying for a job at a Fortune-500 company a few days after his release. Until the time comes to start talking smack to the big boys on internet message boards, Smith is content to shake off the rust against lower profile foes. More than anything, Ishe Smith wants to prove himself to the skeptics who wrote him off after his tight decision win against Randall Bailey, and the haters who called him a petulant whiner after "The Contender.
"People will ask... can he come back," Smith admits. "Can he be a fighter? "While those questions have yet to be answered, life is almost perfect for Ishe Smith: he has an adoring wife, a new child, and faith that one day he can become more than a blip on the reality television radar screen. Before long, Smith will be back in the squared circle, likely working out the rust against some anonymous pug. The bright lights of primetime television will be focused on new "Contenders" looking to make their mark. All the autograph seekers and well-wishers can't win "Sugar Shay" any fights. He has to have the goods. Whether he still has them remains to be seen.
http://www.secondsout.com/USA/news.cfm?ccs=229&cs=18711
By Evan Korn in New York:
When "The Contender" premiered in March 2005, Ishe Smith was one of boxing's fresh faces, a 14-0 Welterweight steadily climbing the rankings. Nearly one year later, Smith, now 16-1, is without a promoter and has been inactive for nine months, an eternity for a prospect. He is stuck in pugilistic quicksand, the type that often gobbles up fighters, along with their respective primes. But the Las Vegas resident, arguably the show's most controversial and outspoken member, doesn't second guess his decision to stall his career in search of reality television immortality.
http://www.secondsout.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/Icon/Item/Smith_Ishe_fighterswebsite1.jpg
"I don't regret that part of my life," Smith told SecondsOut. "I think it was a great experience for me. This down time has actually been a help for me. I've learned to be more in touch with my business."
On the business front, Smith is now advised by John Hornewer, a man with whom he speaks of with great reverence. After past squabbles with Gary Shaw Promotions and Guilty Boxing, Hornewer and "Sugar Shay" are looking to make their next promotional relationship less sour than the prior two.
"(Hornewer) is talking to some people, and we're just trying to find the right deal," Smith said. "I'm 27, so the next deal I sign is possibly going to take me into retirement, so he's just trying to get the right deal for me. It's taking a little bit longer than I expected. I'm confident we'll have something done shortly."
While he sits home and waits for the next chapter of his career to begin, Smith cannot help but dwell upon "The Contender". Ishe became the show's most polarizing figure, a bald-headed, pugilistic Omarosa. When controversy arose, Smith always appeared to be either giving or receiving verbal barbs, engaging in memorable wars of words with cast mates Ahmed Kaddour, Jesse Brinkley, and Anthony Bonsante... to name a few. His feud with Kaddour (who he defeated in the first round of the tourney), was television gold. Their squabble made David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen look like best pals. Despite the venom spewed his way by many of his housemates, he does not regret ruffling more than his share of feathers.
"For me, I'm very outspoken," Smith said. "I didn't go there to please people or to try and make people feel happy or wanted. I went there to be myself, and I don't know any boxer that is calm and collected and doesn't speak their mind. All fighters are a little bit rough around the edges. They're going to have certain things they say when things are on their mind, and they didn't showcase that with a lot of fighters."
"You put sixteen fighters in a house together, and there are going to be problems," Smith added. "They just seemed to showcase all my problems. Them showing that just showed that I'm human."
Does he feel the producers, through the magic of editing, attempted to pigeonhole him as the bad guy?
"I don't know," he said. That's a question you'd have to ask them."
While Smith seems to have come to grips with his role as a reality-television villain of sorts, his first professional defeat, a disputed split decision loss to eventual series winner Sergio Mora, remains a sore subject.
During the show's preliminary rounds, fights were scheduled for five stanzas, a disadvantageous length for an experienced pro like Smith, who had grown accustomed to 10 and 12 round contests.
The bouts were heavily edited, as staccato shots of quasi-celebrities, concerned family members and outlandish sound effects of punches outshone the in-the-ring battles. When NBC aired the episode containing the Smith-Mora contest, it appeared to be a back and forth affair. Mora won the decision, but NBC chose not reveal that it was a split decision. Even the score totals of the judges remained a mystery...unless you read Thomas Hauser's brilliant muckraking pieces on the behind the scenes shenanigans of "The Contender." Everything about that fight draws Smith's ire, whether it is the suspicious judging, edited content, or post fight attitude of his opponent.
"I definitely think the judging was bad, and I'm going to continue to say that because I truly believe I beat him," Smith. said. "He knows he was hurt. For him to come on the record and say he wasn't hurt shows you what kind of guy he is".
"He was not only hurt... he was hurt very badly," Smith added. "It was to the point where Tommy Gallagher said that if it went another round, he probably wouldn't have been able to come out. For him to maybe downplay it and act like he wasn't hurt, it makes me a little bit mad."
The real controversy surrounding the fight arose from the two dissenting judges, one of whom failed to give Smith a single round. Considering the one-sided nature of the final round, where, by all accounts, Mora was on "queer street", wouldn't it figure that Smith could have at least notched that round?
"I ask myself that every single time I think about the fight," Smith lamented. "How could the judge possibly give him every single round? It doesn't make sense to me that one of the judges gave him every single round. It's just crazy. One judge had me winning 4-1, one judge had him winning 4-1, and one judge had him winning 5-0. In my eyes, that's a bunch of crap."
While many of Smith's fellow "Contenders", including Alfonso Gomez, Peter Manfredo and Miguel Espino, have gone on to be part of high profile ESPN shows, Ishe remains on the sidelines, stuck in professional and promotional limbo. Considering his loftier status than the aforementioned fighters before the show began, one might assume Smith harbors feelings of envy, recurring thoughts that the spotlight should still be focused on him. "Sugar Shay" insists that's not the case.
"Those guys, they need a showcase," Smith said. "Me, myself, I want to fight my way up. I've started at the bottom before. I started fighting for Guilty Boxing, fighting at The Orleans, making $1500 a fight. I have no problems starting at the bottom. I like this role. I like being the guy that hasn't fought in a while."
While "The Contender" experience had more than its share of dark times, moments where Smith readily admitted he shed a tear or two, he relishes his notoriety. People of all ages continue to ask for his "John Hancock" on the street. His e-mail bin is flooded with fan mail from around the world. That, he says, made the sometimes nightmarish experience worthwhile.
"I sacrificed a lot to do the show and to be a part of it, that it makes it feel good when someone comes up to you, and knows you, and respects you for what you did," he said. "It definitely makes it worth it. I really do appreciate the fans and all the love they give me."
In the contemporary American sporting landscape, where boxing continues to move further away from the mainstream, how many active fighters could draw a crowd in a restaurant? Outside of the usual suspects-- like De La Hoya, Jones, Holyfield and possibly guys like Vargas, Mosley, and Tarver, most pugilists couldn't draw a drunk to a complementary wine tasting. Because of "The Contender, Smith, for better or worse, is in the same company as his more accomplished counterparts. Unless your name is Anna Kournikova, a recognizable face breeds heightened expectations, something Ishe claims he is ready to fulfill. He just needs the right backing.
"Hopefully, the promoter I sign with can capitalize on that because I'm going to do my job and put on good, entertaining fights," he said.
Smith, who eventually plans on campaigning at 154 pounds, is setting his sights on guys like Alejandro Garcia, Roman Karmazin, and Kassim Ouma. For now, Smith doesn't plan on calling those guys out, as it would be equivalent to some ex-con applying for a job at a Fortune-500 company a few days after his release. Until the time comes to start talking smack to the big boys on internet message boards, Smith is content to shake off the rust against lower profile foes. More than anything, Ishe Smith wants to prove himself to the skeptics who wrote him off after his tight decision win against Randall Bailey, and the haters who called him a petulant whiner after "The Contender.
"People will ask... can he come back," Smith admits. "Can he be a fighter? "While those questions have yet to be answered, life is almost perfect for Ishe Smith: he has an adoring wife, a new child, and faith that one day he can become more than a blip on the reality television radar screen. Before long, Smith will be back in the squared circle, likely working out the rust against some anonymous pug. The bright lights of primetime television will be focused on new "Contenders" looking to make their mark. All the autograph seekers and well-wishers can't win "Sugar Shay" any fights. He has to have the goods. Whether he still has them remains to be seen.