Erislandy Lara vs. Ishe Smith: Showtime Boxing Play-by-Play & Live Updates

Undercard

Super lightweight Ashley Theophane scored a ten round decision win over Miguel Zuniga.

Ronald Gavril knocked out fellow super middleweight Jose Rodriguez in the first round.

Andrew Tabiti also scored a first round KO against Ernest Reyna in a cruiserweight bout.

Lanell Bellows stopped Rahman Yusubov in the third round of their super middleweight encounter.

Ladarius Miller won a four-round decision over James Burns in a welterweight bout.

Welterweight Juan Heraldez knocked out Eric Butler in the second round.

Junior middleweight contender Chris Pearson kept his unbeaten professional ledger intact with a dominant performance against Steven Martinez. Pearson, who hails from Dayton, OH, used a beautiful jab and clever footwork to befuddle Martinez after the Puerto Rican fighter was more aggressive early.

Pearson began digging shots to the body once he seized control of the duel in the middle rounds and once he did, he never looked back. Martinez (15-2, 12 KOs) tried to rally late but it was of no use as Pearson was sticking and moving brilliantly. In the end, the three ringside judges scored in favor of Pearson via tallies of 98-92 and 97-93 (twice). Sherdog also favored Pearson (14-0, 10 KOs, 1 NC) 98-92.

Las Vegas-based Swede Badou Jack was too much for Francisco Sierra to handle as the super middleweight beat him up from the first bell until the end. Sierra suffered a nasty gash above his right eye late in the first and from there, Jack took his time in picking the Mexican apart. Sierra tried his best to stay in the fight but it was no use.

Jack said before the bout that he desperately wanted a knockout and he got it. After raking his foe with thudding right hands in the fifth, the end was just around the corner. Midway through the following frame, “The Ripper” ripped a vicious right hook to the body, which forced the late replacement to grimace in pain. Jack quickly followed that up with three shots to the head, which prompted veteran referee Rafael Ramos to halt the action.

Though some in the crowd booed the decision to stop the bout, Ramos’ decision was the correct one as Sierra was getting beaten worse and worse with each passing round. The official time of the stoppage came at 1:58 of the sixth, allowing Jack to improve to 18-1-1 with 12 KOs. Sierra fell to 26-8-1 with 23 KOs.

Erislandy Lara vs. Ishe Smith

Round 1

They square off in the center of the ring; Lara in his southpaw stance while Smith is conventional. Lara quickly works his pesky right jab to keep Ishe at bay. The Cuban throws a double left hand but they miss. Smith goes to the body with three left hand s and then comes upstairs with his right. Smith is pressing the issue much more than he normally does, but Lara is backing away while he jabs. Smith digs to the body and then follows it up with a right to the head. Hard straight left hand by Lara snaps Smith’s head back. Hard left hook to the ribs by Smith and when they clinch, they stumble to the canvas. Sizzling right hand behind the left by Lara, his best punch of the round just before the bell. 10-9 Lara.

Round 2

Lara opens the round with a nice jab to the gut. Double right to the face by the Cuban, but Smith takes it well. They trade a series of jabs as Lara backs up. Lara keeps backing up and turning to his right and Ishe is having some trouble tracking him down. Smith is beginning to trash talk, yelling at him to “stop running.” Smith digs a nice left hook to the body. Stiff right jab by Lara masks a decent left hand behind it. Lara misses a wild right hook but pops the Las Vegan with a left hand. They trade wildly at the bell and when it rings, Smith is all over him, yelling at and dogging him for the second straight round. 10-9 Lara.

Round 3

Lara is backing away, looking to set a trap. Smith jabs his way in but walks into a slick right/left. Lara feints with shots to the head and then sticks Smith with a straight left to the belly. Smith is chasing down Lara but he’s not letting his hands go. Lara jabs and moves as Smith continues to smack talk. Another hard left to the body from the Cuban. Smith misses with a left hand and is tagged by a counter right hook over the top. No trash talk from at the bell this time. 10-9 Lara.

Round 4

Smith pins Lara into the corner and swarms him with punches to the body and head, but Lara blocks most of them. Lara eventually escapes out the side and jabs to the face, regrouping. Smith charges at him and unfurls a series of thudding hooks and uppercuts to the body. Slick counter right hook over Smith’s left hook. They clinch and start pushing and shoving. Ishe is beginning to become very frustrated from Lara’s movement. Lara breaks through with a solid straight left hand. Smith walks into a left hook, clinches and digs several angry shots to the ribs at the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Smith.

Round 5

Lara jabs from the center of the ring; Smith is now having issues with the Cuban’s six-inch reach advantage. Ishe lands a nifty right uppercut to the body. Smith unloads a furious assault to the body and head, but Lara blocks virtually everything. There’s a small welt on Smith’s left cheek but it doesn’t seem serious. Lara tags him with a left hand and Smith stumbles, but it’s mostly because “Sugar Shay” was off-balance. Smith again digs a nasty left hook to the body. Another. Lara pops up and nails him with a left. They separate and Smith begins to taunt him with a shimmy. Lara pops him a few times for good measure. Lara is now showboating in there, goading Smith to make mistakes. Another close round. 10-9 Lara.

Round 6

Smith’s corner is yelling and begging him to stop screwing around in there, to get serious. Lara opens the round with a few stiff jabs as Smith just walks forward. Lara is picking him apart from the outside with simple right jabs and hooks. Smith throws a right to the head and then lands a hard left to the body. Smith clinches with him and tries to go to the body more, but Lara blocks the attack. Smith cracks Lara with a meager left hook after a left to the body, but it’s a glancing blow. Lara sneaks a stiff straight left to the mouth with 45 seconds left. Smith continues to plug away downstairs but Lara’s shell nullifies everything. 10-9 Lara.

Round 7

Lara kicks off the round with a series of jabs, but Smith answers with a double left to the ribs. Hard straight left dead on the nose by Lara snaps Smith’s head back. Ishe pins Lara in the corner and delivers three straight right uppercuts on the belt line. Smith throws a right cross but is tagged by a glancing right hook. Smith goes to the ribs again. Lara opens up and tags him with a left to the face. Another. Smith is stalking him down and then walks right into a corker of a left hand. Smith lands a right to the head and then sigs a fierce left to the body. Very, very close round. 10-9 Smith.

Round 8

Smith comes right at Lara, pins him in a corner and goes to the body again. Lara quickly escapes and jabs. Beautiful right/left by Lara to the face. Lara is back to boxing well, giving Smith all sorts of angles. Ishe flails away with a winging right and left, but he finds only air. Lara counters with a left hand. Smith misses a right hand and eats a left. Lara spins to his right and then tags Smith with a straight left hand. Smith continues to trudge forward, but again he walks into a lead left. Lara is boxing Smith’s ears off in this round. All Lara. 10-9 Lara.

Round 9

Lara lands a lead left to the body and then another to the head. Smith is chasing him down but can’t cut the ring off early. Lara is on his bike a little bit more this round and it’s giving Ishe all sorts of issues. Lara jabs again and again. Smith goes low with a left hook. Lara jabs again. Lara leads with another left hand. Smith chases him down and flails away with a series of shots to the head and body, but he’s blocks. Lara tags him with a right hook. Another. Smith is missing with most of his shots. 10-9 Lara.

Round 10

Lara opens the round with a lead left but it’s blocked. Smith throws seven punches to the body but Lara parries them all. Lara is moving side-to-side perfectly and then tags him with a left. Lara nails him with a right hand and then admires his work. Smith has no answers for this and is growing more and more frustrated. Lara pops him with two left hands off the ropes. Lara scoots to his left and nails Smith dead in the mouth with another perfect left hand. Lara is in total control as he goes hard to the body with a left and then another to the head. Smith charges in and walks into a straight left hand and then stumbles to his knees as he clinches. No knockdown ruled. Smith goes to the body with a flurry. 10-9 Lara.

Round 11

Lara opens up the round with another double left hand. Smith can only block. Smith seems to be fighting more desperate but he can’t find a home for any of his punches. Lara is moving perfectly and picking him apart from every angle. Hard right hook by Lara forces Smith to stumble forward but he’s able to stay up. Smith is pressing the issue and trying to go to the body. Finally he lands a hard left hook to the body. Lara moves away and pops him with a few more jabs. Smith goes to the ribs with a clean left hook. Lead left near the bell for Lara. 10-9 Lara.

Round 12

Smith looks totally defeated in between rounds while his corner is imploring him to go for broke. Smith absolutely needs a miracle knockout to pull this one off. Lara is very relaxed as he jabs and moves. Smith is not fighting desperate for the first minute. Smith misses with a wild right cross/left hook. “Sugar Shay” walks into a lead left. The Cuban is calm as he boxes perfectly. Lara tags him with a short right hand on the inside. Smith’s body shots are blocked with a minute left. Lara is on his bike now, playing it safe as Smith chases him down. Lara tags him with a sizzling left/right to the face. Smith lands one final right hand to the gut as time expires. 10-9 Lara (118-110 Lara).

The Official Result

Erislandy Lara def. Ishe Smith via Decision (Unanimous) [119-109, 119-109, 117-111] 3:00 R12