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ISHE SMITH: "THERE IS NO ILL WILL TO LARA...I WOULD HAVE MADE THE SAME DECISION"

By Percy Crawford | April 14, 2014
ISHE SMITH:

"He got a better opportunity, so he is gonna go seek that opportunity and I wish both of those guys the best. Now I have to sit back and evaluate what we gonna come up with and what type of opponent we gonna come up with for May 2nd... Everything is on schedule. This is my 6th or 7th week in camp right now, so I'm just ready to go and hopefully we know something by the end of next week...there is no ill will to Lara, to Golden Boy, or Canelo. I truly wish them the best and, like I said, if I was in his shoes, I would have made the same decision," stated former jr. middleweight champion Ishe Smith, who shared his thoughts on WBA jr. middleweight champion Erislandy Lara pulling out of their scheduled May 2 clash to instead face former jr. middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Check it out!

PC: You put out a statement on Twitter and you seem to be taking the fact that Erislandy Lara will be fighting Canelo Alvarez as opposed to you pretty well. But you really wanted that fight, so I'm sure it was disappointing?

IS: Man, as crazy as it seems, it is what it is; it's boxing. I'm not really disappointed; I'm not sad about it or hurt by it. It's like I said in my statement, more than likely, I'm 99.9% sure if I was in his shoes, I would have did the same thing. I know if I was in his shoes, I would have made the same call because you're gonna be in one tough fight for six figures or you can go be in a big fight, that's also a tough fight, for seven figures. It's all about math and at the end of the day, we all got families and gotta take care of our families, and this is a big fight in boxing and he wanted to go that route and I can't be mad at him. The good thing about having a team like Mayweather Promotions is that I'm still fighting. I would have been hurt if I had done all of this training and didn't have a fight scheduled. That would hurt more, but being that I talked to Leonard and had a chance to talk to Floyd and they say, "It is what it is; we gonna keep pushing and you still fighting," that's all I care about.

PC: I was gonna say you had to find some comfort in the fact that you are still fighting.

IS: Yeah, definitely man. I think that was the first thing Leonard relayed to me. He said, "Don't worry, you're still fighting. They haven't left us dry or in the dark." That was very comforting. At the end of the day, man, I been in this game 14 years and I was able to capture a world championship and I'm trying to get back to the top and secure that again. We just have to make smart decisions. The Lara fight was a fight that I asked for and I wanted it. I thought it was a good fight for both of us. He got a better opportunity, so he is gonna go seek that opportunity and I wish both of those guys the best. Now I have to sit back and evaluate what we gonna come up with and what type of opponent we gonna come up with for May 2nd.

PC: Obviously you were preparing for a southpaw, and nine times out of ten, your replacement opponent won't be fighting out of that stance. Is that a big deal to you or do you feel you could adjust your camp and be comfortable fighting an orthodox fighter now?

IS: Once you been in the game as long as I have, you kind of make those adjustments. I had a couple of southpaws that I was working with and camp was going great. I was peaking and everything was right on schedule where it needed to be. We have great southpaw work here. I got some work in with Chris Pearson and some other solid guys, so it's disappointing that I probably won't fight a southpaw because I was able to get some great work with some guys. But if I don't have to fight a southpaw, why limit the possibility by just going out to look for a southpaw just look for a southpaw. Just look for what any fighter is comfortable with and that's fighting a righty. That's 90% of fights is right-handers against right-handers.

PC: Twitter is already buzzing about who could fill in as an opponent and I saw both Gabe Rosado and Julian Williams throw their names in the hat saying they could be ready. Do you have a preference or it doesn't matter who is across the ring from you on May 2nd?

IS: Man, Twitter don't make fights. I'm fighting at home, it's my show, and I'm gonna decide who I want to fight at the end of the day. I'm not gonna look at Julian Williams and I'm not gonna look at Gabriel Rosado. I wish those guys luck in their career, but I don't make fights on somebody calling me out. What I do is I'm gonna sit down with my team and see what's the best plan of action for us and that's the decision we're gonna make collectively. I wish those guys the best and they do whatever they have to do to continue their careers, but I don't let fans or social media dictate my career or the decisions that I'm gonna make regarding my career. I'll sit down with my team and see what's the best position for us to be in and we will get an opponent based on that. It just seems like if you are willing to jump out there and you willing to, soon as an opponent fall out, you willing to raise your hand and you can get right in there, it tells me one thing; you looking for a payday. It is what it is and I just want to sit down with my team and take the best plan of action out there for us.

PC: Before you had a team around you, you were that guy that jumped in Twitter wars with other fighters and tried to make fights on there. This sounds like a more mature version of you because you have a team behind you, because it is hard when you in this game alone.

IS: Exactly. When you with smart business people and you working with the best company in boxing in Mayweather Promotions and you learning from Floyd Mayweather and you having personal talks with Floyd and Leonard, it's a business. It's not just a sport; it's a business. The way that Jerry Jones runs the Cowboys, yeah, he is the owner, but at the end of the day, he makes business decisions based on what's best for the organization. You may like him, you may love him, or you may hate him, but at the end of the day, it's his decision. So I'm not gonna go on Twitter trying to make matches; it's a business. So I'm gonna sit down with my business partners who run the company and we are gonna make the best decision that's best for us come May 2nd. I don't have to make fights on Twitter. I'm not starving for stardom or money like that. It's all a business and we are gonna make a good business decision with the best opponent available. I don't know who that is right now, but I will sit down with them and hopefully  we will have somebody picked by the end of next week.

PC: I was gonna ask you, what's the perfect case scenario for you as far as knowing who it's gonna be across the ring from you?

IS: I think by the end of next week, it would be a good time to have an idea. To have somebody that's willing to accept the fight by then would be cool. Number one, whoever fights me gonna wanna get paid. They gonna want some money. And that's why you have guys that's quick to jump out there and say things right away. They gonna want to get paid, so for me, it will be good to know who by the end of next week, but I know how this game works and I know that's not possible all the time. I have the utmost confidence in Leonard Ellerbe and Floyd to get me an opponent soon. I would like it to be next week, but if it's not, I still know that they are working diligently to make that happen. So I'm just staying focused, I'm in great shape, and we have been working really hard. Everything is on schedule. This is my 6th or 7th week in camp right now, so I'm just ready to go and hopefully we know something by the end of next week.

PC: I hope you get an opponent soon. I look forward to seeing you back in there and keep me posted on everything. Is there anything else you want to add?

IS: I just want to thank the fans, especially the positive comments that I heard about on Instagram and my Facebook page. A lot of my stuff, I run myself, but some I don't, especially around fight time; I tend to stay off of social media. I just want to thank all of the fans for the positive things you guys said about the fight and there is no ill will to Lara, to Golden Boy, or Canelo. I truly wish them the best and, like I said, if I was in his shoes, I would have made the same decision.



[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]

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