Ryan Davis vs. Ishe Smith: Fight Time, Date, Live Stream, TV Info and More

The Fox Sports 1 fight card scheduled for Friday, May 2 took a hit earlier this month when WBA light middleweight champion Erislandy Lara pulled out of the main event.

The talented Cuban was scheduled to face former IBF light middleweight champion Ishe "Sugar Shay" Smith (25-6. 11 KO) in a fairly intriguing matchup.

Lara instead chose to take on popular Mexican and former champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez on July 12. That momentarily left Smith without an opponent. 

Journeyman "Dangerous" Ryan Davis (24-13-3, 9 KO) has stepped in for Lara and will now provide the opposition. This development has made the Friday night card below average.

Smith is one of the more well-known and established members of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s Money Team stable.

The Smith-Davis clash is the feature bout in a lineup that will also showcase Mickey Bey, another of Mayweather's young prospects.

Here's how you can watch the event:

When: Friday, May 2 at 9 p.m. ET

Where: Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada

TV: Fox Sports 1

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go

The Book on Smith

USA TODAY Sports

Coming off a disappointing split-decision loss to Carlos Molina in his last bout, Smith will be looking to get back on the winning track.

Smith surrendered the IBF title he had taken from Cornelius "K9" Bundrage one bout earlier in the loss to Molina. In the fight, Smith looked under-motivated and a little bothered by Molina's awkward style.

Sugar Shay would have liked to get back on track against a respected fighter such as Lara, but he told ESPN.com's Dan Rafael that he understands the Cuban's decision:

"

It sucks that I’m not fighting for the title but I can’t fault the man for going to get more money. It’s a bigger fight for Lara. This is for our families, making the most money possible. I cannot honestly say with a straight face that if the shoe was on the other foot I wouldn’t do the same thing. He will be in a tough fight for six figures against me, or he can take a tough fight for seven figures against Canelo. It's about math. I can’t blame him for that.

"

Allan Fox of Boxing News 24 thinks Lara pulling out is a blessing in disguise for Smith:

"

It might be a good thing that Lara pulled out of the fight with Smith, because it wouldn’t have been good for Smith had that fight taken place. Lara is a lot quicker than him, and he likely would have won an easy 12-round decision. There are guys at 154 [pounds] that Smith matches up well against, but Lara isn’t one of them.

"

Because he'll be 36 years old in July, now's the time for Smith to find the spark again to hopefully extend his usefulness in the light middleweight picture.

It may be difficult to find the fire against a nondescript opponent such as Davis.

The Book on Davis

If you look up the term "club fighter," you'll find a picture of Davis. If it's a recent picture, he should be grinning from ear to ear, as the 35-year-old from East St. Louis, Illinois, is walking into one of the best opportunities of his career.

He has faced Zab Judah (2007) and Vanes Martirosyan (2012), but he lost to both. In fact, Davis has lost his last four fights.

Aside from a situation like this, there's no other way to envision a fighter of Davis' caliber getting a shot at a man one fight removed from being a world champion.

The fact that it's the main event—even on a Fox Sports 1 card—is just icing on the cake.

Prediction

Legendary hip-hop group Gang Starr has a classic album called Hard to Earn. If the late Guru and DJ Premier could do a follow-up to that masterpiece as a soundtrack to this bout, it might be called Easy to Earn.

The only thing easier than the time Smith will have on Friday night is predicting the outcome. Davis can't punch, and he's fallen into the mold of a guy who expects to lose, whether or not he has acknowledged it.

Losing four fights in a row will do that to a guy.

Smith's not going to shock the world with some secret punching power, but he is a professional and skilled boxer who should be able to send Davis back to the club scene after a lopsided unanimous decision.

Follow me. I'm addicted to the sweet science.

@BMaziqueFPBR