Ishe Smith vs. Cecil McCalla: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction

The biggest boxing weekend in a generation got off to an early start on Thursday night as Las Vegas native Ishe Smith returned to action after his loss to division elite Erislandy Lara and turned in a workman-like decision over the outclassed Cecil McCalla. 

It was obvious early on in the fight that Smith was the far better fighter. As ESPN commentator Teddy Atlas pointed out during Round 6: "All the losses for Smith are at the A or A-level. McCalla does not appear to be that level."

In a strange way, it was an ideal fight for the start of Mayweather-Pacquiao weekend, because McCalla's style underscored just how special Floyd Mayweather Jr. is as a fighter. Cecil McCalla is clearly a fighter who has tried to borrow from the undefeated WBA and WBC welterweight champion. 

McCalla consistently tried to employ a shoulder roll similar to the one Mayweather has always depended upon. But he never really protected his body sufficiently, and Smith was able to consistently hammer his body with lead hooks in the early round. 

Smith is not a fighter noted for his aggression, but against McCalla, he had little trouble mixing up his attack to the body and head. Again and again he was able to get off first and freeze McCalla while finding an opening to slip in a hard right or a hook. 

It would be a gross exaggeration to say that Smith looked spectacular in this fight. He looked like a C+ word-class fighter facing a second-tier opponent. McCalla was coming off the first loss of his career, to Chris van Heerden. Smith was coming off from a loss to Lara, who fought on pay-per-view last year. 

There are levels to boxing. If you truly understand the sport, you realize that even a club-level pro possesses the skill to clean out a typical neighborhood bar. 

A guy like McCalla, who compiled a nice amateur resume and won 20 straight fights before reaching the level where his talent gave out, has still accomplished things as a professional athlete that most palookas could only dream about.

But against a guy like Smith, his limitations are destined to be exposed. It is debatable whether Smith is legitimately a top-10 junior middleweight at this point. It's not debatable that he remains a gifted longtime professional who's able to beat most men his weight on the planet in an exhibition of the Sweet Science.  

The scores for this fight were closer than they should have been. Judges Eric Cheek and Dave Moretti both gave McCalla three rounds. Jerry Roth scored 98-92, but even two rounds for McCalla was too close. I had Smith winning all 10 rounds.  

He finished by forcing the action and landing hard against McCalla in the final seconds. A true pro, he finished putting on a show. I'm not sure he's still a contender, but he is still a pro.