ISHE SMITH: “SPARRING WITH MAYWEATHER HAS REALLY REJUVENATED ME”

On July 16, former Contender star Ishe Smith will step into the ring to face fast-rising undefeated middleweight contender Fernando Guerrero in what very well could be his final chance to get his career back on track. “I’m very confident for this fight. I’m very confident of what I see from myself in the gym. Sparring with Mayweather has really rejuvenated me and put my dedication and focus back into the sport I love,” Smith would comment in a recent interview with FightHype’s Percy Crawford, realizing the importance of this fight and the impact it will have on the remainder of his career. Having worked as a chief sparring partner for Floyd Mayweather, Smith believes that the time he spent in Floyd’s camp for the Shane Mosley bout opened his eyes to what it will take to rejuvenate his career.

“For a long time, I had got frustrated with the sport because I wasn’t able to get the fights, like you mentioned earlier, and I had a bunch of fights falling out. This is how I feed my kids, so I had got really frustrated with it for awhile,” Smith reflected, as he candidly spoke about his frutrations with the sport. “When I went and sparred with Floyd, it rejuvenated me and took me up a level and I thank God that we got to put some work in. He was a very gracious guy and he appreciated me being in camp and I definitely appreciated him because it revived me as a person.”

Working with Mayweather has renewed Smith’s confidence that he can compete with the elite fighters in the sport. “A lot of his workout regimen, and seeing how he works, rubbed off on me,” he added. “I’m totally dedicated back to the sport and I owe a lot of that to Floyd and God for making me realize how important this sport is to me and how much I love it.” This Friday, Smith and the rest of the world will find it exactly how much his time working with Floyd Mayweather has truly rubbed off on him. Although he’s only had 18 fights, Fernando Guerrero (18-0, 15 KOs) is one tough customer and he’ll be looking to make a statement against Smith when they headline the main event of a tripleheader telecast on ShoBox: The New Generation.