Erislandy Lara retained the WBA Super Welterweight title with a 12 round unanimous decision over former IBF champ Ishe Smith at the Illusions Theater in San Antonio, Texas.
Although Smith looked to be the aggressor, he was able to pick off a lot of shots and land some solid left hands. Smith tried to force action on the ropes but he was mostly ineffective/ Lara was able to get his offense over the second half of the fight and had Smith in some trouble in round eleven. Smith had some swelling along the left side of his face in round five.
Lara, 154 lbs of Guantanamo, CUB won by scores of 119-109 twice and 117-111 and is now 20-2-2. Smith, 153 1/2 lbs of Las Vegas is now 26-7.
Lara landed 124 of 569 punches while Smith landed just 68 of 572.
“I’m an experienced fighter and I know how to read my opponent. I read Ishe in the first round and I set up my game plan,” said Lara. “His body work didn’t affect me. I trained hard with Jack [Edward Jackson] and Ronnie [Shields]. He tried to break my concentration with his cheap tactics and dances, but I know how to control myself. I can control my impulses and I don’t let anything get in the way.”
“I want Floyd for my next fight. He’s the best pound-for-pound, and I want to find the best. I already beat Canelo and everybody else in the division,” added Lara.
“I did what I had to do, we had a great camp and I went out there and let it hang,” said Smith after the fight. “You win some you lose some. That’s life. Floyd [Mayweather] told me to keep my head up and that he’s proud of me.”
Badou Jack scored a 6th round stoppage over Francisco Sierra in a scheduled 10-round Super Middleweight bout.
Sierra weight in a staggering 28 pounds more then he did just 24 hours prior at the weigh in
Jack was cut high on the forehead in round one from a headbutt at the same time Sierra was cut around the right eye. In round four, Jack turned up the head as he landed two crushing body shots that doubled over Sierra. he ate another right that had Sierra’s mouthpiece fly out.
In round six, Jack continued to land shots and a final right hand forced the bout to be stopped at 1:58 of round six.
Jack, 169 1/2 lbs of Stockholm, SWE is now 18-1-1 with 12 knockouts. Sierra, 172 1/2 lbs of Tepic, MX is now 26-8-1.
Jack landed 137-262. Sierra 43-271
“He was what I thought he’d be,” said the 31-year-old Jack. “It wasn’t a perfect fight for me. It’s good to be back but I was looking a bit too much for the knockout, I should have relaxed a bit and used my jab. I felt good, I felt strong out there.”
Sierra was frustrated after the stoppage, “I’m angry with the referee for stopping the fight. I wanted to continue but the referee stopped it.
Chris Pearson remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over Steven Martinez in a Jr. Middleweight bout.
It was a good back and forth fight early with Martinez landed a lot of power shots early. Martinez was cut in round three on his forehead from an apparent headbutt. Pearson started to take over in the second half of the contest as he worked behind a hard jab and mixed in his rights to both the head and the body on a tired Martinez.
Pearson, 155 3/4 lbs of Dayton, OH won by scores of 98-92 & 97-93 twice and is now 11-0. Martinez, 154 lbs of Bayamon, PR is now 15-2.
“I knew he was coming forward, but I had to be smart because I know he’s a good fighter. I wanted to be patient and be smart and use my skills,” said Pearson. “It’s not always going to be a knockout or exciting but it can be dominant and I thought I was dominant.”
