Erislandy Lara Wins Wide Unanimous Decision over Ishe Smith

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    312-480x346Tonight on Showtime Special Edition, we had a card from San Antonio that featured Chris Pearson, Badou Jack and the fight that should have taken place last may between Erislandy Lara and Ishe Smith.

    The opening fight of the night was a 10 rounder between Chris Pearson and Steven Martinez. In the early rounds it was all Martinez as he came forward with relentless body shots on Pearson. Martinez looked as if he was seeking a knockout and had early success in the opening rounds. Pearson sticked out his jab a lot to keep Martinez at distance but Martinez would continue to come forward. By the 4th, it looked as if Martinez has gassed as he slowed down and Pearson picked up the pace sticking out his jab again and landing it effectively on Martinez. In the later stages of the fight Pearson was able to hurt Martinez, as Martinez seemed to have no other way in the fight but to keep coming forward. It could have been a disadvantage as Pearson would land his own body shots and straight punches. Pearson proved to be the more effective fighter in the end of what some thought was a close fight, earning a unanimous decision win.

    In the co-main event, Badou Jack came back to stop an overweight Fransisco Sierra. From the start, Badou kept a distance and out punched Sierra. Sierra was able to land some good solid punches but none of them seemed to bother Jack. The huge 27 pound weight advantage for Sierra was useless as he was beaten to a pulp. During the early round there was an unintentional headbutt that caused a major cut over Sierra’s right eye. Badou landed some very effective body punches that slowed Sierra down. He was able to land 59% of his power punches and it showed very effectively. After spitting the mouthpiece out several times and not being in the fight, referee Raul Ramos called a stop to the fight in round 6 after Jack was teeing off on Sierra. Sierra was fighting back but was no where in the fight. Badou Jack secured his 18th win.

    Finally in the main event, Erislandy Lara successfully defended his piece of the WBA  junior middleweight title as he scored a unanimous decision over Ishe Smith. In the early rounds, Smith took it to Lara by stalking him and taunting him in the ring. The antics didn’t phase Lara as he kept his composure and boxed very well. Smith took it to Lara’s body coming with hard body shots, notability a left hook to the body that at times was successful in landing. The punch was probably Smith’s favorite punch as he constantly looked for it but it did no effect on Lara. In the later rounds Lara began to frustrate Smith with his known movements around the ring. He used the size of the ring to his advantage and whenever they tied up, Smith would unload a barrage of body shots out of frustration. Lara would follow up by landing much cleaner and effective punches as he opened up more and effectively landed his signature left hand. In the end, though Smith put up a valiant effort, and made the fight a lot more interesting than some expected, it was not enough for the judges as they favored Lara with a unanimous decision win.