Boxing: Ishe wins IBF junior middleweight title

DETROIT: Ishe Smith seized the International Boxing Federation junior middleweight world title with a 12-round split decision over hometown hero Cornelius Bundrage. In a fight marked by repeated holding and shoving, Smith outworked the 39-year-old champion in the late rounds to earn scores of 116-111 from two judges, while the third saw it 114-113 for Bundrage. It was enough to make Smith the first fighter born in the boxing haven of Las Vegas to win a world boxing title. The 34-year-old promoted by unbeaten welterweight Floyd Mayweather improved to 25-5 with 11 wins inside the distance. It was an emotional win for a fighter who said he once contemplated suicide after his ring career went off the rails and his marriage failed. He wept as he thanked Mayweather in the ring after the bout.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2013.