Erislandy Lara (20-2-2, 12 KOs) retained his WBA Super Welterweight World Championship Friday night with a superb display of stick-and-move boxing, earning a 12-round unanimous decision victory over Ishe Smith (26-7, 12 KOs) in San Antonio, Texas.
After a strong first round for Smith, the southpaw Lara dominated the remainder of the fight using a combination of lateral movement, speed, and accuracy to secure the decision. The judges scored the bout 117-111, 119-109, and 119-109.
“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.”
Lara, a Cuban fighter trained in that country's renowned amateur boxing program, showed his skills and experience by outpunching his opponent, landing 40 percent of his power punches and 22 percent of his total punches. Smith landed only four percent of his jabs.
“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.”
Smith spent much of the night chasing the elusive Lara, but even when he let his hands go Lara's outstanding defense was able to negate much of Smith's attack.
"The main event was about what was expected," said boxing analyst Steve Farhood. "Ishe tried, but wasn't capable because he's not as quick or as sharp with his punches. When he had the opportunity to bang the body he did but it wasn't enough because Lara was in such control in the center. He landed so many straight left hands that landed flush. Lara fought the fight he wanted to fight and in that kind of fight, he's very difficult to beat. He frustrated Smith throughout the fight.”
With another win in his pocket, Lara did not hesitate to say who he hopes to fight next.
“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.
Badou Jack defeats Sierra
In the co-feature, Sweden's Badou Jack (18-1-1, 12 KOs) made quick work of his opponent with a dominating sixth-round technical knockout victory over Francisco Sierra (26-8-1, 23 KOs).
"He was what I thought he'd be,” said 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.”
Jack, 31, controlled the fight from the outset, lighting up Sierra with aggressive right hands and upper cuts to the body. Sierra struggled throughout the fight with a cut alongside his right eye suffered in the first round from an accidental head butt.
Jack was highly accurate, landing 59 percent of his power punches, 41 percent of his jabs and 52 percent of his total punches. With 1:02 remaining in the sixth, referee Rafael Ramos stopped the fight and awarded Jack the technical knockout.
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.”
By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services
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