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Last night at the Masonic Temple it was panic in Detroit as hometown hero Cornelius Bundrage lost his IBF light middleweight title to longtime journeyman Ishe Smith in an unexpected result.
Smith was awarded two of the scorecards by a margin of 116-111 while Bundrage picked up the third 114-113, resulting in a split decision verdict for the challenger, who was participating in his first word title bout since turning pro 13 years ago.
Bundrage started off well, perhaps hoping to put rounds in the bank in case he the bout went the distance, a likely situation as Smith had never been stopped, at at 39 years of age, the champion was certainly aware of his own energy limitations.
Smith didn’t look like the man who would win the fight during the first three rounds as Bundrage set the pace and scored with combinations. The only thing to go in Smith’s favor was Bundrage losing a point in the second for hitting the challenger when he slipped to the floor.
The fourth round saw a turning of the tide as Smith landed a good right hand and Bundrage gained a new respect for the power of his opponent.
The Las Vegas man had shown promise early in his career, starting off 15-0 including a win over former and future light welter world titlist Randall Bailey for a brace of regional welter belts in 2004 before going on to lose against every name opponent he’d step in against, including Joel Julio, Fernando Guerrero, Sechew Powell, Daniel Jacobs and Fernando Guerrero.
After two losses at middleweight, Smith returned to 154 pounds, stringing together three straight victories going into last night’s scrap against Bundrage, who, ironically, had a very similar Journeyman career as Smith, losing most of his high profile bouts before upsetting Cory Spinks for the IBF trophy in 2010.
Perhaps it was the memory of all those disappointments for Smith that drove the 34 year old to pick up his efforts, waging a back and forth tussle with Bundrage that saw neither boxer in control over the middle rounds.
Smith gained the upper hand in the ninth when he began to mix up his punches against the tiring champion before Bundrage got his second wind in the eleventh, landing good shots but also taking a few in return.
The final round saw Smith mount one last charge as he out-worked Bundrage and cemented his position as the eventual winner of the fight.
Smith wins his first world title bout, capturing the IBF light middleweight belt and seeing his record to 25-5 (11). Bundrage’s reign of two defenses ends, along with his three contest win streak, as he drops to 32-5 (19).
It will be interesting to see if Smith can keep wearing his newly minted crown.
Of the top three IBF contenders to the throne, Carlos Molina, Demetrius Andrade and Damian Jonak, the likley danger to Smith’s reign is former amateur star Andrade, a tall, skilled 24 year old southpaw who has been brought along well to a record of 19-0 (13).
