(Photo: Casino/Showtime) By Jim Dower: Ishe Smith (25-5, 11 KO’s) defeated IBF junior middleweight champion Cornelius Bundrage (32-5, 19 KO’s) by a 12 round split decision on Saturday night to capture his International Boxing Federation 154 lb. title at the Masonic Temple, in Detroit, Michigan.
The final judges’ scores were 116-111 and 116-111 for Smith, and 114-113 for Bundrage. Smith definitely looked like the better fighter throughout, using his jab and movement to minimize the amount of brawling that Bundrage was able to do.
It was surprisingly easy for Smith because Bundrage proved to be pretty limited unless Smith stopped and intentionally traded with him. Bundrage lost a point in the 2nd for hitting Smith after pushing him to the canvas. In the 9th, Bundrage was cut on the side of his left eye from a head-butt.
Smith hurt Bundrage on a number of occasions in the fight with hard right hands. Bundrage had problems with Smith’s combination punching.
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Unbeaten middleweight J’Leon Love (15-0, 8 KO’s) fought poorly in beating Derrick Findley (20-9, 13 KO’s) by a 10 round unanimous decision. The judges’ scores were 100-90, 99-91 and 99-91. The fight was a lot closer than the scores handed down by the judges, as Love looked didn’t handle Findley’s pressure well at all, and was constantly worked over on the ropes.
It’s hard to understand what fight the judges were watching because Love looked overwhelmed by Findley’s pressure. This performance from Love suggests that he doesn’t have the talent to be a world champion. He’s well below the other top fighters in the division, and the only thing he can hope for is that spots open up for him when fighters retire. As for now, he simply doesn’t have the game to beat any of the world champions. I see him around the same level as Fernando Guerrero, possibly not as good as him.
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