EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: ISHE SMITH
By B. Artest

BA: You've got a big fight coming up on November 21 in Germany. The bout will take place against Gennady Golovkin, he's a top rated middleweight. What do you know about this guy and what you can tell us about your first major international experience?

Ishe Smith: "I watched a couple of films on him, I broke my rule of thumb of not watching films.  The Danny Jacobs fight made me do that, because Danny did a lot of things that I didn't think he was going to do.  He thought I was just going to sit back, and I thought he was going to come right at me.  He boxed pretty well, he threw a lot of punches.  I had never seen tape on him, I changed my strategy after that fight.  It's a good opportunity for me to stay at 160. That's probably where I'm going to end up staying, unless I can get a big fight at 154." 

"It's a good opportunity, because this guy is rated way higher than Danny.  If we win, we're going to be right in the mix to challenge Kelly Pavlik, or some of these other guys out there.  It's a very good opportunity, and I don't care about fighting in Germany.  I'm not worried about it.  I'm going to go there and give it my all, and I don't think this guy is better than Danny in any way.  I think Danny is a good fighter, he has the complete package.  He can box, he has good movement, and handspeed.  I don't see this guy being as tough as him.  I think it's a good opportunity for me and my team.  We're going to go over there and make a nice trip of it, I'm going to take a little vacation afterwards."

BA: Are you comfortable going back and forth from 154 to 160 pounds?

IS:  It's hard to get fights, guy's managers and people talk a good game.  They're not calling my name, so I can't sit and wait on those guys.  I'll go up to 160, and I'll fight the best.  It's just another way of me showing that I don't duck or dodge anyone.  I went up to 160, and I fought what many people percieve as the future of the middleweight division.  I fought Danny Jacobs and put on one hell of a fight.  I didn't get the nod, he did some things to upset me, but God is good.  In fighting Danny Jacobs, I get a better opportunity to me, because this guy is ranked across the board, he's high.  That fight with Danny Jacobs got me ranked in the WBO.  This guy is highly ranked, and highly considered over in Germany.  Who would have thought that I would lose to Danny Jacobs in an entertaining fight, and get offered a fight that's, in my eyes, better than the Jacobs fight.  It's great that it's in Germany.  I kind of wanted my first trip overseas to be to the U.K., because I have so many fans over there.  I'm just hoping that one day I can fight in the U.K. before I retire, because I definitely have a lot of fans over there.

BA: Do you consider Golovkin a step up from Daniel Jacobs?

IS:  I just don't think he's as good as Danny Jacobs, from what I've seen on tape.  Danny is a good fighter, he has the complete package.  He has good speed, movement, and when he has to sit there and trade, he traded.  We put on an entertaining fight.  When I watched tapes for Golovkin, he's just really basic.  Granted, I didn't watch tapes of Danny Jacobs, but from how we fought, he's the complete package.  I don't know what he's going to do in the 160 pound division, but I know he's the complete package.  He can upset you with his speed, with his movement, and he has a decent jab.  Golovkin is just a basic fighter.  He's a step up as far as his ratings, and where he's ranked at.  If we beat him, we'll be in line for some of the big fights, and maybe a Jacobs rematch in the future.

BA: Do you think you can get a fair shake in Germany? Will you fight much more aggressively than you normally would due to those circumstances?

IS:  I think in the last few fights that I've had we've maintained aggressiveness and pressure.  I think the Jacobs fight was just another way of us showing that I kind of got away from jabbing.  I think we're going to be aggressive.  You never want to go to another country worrying about not gettting a fair shake, because it's going to offset what your team has worked on.  I'm not worrying about getting a fair shake.  We've had several fighters that have come over here, the Klitschko brothers, Arthur Abraham, and they get fair shakes.  Hopefully they will do the same for me.  If I beat this guy, and I beat him decisively, I hope that they will give me a fair shake, and there won't be any nonsense going on.  Hopefully that will be the case.  Their fighters have come over here, and we always give them fair shakes.  It should be like that across the board.

BA:  What would a victory mean to you and do you think the fight will go twelve?

IS:  It would mean a lot for me.  This guy is highly ranked, and it mean a lot.  It would be up there as one of my greatest accomplishments, one of my greatest wins.  It's overseas, it's in front of a lot of people, and it's my first time fighting overseas, it would mean a lot.  It would be top notch, the greatest win on my career.  After that, maybe we can get a Paul Williams, or Kelly Pavlik, or a big solid fight at 160.  This is a meaningful fight, we need this fight.  I'm happy that I got the opportunity.

BA:  Going back to your last fight for a second, I'm sure you've watched it on tape. What did you think of your performance, and what do you feel you need to build on following a performance like that?

IS:  I think I need to stay aggressive.  I think I need to still fight the same way, but I lost that fight by one thing, I didn't jab.  I was so pumped up with the power I gained by being at 160, that I didn't jab.  Not jabbing didn't offset anything that he was doing, and it kind of made him get into a comfort zone.  That's a mistake that I won't make again, because I know I have a good jab.  I was just hardheaded, it wasn't like my corner wasn't telling me to jab.  I abandoned the jab, I wanted to trade puncher with him, prove my bravado, prove that I belonged at 160, and I should have jabbed, and set my punches up more.  I thought we both put on a good fight.  Hopefully we both go on to accomplish titles at 160, down the line, we could do a rematch.

BA: You always mention that you need to stay active to be at your best. After a very slow start in 2009, this is your third fight in six months, Greg tells me that DiBella Entertainment promises to get you right back in early 2010,  you must be pleased with your recent activity, correct?

IS:  I think Lou DiBella has done a terrific job, the DBE offices and Greg has been my advisor, we're going into the third year now.  Things haven't always looked great, but then the smoke cleared.  When it was real smokey, and I couldn't see a path or a road to be on, Greg was always there.  DiBella came in and he's done a great job.  My hat goes off to him, because there weren't a lot of people that wanted to deal with me, and they didn't want to have anything to do with me, and Lou said he'd take me.  This will be my second major fight with DiBella, I'm happy.  I'm not going to complain or cry that I want more money, because it's not about that.  I want to accomplish something, I want to win a world title.  I want to be the first native of Las Vegas to ever win a world title, that means a lot to me.  I think that DiBella and Greg are seeing that, and they want to help me achieve that.  Now it's up to me to go out there and perform, they can't fight for me.  A lot of these fighters demand money, and they're not going out there and performing.  I'm not going to be that guy, going out there and not performing.  I don't want to be that guy.  I'm going to go out there and perform, and if I perform, I know that DiBella and Greg will do right by me.  I'm happy with my whole team from top to bottom.  It's been a great time.

BA: Is there anything you'd like to say in closing?

IS:  It's been very good.  It's been a great camp, I'm working with a lot of amateur kids, with this amateur contender program we've got going on.  We've taken on about forty kids in the gym that I work at.  We've sponsored a lot of these kids to be able to come over here and train for free.  We know that times are rough for parents, and the economy is not doing well.  We've taken on a lot of kids, and we've got Everlast to sponsor this event with equipment, and Vitamin Water for the drinks.  I'm just having fun outside of my career.  I'm blessed, I'm happy about this opportunity, and I'm happy to be working with these kids.  I'm just having a great time, I'm living life and having a great time right now.

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