By Michele Emrick
Newly crowned IBF light middleweight champion Ishe Smith revealed late last night that he will be unable to make the first defense of his crown, which was scheduled for July 19 against Carlos Molina.
Apparently, a cut has sidelined the 35-year-old who was the very first native born Las Vegas fighter to capture a major title. In a statement, a disappointed Ishe Smith said the following to his fans:
“I suffered an injury today, a minor set back in my preparation to face-off against Molina,” explained Smith. “I want to make sure I am properly prepared and in the best form possible to fight him. Not only does he deserve to fight me at my best, but also my family, friends and training team deserve to have me fight at 100%.
“It’s very hard to postpone after we have had such a great camp, but the sport of boxing and the fans deserve to watch Molina and I fight at our peak fitness levels and I just can’t provide that with the untimely injury.
“With that said, I will be postponing our July 19th fight in order to heal from a cut on my eye. Stay tuned to my Twitter account and I will post a picture of the injury in a few days.
“Thank you for all your support, today and always, God Bless You all. So bummed, So hurt, wish I could turn back the hands of time but I can’t. I love you guys, this breaks my heart, but their was nothing else I could do.”
No word on whether or not the entire card will be scrapped, or if it will go on as planned. Mickey Bey and Badou Jack were also planned to be part of the action on that night.
Be sure to stay tuned to PBI for the latest news on this developing situation.
