Ishe Smith eagerly awaits WBA title fight against Lara

Ishe Smith didn’t mind waiting to get what he wanted.

The former world junior middleweight champion from Las Vegas was supposed to get a shot at Erislandy Lara on May 2, but Lara bypassed Smith to fight Canelo Alvarez on July 12 at the MGM Grand Garden.

Lara lost the fight, but his World Boxing Association title was not at stake. When he and Smith meet Dec. 12 in San Antonio on a Showtime card, however, Lara’s belt will be on the line.

“Part of the agreement we made was he would have to come back and fight me,” said the 36-year-old Smith (26-6, 12 knockouts), who lost his International Boxing Federation junior middleweight title in September 2013 to Carlos Molina.

Lara (19-2-2, 12 KOs) said Smith will regret wanting the fight.

“We’ve had some words in the past, but now it’s time to see who the better fighter is,” Lara said. “I’m the champion, and Ishe Smith is going to realize that I’m on another level once he steps into the ring with me. Make no mistake about it, I’m coming to dominate.”

Smith doesn’t seem worried. He said his trainer, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, has a good game plan for Lara.

“We had been preparing for Lara, so we just picked up where we left off and added a few things we saw from the Canelo fight,” Smith said. “I’ve stayed in shape, and we’ve had some great sparring. We brought some quick guys in because we know Lara has great hand speed.”

Smith said fighting in San Antonio won’t be a problem, even though he would prefer to fight in Las Vegas.

“It’s a level playing field for both fighters,” he said. “If I can go to Detroit and take K-9’s (Cornelius Bundrage) belt in his own backyard, I can go to Texas and win my second title.”

■ OFFICIALS SELECTED — Officials for the two Dec. 13 cards in Las Vegas have been selected by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

Tony Weeks will referee the 12-round welterweight main event between Timothy Bradley and Diego Chaves at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The judges will be Burt Clements of Reno, Julie Lederman of New York and Craig Metcalfe of Canada.

On the Cosmopolitan undercard, Russell Mora will referee the Jose Benavidez Jr.-Mauricio Herrera WBA interim welterweight title fight, scheduled for 12 rounds. The judges will be Dave Moretti of Las Vegas, Eric Cheek of Reno and Max DeLuca of California.

Kenny Bayless will referee the World Boxing Organization middleweight title fight between Matt Korobov and Andy Lee, also scheduled for 12 rounds. The judges will be Tim Cheatham and Dick Houck of Las Vegas and Don Trella of Connecticut.

At the MGM Grand Graden, Robert Byrd will referee the 12-round welterweight main event between Amir Khan and Devon Alexander. The judges will be Jerry Roth of Las Vegas, Glenn Feldman of Connecticut and John McKaie of New York.

Vic Drakulich will referee the 12-round WBA interim welterweight title fight between Keith Thurman and Leonard Bundu. The judges will be Adelaide Byrd, Patricia Morse-Jarman and Ricardo Ocasio, all of Las Vegas.

■ DUO SUSPENDED — Noe Bolanos and Luis Pelayo have been suspended nine months each and fined 30 percent of their respective purses after testing positive for Furesomide, a banned diuretic, on Sept. 11 at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Bolanos was a second-round technical knockout loser to Errol Spence Jr., and Pelayo was a second-round TKO loser to Jamael Herring. Neither fighter contested the charges. Bolanos was fined $5,400 and Pelayo $1,290.

■ AMATEUR CARD — Fernando Vargas will promote a Thanksgiving weekend amateur card Saturday at the Silver Nugget. Fifteen bouts are scheduled featuring boxers from Nevada, Arizona and Utah.

Admission is $30 for ringside, $15 for general admission and $10 for standing room. The first bell is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.