Title challenger touched by Newtown shootings

Like most Americans, Ishe Smith was horrified by the Newtown, Conn., elementary school shooting Dec. 14 that left 20 children and six adults dead.

Smith, who is fighting IBF junior middleweight champion Cornelius Bundrage on Feb. 23 in Detroit, wanted to do something to help the families of the victims. A special T-shirt has been designed, and all proceeds from the sales will be given to charities that have been aiding the Newtown community.

"I have two kids, a son and a daughter, that I was taking to school the morning of that awful incident," Smith said. "When I first heard about the shooting, I thought it was another high school situation. Then I heard about those poor little kids. It broke my heart, and I started crying, just thinking about if those were my kids."

The shirts cost $20 and will be available starting this week. They can be purchased by contacting Smith via his Facebook page (IsheSmith) and through his Twitter account (@IsheSugarShay).

The 34-year-old Smith (24-5, 11 knockouts) is trying to become the first native Las Vegan to win a world championship. To do it, he'll have to beat Bundrage (32-4, 19 KOs) in his own backyard.

■ ARUM BACKTRACKING? - Bob Arum recently said he would be reluctant to have the fifth fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in the United States because of the recent income tax increase.

Now the Top Rank chairman and Hall of Fame promoter may be having second thoughts. He said last week if Pacquiao and Marquez fight in Asia (Macau and Singapore are two possibilities), what they might save in taxes could be offset by a loss of pay-per-view revenue.

"It could be as much as 50 percent," Arum said of the loss of pay-per-view buys if the fight is not in the U.S. "You have to weigh the numbers against each other. If the pay-per-view is only off a little, fine, you can make that up. But if it's substantial, you have to ask yourself if it's worth moving the fight out of the U.S.?"

The Pacquiao-Marquez fight on Dec. 8 did 1.15 million pay-per-view buys and generated about $70 million.

Arum had said both fighters were concerned about having to pay higher taxes to fight in America. The tax rate went from 35 percent to 39.6 percent for those making $400,000 or more.

■ MATTHYSSE CLEAN - Lucas Matthysse promised everyone after he knocked out Mike Dallas Jr. last weekend that he was a clean fighter and did not do drugs. He was proven right.

The 30-year-old Argentinian's pre- and post-fight tests for steroids, recreational drugs and diuretics were negative, according to the Nevada Athletic Commission. So were the tests for the other 19 fighters on the Jan. 26 card at the Hard Rock Hotel.

There was a minor controversy before Matthysse entered the ring after he took amino acids in front of Dallas' trainer, Virgil Hunter, who thought what Matthysse ingested was illegal.

Matthysse went on to knock out Dallas in the first round.

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