If you've been watching the Contender, you have already been introduced to a boxer from Las Vegas named Ishe Smith. Ishe is one of those fighters who shatters the stereotype of the tough guy boxer who never cries. Ishe is a family man and a Christian -- but that doesn't mean he's able to avoid drama altogether. Case in point: His feud with Contender boxer Ahmed Kaddour. We talked about that little feud recently. We also chatted about Ishe's Christianity and his beautiful family. Here are some highlights from our interview:
Was your feud with Ahmed as serious as it was presented on TV?
You know what I respect most about [the producers]? It’s that they have not [portrayed] anything that we didn’t do. They have not come to us and said ‘Let’s do this. It will look great on TV.’ We were just ourselves -- how we are and how we act. What happened between me and Ahmed was 100% real. We just didn’t like each other and to this day we still don’t like each other. And that rivalry was created on the show and it’s still like that now.
Were you intimidated by him?
I wouldn’t say I was intimidated by him. I would say I was intimidated by a lot of the circumstances --my teammates pressuring me, and realizing that he was probably one of the best from the East….I talked to George about it and he said ‘Don’t take it personal.’ Then I started to realize ‘Is this something personal between me and Ahmed or is it something that I wanna do? I realized it was what I wanted to do as a fighter and not as a team. I prayed about it and I realized that this is something I wanted to do for me.You have a beautiful family. How long have you been married to your wife?
This September 20th will be four years we’ve been married. We’ve been together like 8 years.How did you meet?
We met at college at UNLV. One of my friends had a girlfriend at UNLV and I used to go up to the dorms with him and I met her up there. When we first met, we didn’t like each other… and then we met again and we liked each other. We’ve been together ever since.Do you think it’s hard for her to be a boxer’s wife?
I think it’s hard to be a boxers wife because we’re moody – That’s number 1. And we struggle out there. You have to have the backbone of a wife that’s going to be there for you -- who is going to talk to you and let you know that everything is going to be OK. I just thank God that I have that. My wife is my backbone. She’s the one that I go to if I need help with something. Some people are like ‘Oh, he’s a punk. He depends on his wife.’ But when you have a wife and you have someone that you can trust significantly, you should go to that person and lean on them for strength in your time of need. I don’t think it makes a boxer or anybody a punk because they depend on their wife or their husbands for advice. That’s what being married and being together is about.Did you mind people seeing the emotional side of you on the show?
I don’t mind at all...Everybody struggles with things. Everybody goes through certain trials and tribulations. You just don’t have the videotape so people could see it. I don’t mind them seeing me crying. I don’t mind them seeing me go through emotions. Life is about emotions – being up one minute. and being down the next minute.I know that your contracts state that you guys can’t start fighting again until the season finale of the show. Is it hard being out of the ring for so long?
It’s hard, especially because we’re all accomplished fighters. We all were in different stages in our career. It’s very hard to sit out and have to wait until May 24th. After May 24th, I am going to sit down with my team and figure out what’s next. It’s only made us hungrier as fighters. I’m ready to get back in there and prove that I was and I am the best boxer. And I am going to be the best boxer that I can be.
