By Ryan Songalia

Unless you command the attention of a big-time manager with an Olympic medal or bring the kind of local following that packs club venues, easy touches in the pro game can be hard to come by.

Welterweight Antwone Smith of Miami, FL can attest to this boxing truism. Though he won a 2005 Florida Golden Gloves and competed in several national tournaments, his 36-6 amateur record did not sway major promoters his way.

“I guess coming out of the amateurs without the accomplishments of other guys like [Andre] Ward and [Andre] Berto, I had to do it the hard way if I was going to be anything, ” says the 18-1-1 (10 KO) Smith.

The 23-year-old Smith - who will face Lanardo Tyner this Friday, July 9 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ in the co-main event of ShoBox: The Next Generation - was no protected prospect. In only his sixth fight, Smith faced hard-punching local favorite Ed Paredes (then 12-2) and lost a close decision. Paredes has since developed into a solid fighter, highlighted by a second-round knockout of previously unbeaten Joey Hernandez in his most recent effort.

Smith views the Paredes fight as a blessing in disguise, figuring that the meaningful fights that he sought would be easier to attain without the mystique of an undefeated record. Difficult fights against more experienced and well-known fighters became the norm.

Yet while most fighters who travel down this path find their careers losing direction, Smith did the unlikely: He won.

Beginning with his May 2008 knockout of “The Contender” alum Aaron Torres, Smith has continued to roll with upsets of Norberto Gonzalez (16-0) and Richard Guttierez (24-2-1).

These achievements, which were televised by ESPN2’s Friday and Wednesday Night Fights, did not go unnoticed by major promoters.

“Lou [Dibella] would call me up every time he fought like, ‘Are you watching this?’”, said Joe Quiambao, Dibella Entertainment in-house matchmaker. “’Watch this kid,’” Quiamboa continued, recalling the New York-based promoter’s words. “’Antwone Smith, I like this kid.’

After registering the decision win over Guttierez, Dibella made the move to sign Smith to a promotional contract.

“There are few fighters who are like, ‘Just line them up, I don’t care,” Quiambao said. “James Toney is one of them. You won’t hear [Smith] say, ‘I don’t want this guy because he punches hard,’ or ‘I don’t want this guy because he does something funny with his left leg.’ He just says, ‘Let’s go.’”

“I’m a fighter, inside and out,” Smith, who is trained by former Cuban Olympic coach Jorge Rubio, adds. “There are a lot of guys that are 25-0, 30-0 that can’t back that record up when it’s time to.”

Rather than arrange easy, stay-busy fights for Smith, Dibella opted instead to give Smith the chance to make a name for himself as a formidable welterweight prospect. That came in the form of Henry Crawford of New Jersey, who at the time was 22-0-1.

Smith’s ShoBox debut started out rough, as Crawford used his superior hand speed and work rate to significantly outpoint his more patient adversary. Smith weathered the storm and slowly began to take over the fight. Battered and defeated, Crawford’s corner opted to not allow him to come out for the tenth and final round.

Now, instead of being overlooked, Smith is expected to impress each time out. His next opponent Tyner, 34 years old with a 23-3 (14 KO) ledger, has lost all three times he stepped up  - against Saul Alvarez, Lamont Peterson and Mike Arnaoutis.

Smith has the opportunity to make a statement by stopping the Houston, TX resident that has gone the distance with world class opposition in the past.

Smith says that he would be “satisfied” with a win.  With the more-celebrated welterweight prospect Mike Jones fighting in the main event, Smith would need a statement-making performance to jump onto big-time radar screens.

But perhaps Smith is content to fly under the radar. -RS

Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and a contributor to GMANews.TV. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com . An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ryansongalia .