Former world champion Ishe Smith (29-9, 12 KOs) of Las Vegas showed grit and heart in the main event of Premier Boxing Champions on Bounce live from The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas as he faced hard-hitting contender Julian Williams (24-1-1, 15 KOs) in a thrilling 10-round super welterweight bout. But the young Philadelphian was too much for the 39-year-old Smith as he landed more clean shots despite Smith throwing combination after combination throughout the fight.
Williams came out swinging, landing shots to the head and body throughout the first round. Smith let his hands go in the second round before sustaining an accidental head butt that opened a cut above his left eye.
Williams took advantage of the cut into the third round landing several right hands, but Smith was not deterred as he threw combinations of his own. Midway through the fifth, Smith threw several flurries of punches staggering Williams. But Williams bounced back quickly landing a hard uppercut.
In the seventh round, Smith landed a hard left hook to the body of Williams. A second accidental head butt stopped the action in the eighth as blood poured over Smith's eye. The ninth round saw action from both sides, but ended with Smith throwing several combinations to the end the round.
There was a third accidental head butt in the 10th caused Smith to double over, but he showed his veteran spirit and finished the fight. In the end, the judges ruled a unanimous decision victory in favor of Williams with scores of 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93.
"I came out and fought my ass off," said Smith. "The judges saw what they saw. This was first time I got cut in a fight so that was weird. The cut was bothering me a little bit, but I was able to weather the storm. He is a good upcoming kid and I think I did the best I could. I could have taken a tune up and fought somebody easier, but I hung in there and gave it my all."
"The win was good and it was a great experience," said Williams. "Ishe Smith is a tough customer. There is a reason he's never been caught. Everyone was talking about his experience, but I've got experience too. This is my second world champion I've fought. I carried that experience into this fight. He is a gritty veteran and I had to fight on his home turf. It was a great learning experience for me."