By Chris Robinson
The September 8th Randall Bailey-Devon Alexander show at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada is starting to take form, as it appears that three local talents will be making appearances on the undercard.
Junior middleweight contender Ishe Smith, undefeated middleweight prospect J'Leon Love, and national amateur champion Luis 'Cuba' Arias have all been dying to step back into the ring and the 9/8 card is their next stop, as I've learned in the past few days.
What's interesting about their fights is the fact that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is responsible for making it happen, as all three men work closely with the undefeated superstar. It's also worth noting that Smith, Love, and Arias also helped Floyd out with some brisk sparring sessions as he prepared for his bout with Miguel Cotto on May 5th, all the more reason for him to look out for them in return.
Love (12-0, 7 KO's) was eyeing a return on August 24th in Indio, CA at the Fantasy Springs Casino but the 24-year old Detroit native has seen his date pushed back a few weeks. What hasn't changed for Love is his opponent, as he will be meeting Chicago's Ramon Valenzuela Jr. (7-1, 1 KO).
Smith (23-5, 11 KO's) has been keeping in touch with Mayweather ever since Floyd got out of jail on August 3rd and seems to be elated about a quick turnaround at the Hard Rock, as he stopped Ghana's Ayi Bruce inside of four rounds on May 4th inside of the same building.
"I've been keeping an open line of contact with Floyd and an open line of contact with Leonard [Ellerbe]," Smith stated. "This fight is definitely going to be at or near 154 pounds and I'm just excited about this next chapter of my career."
Smith added that an opponent should be finalized in the coming days.
A seven-time national champion as an amateur, Arias will be making his professional debut on September 8th.
Another interesting side note is that Smith, Love, and Arias had all spent time training at the H.I.T. Factory Gym in the past but all three men have now relocated to Floyd's personal gym for future training camps.
Mayweather has been swinging by his gym in recent weeks and his presence alone has created a special kind of atmosphere, especially when considering the news of him and 50 Cent's TMT Promotions . While there is no rumor of his own ring return, Mayweather is definitely making moves on the sidelines, starting off with the September 8th event.
