By Jake Donovan

Rounding out the televised undercard are a pair of intriguing matchups between hard luck veterans who have endured the best and worst the sport has to offer.

Ishe Smith made history for his hometown, becoming the first ever Vegas-born fighter to win a major championship after outpointing Cornelius Bundrage earlier this year in their super welterweight title fight. His first defense comes against veteran spoiler Carlos Molina.

Opening up the telecast, Ashley Theophane squares off against Pablo Cano in a 10-round bout which takes place slightly above the super lightweight limit.

PREDICTIONS – ISHE SMITH vs. CARLOS MOLINA

“I like Ishe to win a decision against Molina.”

- Mitch Abramson (Smith by decision)

“I expect a tough battle that won't always be aesthetically pleasing as Molina's holding spoils the action. I think Ishe will get the nod on two cards while one judge will give it to Molina with his aggression even if it’s not real effective.”

- Ryan Burton (Smith by decision)

“This will be a grind-‘em out affair that won’t boast anywhere near the amount of action as the top two bouts on the card. It will, however, come down to survival of the fittest. My hunch is that it’s Smith who survives in the trenches and surges in the championship rounds to secure victory.”

- Jake Donovan (Smith by decision)

“Ishe Smith should also have enough to take a decision over Carlos Molina, it won't be easy, and he'll have some rocky moments, but he'll come through with the win.”

- Terence Dooley (Smith by decision)

“The change of scenery for Smith, forever on the outside looking in, from contender to champion I think fuels him even more to showcase what he is all about. Molina preys on the fact that most fighters in front of him are nowhere near as crafty as he is, but that gets thrown out the window versus Smith. Without that, Molina will have a hard time doing what he does best, which is upset the flow of a fight.”

- Ernest Gabion (Smith by decision)

“I have tremendous respect for Ishe Smith and what he's been able to accomplish in his career after falling short on jby decisionges' scorecards on several occasions before. I think this will be one of those cases where Molina is rewarded for being the guy who comes forward, and I also think Molina's shown that he belongs with his fights against James Kirkland and Erislandy Lara.”

- David P. Greisman (Molina by decision)

“I think we'll get a tactical affair and lot of close rounds that will be tough to score.  In such a scenario, the house fighter usually gets the benefit of the doubt, and in this case, it's Ishe Smith.  Carlos Molina has the ability to outbox Smith in a neutral venue; however, on this particular night, he's going to have to take more risks than usual if he wants any shot at dethroning a newly minted champ focused on keeping his belt.”

- Ryan Maquinana (Smith by decision)                                                       

“For Ishe Smith's sake, he better have got a good champion payday, because his titleholder reign will come to an end without any successful defenses.  In recent years, Molina has outboxed Spinks, Lara, Kirkland, Cintron, and Danny Perez.  He will outbox Smith and he will probably give him a good beating, but it's unlikely he will KO him.  Wide unanimous decision for Molina.”

- Richard Najdowski (Molina by decision)

“This has controversy written all over it.  Molina should win this pretty solidly but he has been unlucky with official, both striped and pencil carrying.  In a fight closer on the cards then in the ring, Molina's better overall game and more consistent volume of shots should see him through to victory.”

- Cliff Rold (Molina by decision)

“If only that "L" that Molina got against James Kirkland was a victory instead. Molina deserved better from that night, but now faces Ishe Smith. Will Molina's awkward style give Smith fits? It depends. Smith has gotten better as a boxer and his defense has improved. This fight will be tactical, maybe too tactical. This fight could be a snoozer with Smith winning a close unanimous decision.”

- Francisco Salazar (Smith by decision)

“This will not be a pretty fight as Smith will need to deal with the relentlessness and activity of hard-nosed Carlos Molina. The ugly inside rough housing will bother Ishe at the beginning but he will slowly begin to work himself into the fight as he wins a tight Unanimous Decision to retain his title.”

- Luis Sandoval (Smith by decision)

“For me Carlos Molina is one of the best kept secrets in boxing. His performances against both Kermit Cintron and Cory Spinks were exceptional, and he looked very solid against Kirkland too. Smith, on the other hand, is an underachiever. Against busy, active fighter with solid chin like Molina, he will feel uncomfortable, decreasing his punch output and being slowly outpointed in an unpleasantly boring fight.”

- Alexey Sukachev (Molina by decision)

PREDICTIONS – ASHLEY THEOPHANE vs. PABLO CANO

 “Up until Thursday evening, my head said all along that Theophane wins with room to spare. After watching the judges reward Marco Antonio Periban’s ineffective aggression over the cleaner punching from Badou Jack, I’m not quite as certain. A relatively even fight that I expect to go either way on the cards, with a hung jury in the end.”

- Jake Donovan (10-round draw)

“Ashley Theopane will rise to the occasion against Pablo Cesar Cano, however the Mexican has picked up enough experience to win the key rounds and should carry the final two to win on points.”

- Terence Dooley (Theophane by decision)

“Theopane may be one of the more under the radar fighters of recent memory.  People tend to forget his fight with Danny Garcia where quite a few though he did enough to earn a victory (I was one of them).  He does a lot of things really well and now that he has the stability of Mayweather's team behind him I see him shining against Cano who I have felt is not quite as good as advertised.”

- Ernest Gabion (Theophane TKO9)   

“Cano has never beaten anyone.  Theophane has beaten Delvin Rodriquez.  That's enough for me to give the nod to Theophane in a bout that will go the distance.”

- Richard Najdowski (Theophane by decision)

“Theophane seems the more complete boxer and Cano is just so painfully slow.  Looking for Tehophane to win the decision here.”

- Cliff Rold (Theophane by decision)

“Was Shane Mosley that good when he fought Pablo Cesar Cano? Or is Cano that bad? Cano has lost his last couple of fights while Theophane has trained in Las Vegas for many years. Theophane lost a very disputed decision to Danny Garcia, but has wins over DeMarcus Corley and Delvin Rodriguez. Cano has power. Plus, Theophane has not fought since December. I'm going with Cano by late stoppage in an action-filled fight.

- Francisco Salazar (Cano by late TKO)

“Cano is 0-2 recently. Worse is the fact he is pretty ordinary and can't change his tactics under fire. Theophane will use his awkwardness and elusiveness to outpoint the Mexican with narrow scores.”

- Alexey Sukachev (Theophane by decision)

Totals

:

Ishe Smith 8, Carlos Molina 4

Ashley Theophane 5, Pablo Cano 1, Draw 1

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board, Yahoo Boxing Ratings Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox