Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good
night, wherever you are in the world. This is
Brush Boxer. I'm your host, Matt. And I'm here
with a very, very special guest. He returns to
the ring June 14th. GLC Live in Michigan. Rising
junior welterweight prospect, Lance Boogie Smith.
What's going on, Lance? What's going on, y 'all,
man? Welcome, welcome. Hey, man. Hey, welcome
to you. Welcome to the big time, man. Like, I
see you out here on your rounds doing interviews,
man. You, you, uh... What's that like for you?
It's a good feeling, man. You know, you dream
about, you know, you had a conversation with
yourself, like, okay, what happened to that?
So, you know, I'm just grateful for you to give
me the platform to speak. Now, you're fighting
at 140. You're kind of, I don't want to say big
for 140, but you were like 5 '10", something
like that? Yeah. So, how do you even make 140
pounds? Just lifestyle, really. I don't leave
the gym. I'm never out of the gym. I'm always
working. I'm always doing something. The cleaner
you can eat outside of camp, it makes it easier
in camp. Now, you're in a big spot on June 14th.
You're going to be fighting on the zone. You've
been in a big spot before. You fought on Clarissa
Shields' undercard. What's the game plan going
into this particular fight? Man, go in there,
man. Have fun. Just be me. You know what I'm
saying? Embrace the moment. Seize the moment.
You know, we prepare hard every day. So, you
know, it's all the same. You know, you want the
fight to feel like the gym and the gym to feel
like the fight. Now, you say that you stay in
the gym. You're always in the gym. What's a day
in the life like for you? A day in the life?
Well, I just graduated college. So that was a
big, taking a big time of my day. Hey, congratulations.
I appreciate you, my man. So I just wake up to
get my day going, pray, man, go out maybe for
a run or something like that, depending on, you
know, what the week been looking like. And then,
you know, give my word, come back, go to the
gym. And after the gym, probably just chill out
with some friends, play the game, you know, go
see the world, you know, just go out there, have
fun. And, you know, maybe come back in the evening
with the kids in the gym and help them out. What
did you major in? I majored in sports management.
I started out as a kinesiology major. But then,
you know, once I kind of got further along the
track, I was like, you know, I can make better
use of my time in college. Now, what made you
actually want to get into boxing as opposed to
just trying to go directly into sports management?
Okay, so I started boxing when I was 13 going
on 14. So just heading into college. I mean,
just heading into high school. And, you know,
at that time when I began my college career,
I was maybe like 25 then with the amateurs. It
was about 2019. So that was right before the
pandemic happened. So my life was completely
different. You know what I'm saying? I never
grew up boxing. Like I said, I started when I
was 14. And I fell in love with it as I began.
But, man, my family and my father and even my
coach, you know, they wanted me to, Coach Ali
wanted me to finish, always finish school. You
know, they always, you know, if your grade's
not right, you're not in the gym. You know, I
kind of grew up the old school way. So, you know,
for me, finishing college was just, you know,
on the back end, something I said I would do,
and I finished it. But as far as, like... Amateur
boxing goes, you know, at that time, like I said,
I maybe had 20 fights. And after the pandemic,
I literally, like, three years in a row, I had
20 fights. So I literally shot out from 20 fights
to, like, 60, 80 fights. Like that. Oh, wow.
So I matured while I was in college. Now, what
made you get into boxing in the first place?
I was pretty good at football, but my team was
really, really bad. I grew up loving sports.
I grew up loving sports, man. I always loved
sports. And then my brother, my brother, he sung
in the choir. So everybody would come out and
support him, you know what I'm saying, like in
high school. And I used to sit back, you know,
being a young brother, like, man, I want something
like that. And I ended up finding it through
sports. And I always loved sports. Basketball,
I wasn't the best at. But my team was real good.
So heading into high school, my pops was like,
you know, man, you should try, you know. Boxing,
you know, you're in the city, you're growing
up. You know, learn how to fight. You know, you're
always going to learn how to use your hands.
So I gave boxing a try. And from the first day,
I was like, yeah, I love it because it was all
on me. You know, I used to hate when I was in
practice. I would be going hard, and the guys
around me would be halfway, one foot in, one
foot out. Or just like when the team wasn't on
one core, I can handle me like, okay, I didn't
have a good day, okay? This is where I need to
get better. So I think from that point on, I
just loved it. And you don't ever want to be
the guy that don't know how to fight. I think
that's what it was. Now, did you have any fighters,
like maybe during your young boxing career, that
you looked up to, like some of your favorite
fighters coming up? Some of my favorite fighters
coming up is definitely Tony Harrison, for sure.
One of them, like I said, I started at a late
age. I knew about boxing. I was interested in
boxing, but I wasn't as much of a boxing fan
as I was a basketball and football fan. When
I started, Tony was like... you know, starting
to enter into that contender stage, you know,
starting to get in that stage. So, you know,
just seeing him in the gym every day doing the
same exercises I was doing, it was like, man,
he look real good. I don't want to be like that.
So I just began to look at, you know, look at
him a lot. And that kind of grew my love. But,
you know, starting out, it was like Canelo, Roy
Jones, Sweet Pea. Even I was like, you know,
Terrence Carver, Lomachenko is definitely one
of my favorite. So I always grew up and I was
always taught like, man, you try to take something
from everybody and just add it to your own style,
your own game. Now, what is the Lance Smith boxing
style? I think that I don't really have. I wouldn't
give myself a style. I would say if I had to
categorize myself, I'd probably say like a boxer
puncher. But whatever way is winning is my style.
If I got to be on my back foot one fight, I'm
doing that. If I got to be on my front foot,
I'm doing that. If I got to be in the pocket,
I'm doing that. If we both stand on our ground
and just may the best man win, we can do that
too. If I got to use my feet, we can do that.
So I just got to do whatever to get the job done.
Now you're seven fights into your career. Obviously,
you're a highly talented prospect. You caught
the attention of Clarissa Shields. You're one
of her fighters. What was it like to have a legend
like Carissa Shields take an interest in your
career? Man, I absolutely love and got the utmost
respect for Carissa. I got a chance to spar when
I was an amateur. I'm a softball, so she was
getting ready for a softball. Hit up guys around
the gym. I was available for a good size as far
as that goes. But even in the amateurs, she would
see me fight. Me and her not even really knowing
each other, having too many conversations other
than high and bottom. She was like, man, let's
go. You need to do that. You need to do that.
And she was always like an advocate. You know
what I'm saying? So to have somebody that legendary,
that accomplished, I feel like she's not underrated,
but I feel like she don't get the respect she
deserves. There's no way that you're a two -time
gold medalist and can't nobody beat you in the
pros and you're undisputed in so many different
weight classes. And some people still don't really
recognize your greatness or know how truly great
you are. So for her, I love when I meet people
that have status and they're humble and they're
able to be like, hey, man, you need to make sure
when you throw your jab, do this or do that.
Yeah, I don't mind taking a picture with you.
So having her around, doing that type of stuff,
and then her just like, come on, man, cheering
for you, that's what it's all about. And it's
just love ever since then. That's pretty dope,
man. Like I said, you've had seven fights since
your career. Doing well so far. You're showcasing
power, showcasing speed, accuracy. Are you trying
to get fast -tracked to a world title, or are
you just trying to move slowly on your journey?
I will answer that question by saying neither
the two. I would say I'm just trying to take
advantage of each day. You know what I'm saying?
Where I grew up from in Detroit, man, most guys
don't make it even this far. You know what I'm
saying? So I'm just grateful for that for sure.
But I want to move wise, you know what I'm saying?
I'm ready for a challenge, you know, as far as,
you know, I've been experiencing the amateurs.
I've been in there with some of the best guys
in the gym and outside of the gym in real fights.
So, you know, I'm confident in my ability and
the skill set that I got. But also I understand
I've seen so many people fall on the way up.
You know, you can't rush the process. And like
I said, I grew up on the old school way, you
know, the slow grind. I do the same stuff every,
I don't do the same things every day, but I do
the same. I'm running all the time. I'm in the
bag all the time. But in those things is how
you get better. And profession takes time, man.
And I'm trying to, every time I look out, every
time I want somebody to see me, I want them to
see the growth, them to see the progress. So,
you know, you got to move wise, but I'm definitely
not scared to roll the dice either. Now, you
mentioned that you've been in the ring with some
of the best fighters in the world, both as an
amateur and in the gym. Who are some of the best
fighters that you shared the ring with? Oh, man.
It's kind of funny because, like, I've been at
a great gym my whole career, so sometimes you
don't recognize how blessed you are to be around
some of the world champions. Obviously, Tony
Harrison. I've been around Alicia Bumgarner.
I've been around Krista Shields. I've been around
Tiger Johnson. As far as just in the gym, Mason,
Abdullah Mason. In the gym, who else? Some other
top prospects, man. And then in the ring. I've
had a chance to share the ring with Giovanni
Marquez, Jerome Marquez's son, and just not anybody
that I would name because I'm not too big of
a name guy. I don't like to get caught up in
who people are and just stargazing at them, but
I've competed against some of the top five in
the country, and at one point I was ranked as
well. Hey, you know, maybe one day when we're
interviewing a fighter and we ask the best they've
been in the ring, they're going to mention you.
As one of the guys that they've been in the ring
with, man. For sure. And that's one thing I grew
up on. If I'm fighting somebody, I want somebody
to know, yeah, when it was a draw, he was tough.
You know what I'm saying? That's the way it should
be. And I always had that respect. You know what
I'm saying? We was in there going to war. That's
what you want to hear. Now, what is it like training
out of the Superbad Gym with LJ and Tony? What's
it like training out in the Superbad gym with
LJ and Tony? Oh, man. It's like living a dream.
Like I said, it's a blessing for sure because
I'm in a perfect position where I'm like the
middle child. I'm not as old as Tony, not nearly
as old as Tony. I'm not as young as the kids
either. And then as far as me and LJ go, you
know, We lost Coach Ali, his father, which is
like a second father to me. Him and my dad were,
like, really, really great friends. And we lost
him during the pandemic. And, you know, Eddie
was a professional basketball player, and he
always had clients in the gym and stuff. So even
before he started with the boxing training, he
wasn't even, like, doing those type of boxing.
I was having him do my strengthening outside
of boxing. So me and him already had a relationship
and had a brotherhood from that. And then, you
know, once his dad died, he took over. And, you
know, I stood 10 with him. You know, I'm like,
man, we're going to figure this out together
because that's what we were raised on. And just
being able to learn with somebody, you know,
I can honestly feel like I'll come to the corner
after a round and be like, AJ can give me some
instructions, and I'm always listening to him.
But he can be like, okay, this is what I see,
this is what I see. And I can be like, I'm not
feeling that, or I am feeling that, and I'm like,
what do you think about this? And just having
that open relationship with my coach is just
like. You know, a lot of people will kind of
hop from person to person. But, man, if you can
cook a cake from scratch, then you can really
cook. You know what I'm saying? So me and him
got a really good relationship. It was like a
brother. I don't even really look at him like
my coach. That's like my brother. That's like
an older brother to me. Now, LJ has already had
a world champion. Are you his next world champion?
God willing, yes, sir. Yes, sir. I'm definitely
his next world champion. Hey, you got some competition,
man. I hear this Jasmine Hampton is the real
deal. Just so you know, you got some competition
in that gym, man. For those who haven't seen
you fight before, what should they be expecting
out of you on June 14th? Man, you should see
somebody with flair, with style, that's fundamental,
that's boxing the right way, that's hitting,
not getting hit, and that's entertaining. That's
going to be fundamental and have its own craftiness
within that. You should see an exciting show,
man. How can people follow your journey? Plug
your social medias. man you can follow me on
on instagram and tiktok at that's boogie t -h
-a -t -s boogie b -o -o -g -i -e and then the
same thing on twitter but just with the underscore
at the end all right no doubt man listen i'm
looking forward to seeing you june 14th man i
appreciate you for taking the time to join me
we got it done We got some technical difficulties,
but we got it done, man. So I appreciate you
joining me, man. Best of luck to you on June
14th. My man, I appreciate you for having me,
taking time out of your day. Lance Boogie Smith,
ladies and gentlemen. Let's do it.