Professional boxer 'Marvellous' Mark Smither is gearing up for what will be the biggest fight of his career to date.
The Barrie resident, who turned pro in 2019, will step into the ring against Paul Ispas Saturday night in Brampton where they will vie for the Canadian super-lightweight championship, a title that Smither admits could help launch his career even further.
“Winning this Canadian title would get me able to fight for the North American title, which could put me in the Top 15 in the world. … This is a big title to win (on) Saturday,” he told BarrieToday.
“I am definitely ready for this title fight for sure,” Smither added. “We have run into each other on the amateur scene a few times. I won twice, he won once. He’s a good fighter. It’s going to be a high-level boxing match, but with the proper preparation and the time I have spent honing my craft, I definitely think I am going to get the victory come Saturday.”
The 29-year-old started boxing in 2008, as a ninth grader while attending Innisdale Secondary School in Barrie’s south end. He grew up watching legends like Muhammed Ali, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Mike Tyson.
“Watching footage of these guys… really got me motivated to at least get in shape and give boxing a try. It was never my goal to become a boxer — it just kind of happened,” Smither said. “I was pretty good at it and it kept me out of trouble and kept me focused at school. As a whole, boxing has changed my life in terms of keeping me on the right track.”
He was also inspired by his father, who was a boxer in England in his younger years.
“I just always loved the game and watching boxing (so) I decided to take a shot in the dark and head to the Uptown Boxing Club where I met my current and longtime coach Jack Ireland,” he said.
That “shot in the dark” ended up paying off, and Smither spent 12 years competing as an amateur boxer where he accumulated multiple provincial championships as well as having competed at the national level four times — with goals to compete for Team Canada at the Olympics.
“I had hopes and dreams of making it to the Olympics, and tried qualifying in 2012 and fell short. I tried again in 2016, but was beaten out by Arthur Biyarslanov," he said.
Smither, who competes in the super-lightweight class, admitted he never had plans to turn pro, but after being approached by United Boxing Promotions in 2019, he says it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
“We took that opportunity and kind of rolled with it. It’s been a great experience so far,” said Smither, who has a 6-0 as a professional boxer. “I’ve built the rankings up and recently fought… in Brampton against a tough Canadian opponent which qualified me for the Canadian championship.”
To prepare, Smither, who works as a project manager for Kas Kitchens when he’s not in the ring, starts his day by working out at F45, a training facility in the city’s south end, then hits the gym for another three hours in the evening.
On top of that, he often travels to spar with other boxers.
While Smither is enjoying the bigger stage, he admits there’s definitely more at stake as a professional boxer.
“As an amateur you could lose here, lose there and still be OK and qualify for other things. In the professional scene, if you lose, you may not get another opportunity. It’s best to keep that undefeated record,” he said. “That gets you into bigger (events), bigger titles (and) competing on the world stage in the U.S. or UK... which is definitely a goal.”
