Local boxer just won his third professional pro fight
Standing at a towering six feet five inches, and weighing in at 200 pounds, Jordan (The Hitman) Smith is an intimidating figure.
Smith, a professional boxer fighting out of Teofista Boxing Gym in Calgary, trains alongside some of the best in Canada, including current Canadian welterweight champion Steve Claggett. Smith says that the talent pool at Teofista has definitely shaped him as a fighter.
“There’s a lot of different talent. There are the big guys I get to move around with and work on a lot of defense. The small guys I like to work with too because it keeps me sharp and fast — very snappy,” said Smith. “If I can move away from the really sharp and fast guys then it’s a little bit easier to move away from my bigger opponents when they’re a little faster.”
He trains every day of the week to stay in peak physical shape.”I usually train for about three to four hours in the gym per day, then I go for my runs at night. It takes a lot out of you, but it’s all worth it in the end, come fight day.”
Smith’s day to day is extremely physically demanding. During the day he works for a drywall delivery service, loading and unloading bulk orders of heavy drywall. It’s a tough job, but Smith tries to keep a positive attitude towards his work: “I look at it as strength and conditioning.”
After his long days of work, sometimes starting at 2 a.m. to avoid jobsites while workers are present, he goes to the gym to train.
“I work for 15 hours and get off work and come straight (to the gym),” said Smith. “Some days I’m a little bit more sluggish than others, but I push through it as hard as I can. Like I said, it’s all worth it come fight day.”
Smith is undefeated in the ring, with a professional record of three wins, and one draw.
Photo by Tyler Klinkhammer
Also a father, Smith’s busy schedule puts a strain on his family time. “I don’t get to spend a ton of time with (his daughter) throughout the week, but then weekends are strictly family time. I get up and I train before they wake up so I get my full days with them.”
“I cried, actually,” Smith said through a smile about the birth of his daughter eight months ago. “It was a huge deal, and it was tough because my wife went through a lot of stuff — hemorrhaging and stuff — I almost lost her in the process.”
Smith’s fiancée (who he refers to as his wife), Jessica MacKnight, spent more than a week in recovery after the birth of their daughter, Peyton Smith.
The proud father can hardly keep the smile from his face as he talks about his daughter. “She’s crazy. She’s funny. All of her personality — you can see it coming in to play slowly. It’s fun to watch.”
Peyton Smith sits on the edge of the ring watching her father train at Teofista Boxing Gym.
Photo Courtesy of Jessica MacKnight.Smith fought April 3 during Teofista Boxing Series 15 at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino. He defeated Rob Nichols (6-2-1, 4 KO’s) after six rounds with a unanimous decision, improving his professional record to three wins and one draw, with one knockout.
During the fight, Nichols caught Smith with a devastating right hook to the body and a left to the head that sent Smith to the canvas. Smith was able to regain his composure and finish strong, out-boxing Nichols for the majority of the fight.
“Obviously I was upset that I got dropped with a body shot, but other than that I felt pretty confident with it,” Smith said. “I feel a lot more confident in myself now, especially knowing that when I’m in a tough spot like that I have the heart to get myself back up and get back into the fight. That’s definitely a confidence booster to know that I have that when I need to dig down deep.”
After his victory, Smith was set to get a shot at the Canadian Cruiserweight Championship, but trainer Eric de Guzman has chosen to wait.
“The guy that he fought Friday night was a very tough guy. Basically, he was one of the very few guys that I’ve seen take Jordan’s shots,” said de Guzman. “I’m trying to get him to follow instruction a little bit better in the fights. I want him to follow a game-plan a little more and get another six-round fight in before he steps up anymore.
“After watching the footage I thought he beat (Nichols) pretty decisively. I can’t really complain too much about Jordan’s performance, other than there’s certain punches I wanted him throwing and he didn’t let them go, but that’s what we’re going to work on for his next fight,” said de Guzman.
Smith’s next fight is scheduled for May 29 at the Chinese Cultural Center during Teofista Boxing Series 16. If Smith’s winning streak continues he should be fighting for the Canadian Cruiserweight Championship within a few months.
Smith is excited by the thought of fighting for the cruiserweight title. He has never had the opportunity to fight for a championship throughout his amateur career.
“In amateurs I was supposed to fight at Nationals. I never got the opportunity, but I beat all the guys that won it. It’s going to be the opportunity that I’ve been waiting for,” Smith said. “It’s not something I’m going to pass up, and I’m not going to take it lightly. Whoever is in my way, I’m definitely training to chew through them.”
Smith realizes that winning a title could potentially uproot his family. “There’s going to be a lot of guys that want to bring me to where they are so their guys can get a shot at it. If I were to sign a big deal to go somewhere else and live in Las Vegas, let’s say, and train there, my wife supports me in the fact that that would be good for us.”
Smith’s fiancée said she would support Jordan no matter where his career leads him. “I’ll follow him where ever he needs to go. We’re a family now, so everything is about us as a team. If that’s what he wants — to go to bigger and better places — then I’ll be following right behind him,” said MacKnight. “I hope he does go to bigger and better places because I know he’s got it within him.”
tklinkhammer@cjournal.ca