Joe Smith Jr. takes on Maxim Vlasov for a vacant light heavyweight title in tulsa, okla.
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JOE SMITH JR. (26–3, 21 KOs) VS.
MAXIM VLASOV (45-3, 26 KOs)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN1AIxEJKG4
- Date: Saturday, April 10
- Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: Osage Casino, Tulsa, Okla.
- TV/Stream: ESPN, ESPN+
- Cost (ESPN+): $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year
- Division: Light heavyweight (175 pounds)
- At stake: Vacant WBO title
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: Smith 2½-1 favorite
- Also on the card: Efe Ajagba vs. Brian Howard, heavyweights; Albert Bell vs. Manuel Rey Rojas, lightweights; Jared Anderson vs. Jeremiah Karpency, heavyweights
- Prediction: Smith KO 10
- Background: Smith made a name for himself in 2016, when he knocked out Andrzej Fonfara in one round and then ended the Hall of Fame career of Bernard Hopkins by an eighth-round stoppage that ended with Hopkins crashing through the ropes onto the floor. Then the hard-punching Long Islander (N.Y.) ran into trouble, losing decisions to Sullivan Barrera and Dmitry Bivol (for a title) between 2017 and 2019 that raised questions about his future as an elite fighter. The 31-year-old responded by outpointing Jesse Hart and then stopping Eleider Alvarez in nine rounds last year to reestablish himself as a force at 175 pounds. The Alvarez fight took place last August. Vlasov, 34, is a good, experienced boxer puncher from Russia. He has won three consecutive fights since he was outpointed by Krzysztof Glowacki in 2018, including a shutout decision over previously unbeaten Emmanuel Martey in November 2019. That was his most-recent fight, meaning he will have been out of the ring for about a year and a half. The winner on Saturday could be in line to face two-belt champion Artur Beterbiev.
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