Joe Smith Jr. has relied primarily on his punching power to rise to the top of his field. On Saturday, it was more about guts.
Smith, who suffered a deep cut above his left eye in the first round, rallied down the stretch to defeat Maxim Vlasov by a majority decision and capture the vacant WBO light heavyweight title in Tulsa, Okla.
It was Smith’s second shot at a world title. He lost a wide decision to WBA champ Dmitry Bivol in 2019.
“It’s a great feeling,” Smith said. “It was definitely a close, tough fight. I give it to Vlasov. Great fighter. He really put on a great show tonight and toughed it out.”
Vlasov (45-4, 26 KOs) would be a difficult opponent for anyone because of ability combined with his irregular, jerky style. It’s like fighting an inflatable tube man used for advertising.
And the cut, the result of a punch, didn’t help. It bled for much of the fight.
Vlasov outworked Smith (27-3, 21 KOs) much of the fight, pushing mostly light punches into the Long Islander’s face while Smith tried to figure out how he could launch one of his right-handed bombs. He landed good shots here and there but nothing with regularity.
Smith stayed after it, though, even when things bleak for him. Then, in the final rounds, perhaps feeling as if his title hopes were slipping away, he somehow found the energy to pick up his activity and outwork Vlasov.
Smith put the Russian down in Round 11 but referee Gary Ritter ruled it was the result of a punch behind the head and disallowed the knockdown. So it came down the scorecards.
The ring announced revealed the first score, a 114-114 draw, and then the second and third cards — 115-113 and 115-112 — as each fighter waited nervously to hear whether he had become a world champion.
Finally, everyone heard the words, “The Beast from the East” and Smith knew he had won a coveted belt.
The result was destined to controversial the moment it was announced, as many will have favored Vlasov’s activity over Smith’s eye-catching shots. For example, Boxing Junkie scored it 115-113 for Vlasov.
“I believe I got the victory tonight because they saw I landed the harder shots,” Smith said. “He landed a lot of punches. It was a great fight.”
Smith is now believed to be a prime candidate to fight two-belt champion Artur Beterbiev, who many believe is one of the best fighters in the world pound for pound. He’ll be a significant underdog.
That won’t bother Smith, though. After he was able to overcome a bad gash and an opponent with a maddening style to realize his dream, he’ll believe anything is possible.
“I want the other belts,” he said. “I want the big fights out there. Now I gotta get back in the gym and keep working on my technique and stuff. I believe I’m going to start unifying belts.”
In preliminary bouts, heavyweight prospect Efe Ajagba (15-0, 12 KOs) stopped Brian Howard (15-5, 12 KOs) in three rounds. And another heavyweight hopeful, Jared Anderson (9-0, 9 KOs), knocked out Jeremiah Karpency (16-3-1, 6 KOs) in two rounds.