Harvey Dock will receive $4,150 to referee the scheduled 12-round title bout. The judges will be Max DeLuca, David Sutherland and Steve Weisfeld, who will each receive $2,950 each.
The co-main event, a WBC welterweight title bout between Yordenis Ugas and Mario Barrios, will be refereed by Tom Taylor ($2,250), the commission also announced. The judges will be Tim Cheatham, Chris Flores and Steve Weisfeld ($1,950 each).
Alvarez will put his undisputed 168-pound titles on the line against Charlo. The Mexican star has won back-to-back fights since his May 2022 loss to Dmitry Bivol.
Charlo is 4-0-1 in his most recent five bouts since a December 2018 loss to Tony Harrison. He most recently competed in May of last year, when he defeated Brian Castano by TKO.
Here’s the current Canelo vs. Charlo fight card:
Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo, super middleweights
Yordenis Ugas vs. Mario Barrios, welterweights
Erickson Lubin vs. Jesus Ramos, junior middleweights
Harvey Dock will receive $4,150 to referee the scheduled 12-round title bout. The judges will be Max DeLuca, David Sutherland and Steve Weisfeld, who will each receive $2,950 each.
The co-main event, a WBC welterweight title bout between Yordenis Ugas and Mario Barrios, will be refereed by Tom Taylor ($2,250), the commission also announced. The judges will be Tim Cheatham, Chris Flores and Steve Weisfeld ($1,950 each).
Alvarez will put his undisputed 168-pound titles on the line against Charlo. The Mexican star has won back-to-back fights since his May 2022 loss to Dmitry Bivol.
Charlo is 4-0-1 in his most recent five bouts since a December 2018 loss to Tony Harrison. He most recently competed in May of last year, when he defeated Brian Castano by TKO.
Here’s the current Canelo vs. Charlo fight card:
Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo, super middleweights
Yordenis Ugas vs. Mario Barrios, welterweights
Erickson Lubin vs. Jesus Ramos, junior middleweights
Joe Smith Jr. took a step toward a second title shot by outpointing Jesse Hart Saturday night in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Joe Smith Jr. has become a thorn in the side of Philly fighters.
Smith ended the career of popular Hall of Famer and Philadelphia legend Bernard Hopkins by knocking him out of the ring and stopping him in 2016. On Saturday, he overpowered Jesse Hart, who had hoped to avenge the setback of his boxing idol.
The fight was scored a split decision but make no mistake: A determined Smith, applying fierce pressure from beginning to end, had his way with Hart.
“Philly guys, man, they don’t stop,” Smith said afterward. “They’re really tough guys. … No matter how hard I got hit, I wanted to stay on the guy, keep the pressure on him, and that’s what I did. And I’m coming home with a win tonight.”
In reality, Hart (26-3, 21 KOs) wasn’t so tough. At least it didn’t appear so.
Joe Smith Jr. didn’t allow Jesse Hart room to breathe for a solid 10 rounds Saturday night. Mikey Williams / Top Rank
He was coming off an impressive 10-round decision over Sullivan Barrera in his first fight as a full-fledged 175-pounder in June, which enhanced his stock in his new divison. Hart, a good boxer, obviously matched up well with another good technician.
Just as obviously, that wasn’t the case with a big, strong light heavyweight who tried to take his head off for a solid 30 minutes. Hart jabbed and threw occasional power shots much of the fight in an attempt to keep Smith at bay but had little success. Otherwise, he survived the 10 rounds by holding or backpedaling, which didn’t endear him to anyone except a rogue judge.
Smith didn’t land at will. His own limited skill set and Hart’s athleticism made that impossible. But the Long Island brawler, fit and fearless, landed more than enough power punches – including many right uppercuts inside – to win the fight.
Smith seemed to hurt Hart with a right hand late in Round 2 but couldn’t put him away. In Round 7, with about 20 seconds left, a sweeping right forced Hart down to one knee for the only knockdown of the fight. Again, with only seconds remaining in the round, Smith could finish off Hart.
Smith punctuated his effort by cutting Hart above the left eye in Round 9. Referee Harvey Dock ruled the cut was the result of a punch but replays appeared to show that a collision of heads caused it.
Smith put himself in position for a second light heavyweight title shot with his well-earned victory over Hart. Mikey Williams / Top Rank
In the end, that didn’t matter. Judges Eugene Grant and Joseph Pasquale scored it 97-92 and 98-91, respectively, for Smith. Those numbers reflected what happened in the ring. James Kinney somehow had Hart winning 95-94, six rounds to four, even though Smith pressed the action, threw more punches and landed many more power shots than Hart.
At least the right man had his hand raised.
“The win was everything for me,” Smith said. “I needed to win tonight. I had to make a statement that I do belong in this division, with the top contenders. I’m very proud to bring this home.
“I think I made a statement tonight. I look forward to see what’s next.”
Smith (25-3, 20 KOs) this past March lost a wide decision to Dmitry Bivol in his first and only major title fight.
The bout on Saturday was for a secondary WBO title, meaning Smith might now be in position to fight for the 175-pound title Canelo Alvarez vacated shortly after taking it from Sergey Kovalev. Gilberto Ramirez is the sanctioning body’s highest ranking light heavyweight at the moment.
If Smith gets that shot, no can except a rogue judge can say he didn’t earn it on Saturday.
