Joe Smith Jr. edges Maxim Vlasov to win vacant light heavyweight title in rumble
Ajagba scores massive KO; Anderson drills Karpency
Joe Smith Jr., known in boxing as the “Common Man” because of his ordinary name, achieved something uncommon on Saturday night.
In his second opportunity to win a light heavyweight world title, Smith outfought Maxim Vlasov to win a majority decision and the vacant WBO belt in a grueling, action-packed battle in the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN main event at Osage Casino, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where a limited number of spectators were permitted.
The fight was the first Top Rank has put on outside of the bubble of the conference center of the MGM Grand since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Going into the 11th round, two judges had the fight 95-95 and Vlasov was ahead 96-94 on the third. But Smith dug deep and swept the final two rounds on all three cards to secure a dramatic, majority decision and the 175-pound vacated by Canelo Alvarez.
Judge David Sutherland had it 114-114 but judges Pat Russell (115-113) and Gerald Ritter (115-112) both had it for Smith, who set himself up for a probable unification fight with two-belt world champion Artur Beterbiev later in the year.
But it was not easy to get into that position as Vlasov put up a tremendous fight, leaving everyone on pins and needles when the final scores were read.
“It’s a great feeling,” Smith said of winning the title. “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.”
The fight was originally scheduled for Feb. 11 in Las Vegas, but when Vlasov tested positive for Covid-19 two days beforehand the fight was postponed, although Vlasov never had any symptoms. Smith (27-3, 21 KOs), 31, of Mastic on New York’s Long Island, got married the following week, as long planned, and then immediately returned to training.
Once the fight began it quickly became apparent that it was going to come down to whoever could impose his distinct style. Smith is a hard-charging power puncher and Vlasov, while aggressive, relies more on movement and firing punches from odd angles.
Both were able to find success in a fight that was razor-close round after round. Smith suffered a cut over his left eye in the first round and seemed confused by Vlasov’s style. It took him a few rounds to get comfortable but he was never that comfortable.
They had many fierce exchanges and Smith landed several strong right hands — his best punch — that did damage, but Vlasov stayed upright and landed uppercuts as they traded back and forth.
By the seventh round, Smith’s eye was a bloody mess and Vlasov was bleeding from the mouth and his right eye was swelling.
Vlasov (45-4, 26 KOs), 34, of Russia, had strong ninth and 10th rounds but Smith found another gear in the 11th and 12th.
In the 11th round, Smith hurt Vlasov to the body and with an uppercut. Later in the round when they were in close, Smith landed a shot and Vlasov went down, but Ritter ruled that the punch had landed behind the head. He called a timeout and gave Vlasov time to recover. But Smith still won the round and they both went for broke in the final round.
“I believe that round where I hurt him there (in the 11th), I believe he had his head down, and I should’ve got the knockdown,” said Smith, who sent Bernard Hopkins into retirement in 2016 and lost his first title shot by lopsided decision to Dmitry Bivol in March 2019. “I think I would’ve got the stoppage that round, but he pulled it off and made it out on his feet. I believe I got the victory tonight because they saw I landed the harder shots. He landed a lot of punches. It was a great fight.”
“I want the other belts. I want the big fights out there.” — Joe Smith
According to CompuBox statistics, Smith landed 226 of 888 punches (26 percent) and Vlasov connected with 214 of 863 (25 percent).
Vlasov dropped to 0-2 in world title bouts, having also lost a cruiserweight title fight by unanimous decision to Krzysztof Glowacki in 2018 in the World Boxing Super Series. He was not happy with the judges on Saturday.
“This was a very hard-fought, competitive fight," Vlasov said. "I thought I was winning rounds and was well ahead. Against the aggressive style of Joe Smith, I came forward the entire fight. I felt confident I was winning and was securing rounds in the bank with the judges. I never felt that I was behind at any stage of the fight. This was my opportunity to show the world I was a world champion, and I did that, and Joe Smith knows I did that.”
Smith wasn’t interested in Vlasov’s opinion. He clutched the belt close to him and said he planned to get back into the gym with career-long trainer Jerry Capobianco and continue working to improve and get ready for what he hopes is the unification fight with Beterbiev (16-0, 16 KOs), 36, of Russia, who retained his belts by 10th-round knockout of Adam Deines on March 20 in Moscow.
Top Rank promotes Beterbiev and co-promotes Smith with Star Boxing’s Joe DeGuardia and both fighters and promoters expect that will be the next fight.
“I want the other belts,” Smith 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.”
Ajagba drills Howard
Heavyweight up-and-comer Efe Ajagba knocked out spectacular third-round knockout of Brian Howard in the co-feature.
Ajagba (15-0, 12 KOs), 26, a 2016 Nigerian Olympian fighting out of Houston, took Howard (15-5, 12 KOs), 40, of Lake Wells, Florida, out with a devastating right hand. When he connected with the punch, Howard twisted around and fell face first in exaggerated fashion for a highlight-reel knockout. Referee Tony Crebs immediately waved off the fight without a count at 1 minute, 29 seconds.
“I felt good. I tried to pick the punches, use the jab,” Ajagba said. “This guy is very slick sometimes. I tried to do the job. He was shaky, so when I went back to the corner after the first round, my coach told me to take my time, start with the body, leave the head.
“I trained for this fight, took my time, started with my boxing foundation, and came back strong. This camp was the best one for me, the best camp ever in my boxing career. It’s my time to shine, so I’m coming for the heavyweights.”
Anderson hammers Karpency
Blue chip heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson steamrolled Jeremiah Karpency in a second-round knockout victory.
Anderson (9-0, 9 KOs), 21, of Toledo, Ohio, dropped Karpency, who was in his first fight in 23 months, to one knee with a right hand to the body in the first round. He barely beat the count but finished the round. But in the second round, Anderson landed another right hand to the same spot in the second round and Karpency (16-3-1, 6 KOs), 30, of Adah, Pennsylvania, went down again and referee Tony Crebs counted him out at 34 seconds.
“I knew he was going to find a spot to fall,” Anderson said. “I respect him for getting in there and showing up today. It’s a man’s sport. His hands kept going up. I kept throwing my jab, looking for openings, feinting, moving around the ring, and it just came. It was a good shot, and he didn’t want to get back up.”
Photos: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
As someone on Twitter noted, imagine if Joe Smith was not name checked by Dan Rafael when B Hop was looking for a final opponent
Smith fight I had it 114-114. Anderson in with no competition. Al B talking about a recent 15 rd fight? Ennis passed the test fighting first contender. One more bout than IBF title fight.