Press Release
Joe “The Beast” Smith Jr. and Maxim Vlasov are headed to the Sooner State to fight for the vacant WBO light heavyweight world title Saturday, April 10 at Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
If at first, you can’t fight, try again.
They were originally scheduled to fight Feb. 13, but Vlasov tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the weigh-in, forcing a postponement.
In the 10-round co-feature, unbeaten heavyweight contender Efe Ajagba will take on Brian “MVP” Howard.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and Tony Holden Productions, Smith-Vlasov and Ajagba-Howard will be broadcast live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (simulcast on ESPN+) at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ at 5:30p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT, including a trio of big-punching heavyweights: Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson and Tulsa natives Trey Lippe Morrison (16-0, 16 KOs) and Jeremiah Milton (2-0, 2 KOs).
Ticket information for this world championship event will be announced shortly.
“Joe Smith Jr. deserves this opportunity, and I know Maxim Vlasov will give him a great challenge,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “The light heavyweight division is one of the hottest in boxing, and the winner will have no shortage of lucrative opportunities.”
Smith (26-3, 21 KOs), the “Common Man” from Long Island, hopes his 2021 kicks off where 2020 concluded. Last August, he broke through inside the MGM Grand Las Vegas Bubble, knocking former world champion Eleider “Storm” Alvarez out and through the ropes. Smith has won three straight bouts since his first world title opportunity in March 2019, a unanimous decision loss to Dmitry Bivol. He became a household name in boxing in 2016 when he knocked living legend Bernard Hopkins through the ropes and into retirement.
“I am extremely motivated after all I have been though in my career,” Smith said. “I am proud of all I have accomplished, and I am confident I will bring the belt home on April 10 and move forward with my goal of unifying belts and proving I am the best light heavyweight in the world.”
Said Joe DeGuardia, CEO of Star Boxing, “We all worked very hard to get Smith and Vlasov back in the ring as soon as possible, not just for the fans that love to watch the ‘Common Man’ fight, but for Joe, who is very anxious to become world champion. The blue-collar banger that is Joe Smith Jr. will be ready to fight and thrill the fans. He is laser-focused and fully intends on bringing the WBO world title to Long Island on April 10.”
Vlasov (45-3, 26 KOs), from Samara, Russia, is 3-0 at light heavyweight since moving down from cruiserweight, where he became a top contender and challenged for an interim world title. He had a banner 2019 at light heavyweight, knocking out the 14-1 Omar Garcia, avenging a previous defeat with a unanimous decision over Isaac Chilemba, and shutting out the 15-0 Emmanuel Martey over 10 rounds.
“I am ready to return to the ring and become the new WBO light heavyweight world champion,” Vlasov said. “The postponement was a minor setback, but it will be worth the wait when I have that belt around my waist.”
Ajagba (14-0, 11 KOs), a 2016 Nigerian Olympian, is one of world boxing’s most accomplished young heavyweights. At 26 years old, he’s already knocked out the likes of longtime contender Amir Mansour and former world title challenger Razvan Cojanu. He made his Top Rank debut last September and outlasted veteran Jonathan Rice via decision over 10 rounds. Howard (15-4, 12 KOs) is an 11-year pro who has split a pair of bouts since moving up to heavyweight. In August 2019, he knocked out 2008 Puerto Rican Olympian Carlos Negron in the first round.
------------------------------------
Joe Smith vs. Maxim Vlasov Ordered For Vacant WBO Light Heavyweight Title
Light heavyweight contenders Joe Smith Jr. and Maxim Vlasov on Tuesday were ordered to meet for the vacant WBO world title.
The WBO sent a letter to Star Boxing promoter Joe DeGuardia, Smith’s co-promoter, and Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, Vlasov’s promoter, ordering the fight.
In the letter, the WBO gave the camps 20 days to reach an agreement or a purse bid will be ordered to auction off the promotional rights to the bout. The minimum bid would be $300,000 although it is very unlikely a purse bid will be needed.
Arum is also Smith’s co-promoter and has worked closely with DeGuardia, with whom he also co-promotes heavyweight contender Carlos Takam.
“We’ll be able to work this out,” DeGuardia told Boxing Scene. “This is a formal procedure, just saying that the WBO has ordered the title fight. When they order a title fight you get a notice to begin negotiations and you have x–period of time to make a deal or it goes to purse bid. But I’m very confident we will have a deal in place. Bob and I are working together on Joe and I don’t anticipate any issues whatsoever. We will have a deal swiftly in place.”
The fight would likely headline a Top Rank card on an ESPN platform in early 2021.
“I’m glad the WBO has come through and ordered the fight. It’s been a long time coming for Joe, for all of us,” DeGuardia said. “Joe is very excited to fight for a world title again.”
After Canelo Alvarez knocked out Sergey Kovalev in the 11th round to win the WBO 175-pound belt last Nov. 2, he vacated it soon after with the plan to move back down in weight.
The WBO eventually ordered a four-man box-off to fill the vacancy. In the first of the two semifinal bouts, Smith scored a ninth-round knockout of former world titleholder Eleider “Storm” Alvarez (25-2, 13 KOs) on Aug. 22 inside the bubble of the conference center at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to earn his way into the world title bout.
The second semifinal was supposed to be between the 34-year-old Vlasov (45-3, 26 KOs) and Russian countryman Umar Salamov (25-1, 19 KOs), 26, who is based in Las Vegas. They were scheduled to fight on Oct. 23 in Russia but the fight was eventually postponed until Nov. 20 in Minsk, Belarus.
However, earlier this month the fight was postponed again after Salamov tested positive for Covid-19, and now the fight is off entirely with the WBO ordering Smith-Vlasov for the title in order to no longer delay filling the vacancy. It remains to be seen if the Smith-Vlasov winner will be ordered to make a mandatory defense against Salamov.
DeGuardia said the Smith side is just happy to get the title shot without having to wait what would likely been a few months before Vlasov-Salamov would have happened followed by several more months until Smith would face the winner.
“This is the sweetest, this is one we’ve been looking for,” DeGuardia said. “Things are right for Joe in so many respects. I think he’s really on a roll right now. He’s like the football team with hot momentum, he’s the baseball team with hot momentum and he deserves this.
“He’s such a hard-working guy. He puts so much into this and to have a year like we’ve had, he epitomizes the work ethic of the working person. I’m happy it’s paying off for him.”
Smith (26-3, 21 KOs), 31, sent Bernard Hopkins into retirement with an eighth-round upset knockout in December 2016, but then lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Sullivan Barrera in a fight in which Smith fought most of the bout with a badly broken jaw. After an 11-month layoff, Smith returned for a first-round knockout win over Melvin Russell in a tune-up fight and then got a world title opportunity against Dmitry Bivol in March 2019, but he lost a lopsided unanimous decision.
Since that defeat, however, Smith has looked sharp in two victories in a row. In the first fight of his co-promotional deal with Top Rank, he dropped and outpointed contender Jesse Hart in January and then knocked out Alvarez.
Vlasov has won three fights in a row since a one-fight move up to the cruiserweight division, where he lost a unanimous decision in an interim world title bout to Krzysztof Glowacki in November 2018 in Chicago in the quarterfinals of the World Boxing Super Series tournament.
