Joe Smith Jr. vs. Umar Salamov | ESPN - October 30, 2021 (Postponed)

[Ruthless-RKO]

Joe Smith Jr. finalizing two-fight deal that includes first title defense, bout vs. Daniel Jacobs, sources say

Joe Smith Jr. is lining up not just his first title defense, but a major fight in early 2022.

The light heavyweight titleholder is in the process of finalizing a two-fight deal, sources told ESPN, that would see Smith fight mandatory challenger Umar Salamov in the fall, followed by a title tilt with Daniel Jacobs in early 2022.

Smith-Salamov will take place in October or November at Hulu Theater at MSG in New York, per sources, and will headline on ESPN/ESPN+.

Smith (27-3, 21 KOs) will be favored to turn back Salamov (26-1 19 KOs), and if he wins as expected, he'll meet Jacobs in a major New York fight at Madison Square Garden. That bout, which would see Jacobs jump up to 175 pounds, is being planned for January or February, also on ESPN/ESPN+. Smith hails from Long Island and Jacobs is from Brooklyn.

The two-fight deal isn't yet agreed to, sources said. Smith and Salamov are promoted by Top Rank (Joe DeGuardia co-promotes Smith) while Jacobs is a free agent. Top Rank chairman Bob Arum has repeatedly said he hoped to pit Smith against Artur Beterbiev in a three-belt unification.

Smith, ESPN's No. 3-rated fighter at 175 pounds, won the vacant title with a majority-decision victory over Maxim Vlasov in April, capping an impressive run that included a TKO win over former champion Eleider Alvarez last summer and a split-decision nod vs. Jesse Hart last January. All three fights were televised on ESPN/ESPN+.

That three-fight winning streak followed a three-bout stretch where Smith, 31, was on the losing end of two of them. He suffered a broken jaw vs. Sullivan Barrera in 2017 but lasted the 12-round distance. Two fights later, he was outpointed by Dmitry Bivol in a title fight.

His career-best win remains a knockout victory over Bernard Hopkins, the Hall of Famer's farewell fight. Smith was an underdog in that bout, despite Hopkins being 49, and the former construction worker ended the fight when he sent Hopkins through the ropes and onto the concrete with a series of punches.

A fight with Jacobs would rival his matchup with Hopkins in terms of marketability. Smith is an attraction in New York, and so, too, is Jacobs, a former middleweight champion who has competed against Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin.

Jacobs, 34, was once paralyzed while suffering with osteosarcoma, a life-threatening form of bone cancer. Following his miraculous recovery, Jacobs (37-3, 30 KOs) went on to stop Peter Quillin in the opening round of a middleweight title fight and later dropped a narrow decision to GGG.

Three fights later, Jacobs was champion once again after scoring a split-decision victory over Sergiy Derevyanchenko. Jacobs lost the title in his next fight, a points loss to Alvarez.

Following the defeat to Canelo, Jacobs moved up to 168 pounds, where he scored a stoppage of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The 34-year-old eked by Gabe Rosado in November in a lackluster performance.

Since that win, Smith has fought once with another bout slated for the fall. Jacobs has no fight scheduled so it's possible he'll head straight into the title bout with Smith in his light heavyweight debut.

Jacobs, a natural 160-pounder, will be considerably smaller than Smith.

Salamov, 27, from Russia and now residing in Las Vegas, has competed in the United States only once and has never faced a fighter of note. He was set to fight Vlasov in November 2020, part of a four-man box-off for the vacant WBO title, before he was diagnosed with COVID. Salamov was symptomatic and faced a long recovery. Smith defeated Alvarez in the four-man box-off and went on to fight Vlasov for the vacant title with Salamov guaranteed a shot at the winner.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Joe shouldn't even be champion..

[DrDuke]

Joe shouldn't even be champion..

So, now sh!tty champion has his sh!tty defence.

[Cent0089]

Man, this is bad

[KiwiRider]

Joe shouldn't even be champion..

I've been a fan for ages, but yeah, he ain't a champion.
As for Jacobs in 22, I think it will end up looking like a mismatch. Jacobs is fragile at 34, with newborn foal legs.
He should retire and not face the pasting Joe Jr will give him. Too nice a guy IMO.

[margaret thatcher]

Joe shouldn't even be champion..

So, now sh!tty champion has his sh!tty defence.

joe aint a sh!tty champ , has a good resume, top 5 fighter in the division. he'll beat up the type of phony contenders who might be able to cherry pick a title vs an actual sh!tty champ

[Ruthless-RKO]

Joe shouldn't even be champion..

So, now sh!tty champion has his sh!tty defence.

joe aint a sh!tty champ , has a good resume, top 5 fighter in the division. he'll beat up the type of phony contenders who might be able to cherry pick a title vs an actual sh!tty champ

Didn’t you have him losing to Vlasov too?

[DrDuke]

Joe shouldn't even be champion..

So, now sh!tty champion has his sh!tty defence.

joe aint a sh!tty champ , has a good resume, top 5 fighter in the division. he'll beat up the type of phony contenders who might be able to cherry pick a title vs an actual sh!tty champ

He was a good contender, but since he won the belt in a bout he should have been lost and hasn't made any significant defences yet, he's a sh!tty champion for now.

[Ruthless-RKO]

October: Joe Smith returns

Light heavyweight world titlist Joe Smith Jr. (27-3, 21 KOs), who won a vacant belt by action-packed majority decision against Russia’s Maxim Vlasov on April 10, will make his first defense against Russian mandatory challenger Umar Salamov (26-1, 19 KOs) on Oct. 23.

“He’s fighting Salamov. He’s obliged to do it,” Arum said.

Smith is from New York’s Long Island, and Arum said potential sites are Madison Square Garden in New York, Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island. But Arum said there are other venues in the mix: Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York, where Smith has boxed previously, and Resorts World Casino Catskills in Monticello, New York, where Smith co-promoter Joe DeGuardia has put on shows.

A Smith victory could lead to a much bigger fight in the first part of 2022 against Brooklyn, New York’s Daniel Jacobs, a former middleweight titleholder.

[margaret thatcher]

October: Joe Smith returns


A Smith victory could lead to a much bigger fight in the first part of 2022 against Brooklyn, New York’s Daniel Jacobs, a former middleweight titleholder.

oh f@ck off, we want smith-bert not smith-dj

[Perkin Warbeck]

Joe shouldn't even be champion..

You are correct, he lost to Vlasov who was robbed. I was rooting for Joe Smith in the fight, but to be honest he did not win.

Salamov is a decent light heavyweight, not as soft of an opponent for Smith as some seem to think. He was robbed in Australia against Damien Hooper.

[margaret thatcher]

Joe shouldn't even be champion..

You are correct, he lost to Vlasov who was robbed. I was rooting for Joe Smith in the fight, but to be honest he did not win.

Salamov is a decent light heavyweight, not as soft of an opponent for Smith as some seem to think. He was robbed in Australia against Damien Hooper.

what type of chance does sally have vs joe?

[Perkin Warbeck]

what type of chance does sally have vs joe?

With fair officiating, he would have a decent chance of winning. The fight will likely be competitive.

[apollo creed]

Joe shouldn't even be champion..

I've been a fan for ages, but yeah, he ain't a champion.
As for Jacobs in 22, I think it will end up looking like a mismatch. Jacobs is fragile at 34, with newborn foal legs.
He should retire and not face the pasting Joe Jr will give him. Too nice a guy IMO.

True.

I thought Beterbiev and Smith would fight each other next but yeah business first.

It would be a pitty to see the champs at 175 staying safe waiting for Canelo's call.

[KiwiRider]

Joe shouldn't even be champion..

I've been a fan for ages, but yeah, he ain't a champion.
As for Jacobs in 22, I think it will end up looking like a mismatch. Jacobs is fragile at 34, with newborn foal legs.
He should retire and not face the pasting Joe Jr will give him. Too nice a guy IMO.

True.

I thought Beterbiev and Smith would fight each other next but yeah business first.

It would be a pitty to see the champs at 175 staying safe waiting for Canelo's call.

thing is, I've not a lot of faith in Bivol after Richards, Beterbiev is aging fast, and yes there are a few guys moving up, but they are unproven.
Personally I'd like someone to kick Zurdo's ducking arse outta there, been waiting for years... Guess he could fight Jessie Hart again

[margaret thatcher]

bivol was taking it easy vs richards, classic guy who fights to the challenge of the comp, he hardly lost a round vs much better opposition than craig.

if any of canelo -bivol/bert/smith , or bert-smith/bivol happen in the next year it will still be very nice

[Evander]

No exciting fights out there right now.

[apollo creed]

I've been a fan for ages, but yeah, he ain't a champion.
As for Jacobs in 22, I think it will end up looking like a mismatch. Jacobs is fragile at 34, with newborn foal legs.
He should retire and not face the pasting Joe Jr will give him. Too nice a guy IMO.

True.

I thought Beterbiev and Smith would fight each other next but yeah business first.

It would be a pitty to see the champs at 175 staying safe waiting for Canelo's call.

thing is, I've not a lot of faith in Bivol after Richards, Beterbiev is aging fast, and yes there are a few guys moving up, but they are unproven.
Personally I'd like someone to kick Zurdo's ducking arse outta there, been waiting for years... Guess he could fight Jessie Hart again

yup

Me too. Ramirez called out Bivol. Let's see if its just all bark and no bite. Bivol should push for this fight too.

[apollo creed]

Anyway, it seems that Bivol could have a much bigger fish to fry next .......... in Canelo!

[Ruthless-RKO]

[KiwiRider]

Bugger.
Now I'm going to have to research Salamov a little better.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Contracts signed for Joe Smith Jr.'s light heavyweight title defense vs. Umar Salamov

Joe Smith Jr. and Umar Salamov have signed contracts for a light heavyweight title fight, Smith's co-promoter, Joe DeGuardia, told ESPN on Monday.

Smith's 175-pound title defense will take place in late October/early November, sources said, and headline a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN event.

"The Theater [at MSG in New York] is the most logical spot," DeGuardia said. "I think it's the perfect place for Joe to make his first world-title defense. We'd certainly pack it, that's for sure."

Smith, ESPN's No. 3 boxer at 175 pounds, won the vacant title in April with a hard-nosed majority decision victory over Maxim Vlasov. The win capped an impressive rebound for Smith, a 31-year-old from Long Island, New York.

Since a lopsided decision defeat to Dmitry Bivol in March 2019 -- his only other title bid -- Smith (27-3, 21 KOs) has reeled off three straight wins. A ninth-round TKO of former champion Eleider Alvarez in August (a career-best performance) came on the heels of a decision win over Jesse Hart.

In Salamov, Smith will face yet another Russian (Vlasov and Bivol also hail from Russia). Salamov, 27, has fought outside the U.S. just once and has never faced an opponent of consequence. He currently trains in Las Vegas with Kevin Barry, who once coached heavyweight title challenger David Tua.

Salamov (26-1, 19 KOs) was forced to withdraw from a November fight against Vlasov in Russia after he tested positive for COVID-19. Now, Salamov skips the title eliminator and heads straight to his first crack at a belt.

Smith and Daniel Jacobs have been involved in talks for an early 2022 fight should Smith turn back Salamov, sources said. The fight would see Jacobs, a former 160-pound champion now campaigning at 168, move up to 175.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

Joe Smith Jr., WBO light heavyweight champ, battling COVID; bout vs. Umar Salamov postponed

Joe Smith Jr. was hospitalized with COVID-19 and his Oct. 30 light heavyweight title defense vs. Umar Salamov has been postponed, the boxer's promoter, Joe DeGuardia, told ESPN on Tuesday.

The 32-year-old stayed in a Long Island, New York, hospital overnight before being released, according to DeGuardia. The 175-pound title fight was set to headline Top Rank Boxing on ESPN at New York's Hulu Theater at MSG. The bout with Salamov, a 27-year-old Russian, will be rescheduled once Smith has fully recovered, DeGuardia said.

"He's still in bed, he's not doing too well," DeGuardia said. "He's trying to recuperate; worrisome because he really was very, very ill. We're going to see how Joe feels this week so we can figure which date will make the most sense."

Top Rank is looking for a suitable replacement headline bout so the Oct. 30 event can proceed, sources told ESPN.

Smith (27-3, 21 KOs) won the title in April with a majority-decision victory over Maxim Vlasov. The fight was originally scheduled for February but was postponed after Vlasov was diagnosed with COVID.

Vlasov and Salamov were supposed to meet last November - with the winner set to fight Smith for the vacant title - but that fight was postponed after Salamov (26-1, 19 KOs) tested positive for COVID.

And now, it's Smith, the latest in a long line of notable boxers who had their fights postponed due to COVID just weeks out, joining stricken fighters like Tyson Fury, Teófimo Lopez and David Benavidez.

"I was in camp working hard," Smith said in a statement. ... "When I am better, I will be back in the gym preparing to fight as soon as I can and put on a great show for all my fans."

Smith was once a local attraction on Long Island before shooting to prominence with a shocking first-round TKO of Andrzej Fonfara in June 2016. He parlayed that upset victory into another stunner, a knockout of the legendary Bernard Hopkins in December 2016. In Hopkins' farewell fight, he was sent through the ropes for the KO.

With the pair of victories, Smith landed a fight with Sullivan Barrera, but entered the bout with a broken jaw. Following a title-losing effort against Dmitry Bivol in March 2019, Smith went on another run, with a decision win over Jesse Hart and then a career-best performance in August 2020, a TKO victory over former champion Eleider Alvarez.

"It's unfortunate; it's wild," said DeGuardia. "During the whole situation with Vlasov, he was so focused on being away from people with a mask. It's disheartening. It's been happening in our sport to a lot of guys."