| |
|
|
Light Heavyweight Champion Joe Smith Jr. Knocks Out Steve
Geffrard In 9th Round
Photos: Mikey Williams - Top Rank
The Steve Geffrard story was something out of a
Hollywood script. The South Florida native accepted a
shot at the title on eight days' notice, but he didn't
author the shocking upset. WBO light heavyweight world
champion Joe Smith Jr. made the first successful defense
of his crown, knocking out Geffrard in the ninth round
Saturday at Turning Stone Resort Casino.
Smith (28-3, 22 KOs) was never threatened, as his
activity (665 punches thrown) forced Geffrard (18-3, 12
KOs) on the back foot. Geffrard had minor pockets of
success in the opening round, but it soon turned into a
one-sided exhibition for the Long Island native. He
stunned Geffrard with right hands in the fifth and
turned up the heat in the ninth. With Geffrard pinned
against his corner, Smith unloaded with a combination,
and Geffrard went to a knee. Before referee Mark Nelson
could finish the 10-count, trainer Kevin Cunningham
threw in the towel to end the one-way traffic.
Smith has his sights set on the other division kingpin,
IBF/WBC champion Artur Beterbiev. Or perhaps a date with
Canelo Alvarez if the pound-for-pound king elects to
move up from super middleweight.
Smith said, “He really brought it today. It was a great
fight. As you can see, he’s a great boxer, a good
survivor. I was trying to get him out of there early,
but I realized he was very tough and I wasn’t going to
be able to do that. I tried to wait until the later
rounds and started throwing more combinations to pick
him apart.
“{Beterbiev} is what I want. I want to get back in the
gym, work on my craft, and like I say each and every
time I get in the ring, I’m going to get better and
better. I believe the next time you see me, I’ll be
ready for anybody.
“If Canelo wants to come to 175 and fight me, I’m ready
for him. That’s the fight I want. Everybody would love
to see that fight. It would be a big deal.”
Nova TKOs Encarnacion in Co-Feature
Undefeated featherweight Abraham "El Super" Nova walked
to the ring with a mascot and cheerleaders, but he soon
found himself in a fight. Short-notice opponent William
"El Gago" Encarnacion stunned Nova with an a chopping
right in the first round, but Nova (21-0, 15 KOs)
settled in and prevailed by eighth-round TKO.
Nova was world-ranked at junior lightweight before
moving down to featherweight last year. He survived the
early rough patch and plastered Encarnacion (19-2, 15
KOs) with body shots. Encarnacion's corner saw enough
and threw in the towel, much to the shock of those in
attendance.
Nova said, “It feels good to fight close to home a day
after my birthday. I had a tricky opponent in front of
me, but I got the job done.
“I want {WBO world champion Emanuel Navarrete}, to be
honest. Everybody thinks he’ll blow me out. Put him in
there. Let’s see if he’ll do it. I know I’ll beat him. I
know I have the punch output, I know I’ll knock him out,
and I know I’ll be the next WBO champion."
In other action:
Junior Welterweight: Puerto Rican prospect Omar Rosario
(6-0, 2 KOs) learned another lesson in his young career,
as he nearly finished off Brooklyn's Raekwon Butler
(4-2, 2 KOs) in the opening round before being forced
the six-round distance and winning a unanimous decision
(59-54 2x and 58-55). Rosario outlanded Butler 111-49.
Welterweight: Jahi Tucker (6-0, 4 KOs) is fighting
beyond his years. The 18-year-old knocked down Akeem
Black (6-5, 2 KOs) with an uppercut in the opening round
and then finished things off with a flurry in the
second. Tucker became only the second man to knock out
Black and landed 47 out of 98 punches thrown.
Middleweight: U.S. Olympian Troy "Transformer" Isley
(4-0, 2 KOs) threw everything, including the kitchen
sink, but Harry Keenan Cruz-Cubano (6-3, 2 KOs)
withstood a hellacious beating to survive the six-round
distance. Isley tagged Cruz-Cubano with uppercuts in the
early rounds and cruised to a decision by scores of
59-53 and 59-54 2x.
Cruiserweight: Lyubomyr Pinchuk (14-2-1, 8 KOs) lumbered
to an eight-round unanimous decision over Jose Mario
Flores (8-3-2, 4 KOs) by scores of 80-72 and 79-73 2x.
|
|
|
