Joe Smith Jr. retained the WBO Light Heavyweight title with a 9th round stoppage over late-replacement Steve Geffrard at The Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.
Smith dominated the action by landing power shots to back up Geffrard. Geffrard showed little resistance, but was able to hang around and last rounds by moving a little bit. He spent most of his time eating hard shots on the ropes.
in round nine, Smith threw a quick 15-punch flurry that put Geffrard down for the 10-count just as his corner was stopping the fight at 37 seconds.
Smith, 174 1/4 lbs of Long Island, NY is 28-3 with 22 knockouts. Geffrard, 173.5 lbs of Delray Beach, FL 18-3.
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 Stops Encarnacion in 8
Abraham Nova made his featherweight debut with an 8th round stoppage over William Encarnacion.
Nova dominated the action as he landed some solid body punches early. Nova began to take his work work upstairs and started to wobble Encarnacion in round six through the rest of the fight, which was stopped at 55 of round eight after a big flurry of punches.
Nova, 126 3/4 lbs of Albany, NY is 21-0 with 15 knockouts. Encarnacion, 127 lbs of The Dominican Republic is 19-2.
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.”
Omar Rosario celebrated his 24th birthday with a six-round unanimous decision over Rawkwon Butler in a junior welterweight fight.
In round six, Butler was bleeding from his nose.
Rosario landed 132 of 368 punches; Butler was 52 of 218.
Rosario, 139 1/4 lbs of Caguas, PR won by scores of 58-55 and 59-54 twice and is now 6-0. Butler, 138 1/4 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is 4-2.
Jahi Tucker remained undefeated with a 2nd round stoppage over Akeem Black in a scheduled six-round welterweight bout.
In round one, Tucker dropped Black after a series of hard power shots that was finished up with an uppercut. The onslaught continued in round two as Tucker continued to batter Black until the fight was stopped at 1:18.
The 18 year-old Tucker, 146 3/4 lbs of Deer Park, NY is 6-0 with four knockouts. Black, 145 3/4 lbs of Chicago, IL is 6-5.
2021 U.S. Olympian Troy Isley pounded Harry Keenan Cruz-Cubano for a six-round unanimous decision in a middleweight fight.
In round one, Cruz-Cubano was cut under his left eye.
In round six, Isley was deducted a point for a low blow.
Isley, 156 1/4 lbs of Alexandria, VA won by scores of 59-53 and 59-54 twice and is now 4-0. Cruz-Cubano, 156 1/4 lbs of Jacksonville, FLA is 6-3.
Lyubomyr Pinchuk won an eight-round unanimous decision over Jose Mario Flores in a cruiserweight fight.
In round two, Pinchuk was cut over his left eye from a clash of heads.
Pinchuk, 194.5 lbs of Lviv, UKR won by scores of 8-72 and 79-73 and is now 14-2-1. Flores, 197.5 lbs of Washington, DC is 8-3-2.
