Joe Smith Jr Ready To Capture World Title

The WBO Light Heavyweight title Saturday night between  Joe Smith Jr. and Maxim Vlasov had their final words before Saturday night the Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  The tone that he set their was that Smith Jr. (26-3, 21 KOs) he was ready for the fight to take place.

“I was 100 percent ready to go back in February, but it’s OK. I had time to enjoy my wedding day, and now I’m just ready to go once again,” Smith said at the final presser Thursday.

Prior Big Fight Weekend Podcast guest, Abraham Gonzalez, wrote a piece for NYFIGHTS.COM about the normal day in the life of Smith and how they had to work out the delay for his wedding.

“What made it worse was that I had my wedding planned for the week after. I still had my wedding, but I had to postpone the honeymoon. After the wedding, we got right back into it,” SMith Jr. said to NY Fights.

First face-off of Fight Week, Take ✌️#SmithVlasov | SATURDAY | ESPN & ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/pS8Aakt3sK

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) April 8, 2021

The original fight was scrapped back in February due to a positive COVID test by Vlasov (45-3, 26 KOs). While Vlasov stated that Smith was predictable, Smith laid out what he thinks we’ll see from Vlasov and heading into the fight.

Hear our preview of Smith vs. Vlasov Saturday night off the Big Fight Weekend podcast below,

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“I know what I’m going up against. He is a busy and aggressive guy with a lot of experience, but I have prepared well, and I’m going to give 100 percent of myself to come out victorious,” Smith said.

“Becoming world champion and hearing the words, ‘and new!’ it’s going to be an amazing feeling. This is everything I have been working for since I was 15 years old,” Smith said.

The winner of this fight in Tulsa Saturday night will be lined up to challenge Artur Beterbiev in a unification bout. Let’s see if Smith makes his childhood dreams come true.