Fonfara: I Want a Rematch With Joe Smith; I'm a Better Fighter!

By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Andrzej Fonfara hopes Joe Smith Jr. will give him a rematch.

Smith made a name for himself by stopping Fonfara in the first round of their nationally televised June 16 fight in Chicago. That stunning victory led Smith to his HBO debut December 17, which resulted in another impressive knockout win against the legendary Bernard Hopkins in Inglewood, California.

Long Island’s Smith wants a light heavyweight world title shot now that he has these two signature wins on his resume. Fonfara just hopes Smith doesn’t forget about the opportunity Fonfara gave him last year when it’s time to consider their rematch.

“Joe Smith is a good fighter,” Fonfara told BoxingScene.com. “But I think I’m a better boxer. He didn’t beat me for 10 rounds or something. He just caught me in the first round and he finished me. He did his job and he won the fight. He’s a good puncher, a great fighter. But I wanna have a rematch with him, to show him I can win and I want to be a better fighter.”

The Polish-born Fonfara (29-4, 17 KOs) bounced back from his upset loss to Smith by stopping Chad Dawson in the 10th round of their non-televised, 10-round fight Saturday night at Barclays Center. Dawson (34-5, 19 KOs, 2 NC), a former undisputed light heavyweight champion, was holding his own against Fonfara before Fonfara dropped him in the ninth round and hurt him again in the 10th round, which led referee David Fields to stop their fight on the Keith Thurman-Danny Garcia undercard.

The win was one Fonfara desperately needed in his first fight since Smith beat him. The 29-year-old Fonfara, above all else, had to show that his loss to Smith was an aberration.

Fonfara seemed to buzz the then-unknown Smith (23-1, 19 KOs) with a left hook in the first round, but Smith responded quickly with a right hand that knocked down Fonfara. He got up, but Smith attacked Fonfara, landed several power punches and dropped him again, which caused referee Hector Afu to stop their fight 2:32 into the first round.

“I think I hurt him with a left hook,” Fonfara said. “That’s why I felt a little bit more comfortable and maybe I wanted to land too many punches, and then I opened up. Then he just closed his eyes, threw a straight right hand and he put me down.”

Fonfara wasn’t trying to diminish Smith’s victory. The light heavyweight contender was just giving his honest assessment of what he thinks took place in their fight.

“This is boxing,” Fonfara said. “I can’t say it was a lucky punch because this is boxing and he punched me good on the chin. Then I stand up. Maybe if I go down again on the ground and take one more count, then I could’ve [continued].

“But you wanna stand up and you wanna fight. I have the heart of a fighter and I wanted to fight right away. And he got me the second time. This happens in boxing, but I think I’m a better boxer and I wanna show him this.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.