Joe Smith on Fonfara: I Deserve This Fight, I Belong With Top Guys

By Thomas Gerbasi

Joe Smith Jr. doesn’t think about the broken jaw anymore, only when reporters bring it up in interviews.

“Yeah, that’s about it,” the Long Island light heavyweight laughs.

And if asked, he insists that the jaw – fractured twice in the lone loss of his career against Eddie Caminero in August of 2010 – is a non-issue.

“I got past all that,” he said. “I forgot about it and put it behind me and I’m just doing what I need to do to keep moving forward.”

That forward motion, and 15 consecutive wins since the Caminero bout, have him fighting top five 175-pound contender Andrezj Fonfara this Saturday in the PBC main event on NBC. That’s a big deal for a fighter largely unknown outside of the New York area, and that’s a story in and of itself. But it’s hard not to look back at that broken jaw and realizing that everything Smith is about goes back to that night in Brooklyn.

One punch did it. But he fought on until the bout was stopped two seconds from the end of the fourth round. A member of the Laborers’ Local 66 union, Smith had money coming in to take care of himself and his young family, so why continue?

This is a contact sport and broken noses, chipped teeth, and scar tissue are part of the gig. But broken jaws are serious, especially when it takes several hours’ worth of surgery to fix them. Even those closest to the New York Golden Gloves champion wondered if he should keep fighting.

“Everybody, even my team, they would understand if I didn’t want to continue, but we knew that I had something and we wanted to give it another shot,” Smith said. “And we gave it that other shot and it got us here, so I’m very happy that we took it.”

That’s a fighter. After nearly a year away from the game, Smith returned in July of 2011 and he hasn’t looked back. By 2014, he was upping his level of competition and beating decent fighters night in and night out. Last December, he beat another local favorite in Will Rosinsky. It was a competitive bout, but there was no question who the winner was when the final scorecards were tallied. Joe Smith Jr. wasn’t just a crowd-pleasing banger anymore. When the mood struck, he could box.

“I definitely see it,” he said when asked if he could see the evolution of his game. “I’m improving my boxing, I’m moving more, I’ve got better defense. I’m an all-around better fighter.”

He’ll need it all against Fonfara, who is coming off impressive back-to-back wins over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Nathan Cleverly. It’s a fight that surprised many when it was made, considering that Fonfara is on the short list of those to be considered for title shots at 175.

“I was (surprised), but I wasn’t,” Smith said. “I definitely deserve the fight, I belong with the top guys and I’m happy I got the fight.”

It’s a moment he’s been waiting for, and while his jump from the local circuit to the big time on national television against a top contender seems sudden, the 26-year-old has been more than ready for it.

“I had to wait a long time for it, but it’s a few days away now, and each day that it gets closer and closer, the more confident and ready I am for it.”

Even as the “bad guy” fighting in Fonfara’s backyard of Chicago?

“I’m prepared for it, and I don’t look at it that way,” he said. “It’s gonna be on television, I’ll have people at home and I’ll have a few people in the crowd watching, so I’m ready for it.”

He’s even expecting to have some of his union brothers in attendance, as there’s a laborers’ convention just wrapping up before fight night. And if history is any indication, Smith has a way of bringing in a crowd, just like another Long Island light heavyweight, Seanie Monaghan.

Among fight fans in New York, this rematch of the 2008 NY Golden Gloves final (won by Smith) is a natural for the Big Apple, but it’s never happened. Now with Smith making his move on the top guns at 175 and Monaghan already in the title conversation, is the time now?

“Honestly, I don’t know if it’s gonna happen,” he said. “I’m hoping after this fight I can fight somebody else at the top – Adonis Stevenson, (Sergey) Kovalev – I want to keep moving up. And maybe once I win a world title or if he gets there first, then maybe we can do it after that.”

Smith vs. Monaghan for a vacant title at the Garden or Barclays Center?

“That would be great,” Smith said. But he’s not worried about local rivalries at the moment. He’s got pressing business with one of the best light heavyweights in the world, and if he wins, it could be a life-altering moment for Smith, his daughter, and his family. That’s big, but in keeping with his calm, cool and collected demeanor, he’s not putting any added weight on this bout.

“Every fight is the biggest fight of my career,” he said. “Every time I step into the ring, it’s another win, and another opponent and I never underestimate anybody. You could be the worst fighter in the world, but your style can beat someone else’s so I never underestimate anybody.”

And if he wins, the fight game may have another gritty Irish-American kid to cheer for.

“People love it,” Smith said. “They love seeing a young, good-looking guy moving his way to the top to become a champion.”

He laughs when he says the “good-looking” line, proving that his jaw is still working just fine.