By Cliff Rold
There aren’t a lot of names more common than Joe Smith. On Saturday night at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois, an uncommon result made a name for a fighter making his arrival among the top ten light heavyweights in the world.
26-year old Joe Smith Jr. (22-1, 18 KO), 173, of Long Island, New York, used a national television platform on NBC to announce his arrival as a factor with a first round stoppage of consensus top ten contender Andrzej Fonfara (28-4, 16 KO), 174 ½, of Chicago, Illinois. The referee was Hector Afu.
After the typical feeling out of any early round, Smith ended matters before they really began. Slightly rocked by Fonfara, Smith covered up and countered with a rapid right Fonfara never saw coming. Fonfara dropped to the mat in trouble and Smith kept him there. Pouncing on the damaged local favorite, another right hand put Fonfara down for the second time in the corner and Afu called the bout at 2:32 of the opening frame.
Smith was as surprised as anyone. “I expected to go ten rounds. Andrzej, he’s a great fighter. I worked real hard; I trained harder than I ever have in my life. Each fight I’m working harder and harder. I came here today to prove a point, that I belong in here with the best, and I proved that tonight.”
Smith did just that and enters the ranks of contenders, leaving the fans a Joe Smith to remember.
It was the second stoppage loss of Fonfara’s career and first since a 2008 second round blowout at the hands of Derrick Findley. Fonfara had won 18 of his last twenty, including a loss to lineal light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson that saw both men on the floor in a spirited affair. Smith wins his sixteenth in a row since a knockout loss in his seventh fight.
The undercard had some memorable moments as well.
In the primary co-feature, 29-year old three-time US Olympian Rau’shee Warren (14-1, 4 KO), 117, of Cincinnati, Ohio, put aside the agony of three first round exits at the Games by winning gold as a professional. Warren won a majority decision for the WBA bantamweight title over 32-year old Dominican Juan Carlos Payano (17-1, 7 KO), 117 ¼, of Miami, Florida, in a rematch after their first fight last August was scored a narrow split for Payano. The referee was Celestino Ruiz.
The first fight was memorable for point deductions on fouls both ways and a late knockdown for Warren. The second fight featured much less of the dirty stuff and both men kept their feet, leaving this sequel to play as less dramatic than the original. Unlike the first fight, it was Warren building the early lead with slick boxing and superior hand speed. Payano grinded away, working his way into the fight and making his case in the second half as Warren’s punch output slowly dropped.
Both men made cases late in the fight. Needing a big round to stem the tide building in Payano’s favor, Warren found it with a solid eleventh. Payano, landing his looping right hands and bringing the fight forward, appeared to win the final round. It wasn’t enough. The judges came in at 114-114 even on a single card with Warren the victor at 115-113 on the other two.
Warren collapsed to the mat in tears at the announcement, embraced by hometown multi-division titlist Adrien Broner. An emotional Warren was joyful, if not a little relieved, in televised post-fight comments. “All the hard work I’ve been going through, since the Olympics and from the last fight that we had and I felt like I won the decision, and to get the feeling and feel this belt around my chest, it’s just a dream to me right now.”
Having split two fights with Payano, Warren suggested a rubber match may be in order. “It could be a three. He got the first one, I got the second. We can do this again.”
Whether that is in the WBA’s cards remains to be seen. Warren won the WBA’s ‘Super’ champion designation but the UK’s Jamie McDonnell holds their other ‘world’ title distinction in the class. McDonnell has made noise about moving up to 122 lbs. but Warren might appear vulnerable enough for him to press the WBA for a showdown.
It’s an interesting conundrum and one Warren earned his place in with a victory on Saturday night.
The remainder of the undercard spotlighted promising prospects.
20-year old Jr. middleweight Erickson Lubin (15-0, 11 KO), 153 ½, of Orlando, Florida, kept his star on the rise with a third-round stoppage of Daniel Sandoval (38-4, 35 KO), 159 ½, of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Lubin was clearly superior from the outset, laying a beating on Sandoval and forcing the stoppage from referee Mark Nelson at 2:36 of round three.
27-year old middleweight Maciej Sulacki (23-0, 8 KO), 159, of Warsaw, Poland, may have finished the exposing of an increasingly suspect 25-year Hugo Centeno Jr. (24-1, 12 KO), 163, of Oxnard, California, with a one-sided tenth round stoppage. Centeno, whose unbeaten mark probably was on its way to vanishing against Julian Williams in 2013 before a No Contest on a headbutt, couldn’t handle the physicality or accuracy of the Pole all night. A big right hand dropped him in the tenth and referee Mark Nelson sagely waved it off at 1:06 of the round despite protest from Centeno.
26-year old welterweight Alex Martin (13-0, 5 KO), 147, of Harvey, Illinois, used an eighth round knockdown to seal up a split decision over 29-year old Juan Carlos Abreu (19-3-1, 18 KO), 147, of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Abreu carried much of the early fight but Martin did enough to sway the judges as the eight scheduled rounds wore on. Scores came in at 76-75 Abreu on one side only to be overruled at 78-74 and 77-74 for Martin. The referee was Lou Hall.
The card was televised on NBC and the NBC Sports Network as part of the Premiere Boxing Champions series.
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
