Sullivan Barrera To Joe Smith: 'Lets Give The Fans What They Want!'

By Ryan Burton

Light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera (19-1, 14 KOs) picked up his second victory in a row since his March, 2016 loss to Andre Ward when he stopped Paul Parker (8-2) in 5 rounds in their bout Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.  The bout headlined a HBO Latino doubleheader.

Barrera had control of the fight from the opening bell and dropped Parker twice in the fifth round before the bout was called to a halt.

"I feel great. Paul Parker is a great boxer but the only time he hurt me was with the head butt. I guess what happened with the head butt and everything, finally in the fifth round I was able to hit him as I wanted and everything went exactly the way I wanted it to. I am ready for the next level," Barrera said.

After the fight, the 35-year-old Cuban called for a showdown against Long Island knockout artist Joe Smith Jr. (23-1, 19 KOs) - who stopped Bernard Hopkins in his last fight in December.

Smith was in talks to face WBC world champion Adonis Stevenson, but the two sides were unable to reach agreement. Then he was targeting a fight with hometown rival Sean Monaghan, but both Showtime and HBO are not willing to pay for that fight.

"I have a great team  and I know that they are looking for good things for me. I'm very happy with this fight against Paul Parker. I know that I have a good team and are looking for good fights for me but many thanks to Paul Parker for taking the fight - but what many fans write to me and tell me is that they want to see me fight Joe Smith Jr. What happened bro? Let's give the fans the fight they want Joe Smith Jr.," said Barrera.

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