NEW YORK – Joe Smith Jr. is displeased with his subpar performance against Dmitry Bivol.
The moment Smith regrets most from that fight actually amounted to one of the few highlights for him. The hard-hitting Smith hurt Bivol with a right hand that landed to the side of Bivol’s head at almost exactly the same time as the bell sounded to end the 10th round.
A buzzed Bivol stumbled as he started to walk back to his corner, but Smith couldn’t capitalize on the brief momentum he’d built once the 11th round began. By then, Smith obviously needed a knockout to beat Bivol because the better boxer had picked him apart and opened up a sizeable lead on the scorecards in their light heavyweight title fight.
“I wish I had five more seconds,” Smith told BoxingScene.com following a press conference to promote his fight against Jesse Hart on Saturday night. “I would’ve finished him. I hurt him with the last punch, right at the bell. He definitely felt it. He was hurt. I just didn’t have no time after that to get him out.”
Russia’s Bivol (17-0, 11 KOs) dominated Smith on the scorecards March 9 at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. Judges Glenn Feldman (119-109) and Tom Schreck (119-109) each scored 11 of the 12 rounds for Bivol, who won 10 rounds on judge Don Trella’s card (118-110) and retained his WBA 175-pound crown.
“I know it definitely wasn’t my best performance that night,” Smith said. “I believe I could’ve done better. It motivates me to get back in there and prove that I can do better. Hopefully, maybe one day I’ll get to redeem myself against him. That would be the goal.”
If Smith ever is to earn a second shot at Bivol or a fight against another champion, he’ll have to beat Hart in a main event ESPN will televise from Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Philadelphia’s Hart (26-2, 21 KOs) is listed as nearly a 5-1 favorite in this battle between 30-year-old contenders. Smith, of Mastic, New York, is anxious to redeem himself in his first fight in the 10 months since his loss to Bivol.
“I was trying to work on some new things in [the Bivol] fight and it’s starting to come together now,” Smith said. “I feel very good and confident about it. I’m working on my boxing and the movement, my speed, everything, and it’s definitely improving.”
The Hart-Smith match will headline a doubleheader that’ll begin at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with a 10-round super middleweight bout between Steven Nelson (15-0, 12 KOs), of Omaha, Nebraska, and Cem Kilic (14-0, 9 KOs), of Thousand Oaks, California.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.