Joe Smith Jr. Dominates and Stops Eleider Alvarez at the MGM Grand ‘Bubble’

Joe Smith Jr., the Long Island construction worker and tree surgeon, showed that he should be remembered as something more than one of the sport’s great spoilers with a ninth round KO of former IBF light-heavyweight title-holder Eleider Alvarez. The fight capped an 8-bout card at the MGM Grand “Bubble” in Las Vegas.

Alvarez, the Montreal-based Colombian, looked older than his 36 years tonight. Keeping tight to a well-designed fight plan, similar to his last match against Jesse Hart, Smith, 30, was far ahead through the eight completed rounds, having swept all eight rounds on the card of Nevada’s top judge Dave Moretti.

A hard right hand spelled the end for Alvarez who absorbed a left as he was crashing, landing with his head on the ring apron. Alvarez (25-2) hadn’t previously been stopped and was coming off a highlight reel knockout over Michael Seals.

The fight was billed as a title eliminator for the vacant WBO 175-pound belt. Smith (26-3, 21 KOs) previously came up short in a world title bid, losing a lopsided decision to WBA title-holder Dmitry Bivol, but may well dress up as the favorite in his second crack at it.

Other Fights

Minnesota middleweight Rob Brant looked very sharp in his first fight back since suffering a second-round stoppage in Osaka, Japan, at the hands of Ryota Murata in his last outing. Brant (26-2, 18 KOs) dominated 36-year-old Ukrainian Vitaliy Kopylenko (28-3) before the bout was halted after five rounds with Kopylenko displaying a big welt under his left eye. It was Brant’s first fight with new trainer Brian McIntyre who also handles Terence Crawford. A 12-year pro, Kopylenko hadn’t previously been stopped. Up next for Brant may be a rubber match with Murata.

Welterweight Julian Rodriguez, a former National Golden Gloves champion whose return to the ring was delayed by a positive COVID-19 test, made short work of Anthony Laureano, knocking him down three times before the bout was halted at the 2:50 mark of the first round. The 25-year-old Rodriguez, from Hasbrouck Heights, NJ, improved to 20-0 (13 KOs). It was the first pro loss for Laureano (13-1) who suffered insult to injury, so to speak, when he came in overweight and had to surrender a portion of his purse.

Middleweight Clay Collard, the former (and future) kickboxer from Castle Dale, Utah, continued his hot summer roll with a second-round stoppage of Maurice Williams (7-2). Collard, who has developed a cult following, improved to 9-2-3 (4 KOs). He scored two knockdowns before referee Tony Weeks halted the contest at the 1:54 mark. Williams hadn’t previously fought outside Oklahoma and it showed.

New Top Rank signee Duke Ragan, a featherweight from Cincinnati decorated amateur from Cincinnati, made short work of Luis Alvarado in his pro debut, stopping the overmatched Alvarado in the opening round. A decorated amateur who fell short in the Olympic trials, Ragan is trained by Kay Koroma, a rising star in his profession.

In a bantamweight contest slated for eight rounds, Robert Rodriguez (9-0-1, 5 KOs) blew away Abel Soriano, scoring three knockdowns before the fight was stopped in the opening round. A 21-year-old southpaw, Rodriguez is one of four San Antonio fighters training at Robert Garcia’s boxing academy in Riverside. Soriano, from Bellevue, Nebraska, entered the contest with a 10-0 record but hadn’t defeated an opponent with a winning record.

In junior welterweight battle of Southern Californians, Israel Mercado improved to 8-0 with a 6-round unanimous decision over Adrian Valdovinos (5-1-1). The scores were 59-55 and 60-54 twice.

In the lid-lifter, a drab 8-round middleweight contest, Wendy “Haitian Fire” Toussaint, a stablemate of Joe Smith Jr, improved to 12-0 with a unanimous decision over Isiah Jones (9-3). The scores were 80-72 and 79-73 twice.

PBC on FOX

At the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, former world welterweight champion Shawn Porter “pitched a shutout” (120-108 x 3) over German import Sebastian Formella, advancing his record to 31-3-1. It was a moral victory for the intrepid Formella (22-1), a massive underdog who absorbed a terrific amount of punishment but was never knocked off his feet.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams for Top Rank

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