Joe Smith Jr. pounded out a hard fought 12-round majority decision over Maxim Vlasov to win the WBO Light Heavyweight title at the Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma
In round one, Smith was cut over his right eye from a punch of Valsov. The two fought hard, taking turns winning rounds. Everytime one of the fighters would gain advantage, the adversary would come back and seize control of the action. Smith landed several hard shots and seemed to have Vlasov in trouble. Vlasov was crafty throughout.
Smith landed 226 of 888 punches; Vlasov was 214 of 863.
Both guys were marked up facially, but in the end, it was Smith who by scores of 115-113, 115-112 and 114-114.
Smith, 174 lbs of Long Island, NY is 27-3. Vlasov, 175 lbs of Russia is 45-4.
Smith said, “It’s a great feeling. It was definitely a close, tough fight. I give it to Vlasov. Great fighter. He really put on a great show tonight and toughed it out. I believe that round where I hurt him there… I believe he had his head down, and I should’ve got the knockout. I think I would’ve got the stoppage in {the 11th} round, but he pulled it off and made it out on his feet. I believe I got the victory tonight because they saw I landed the harder shots. He landed a lot of punches. It was a great fight.
“I want the other belts. I want the big fights out there. Now I gotta get back in the gym and keep working on my technique and stuff. I believe I’m going to start unifying belts.”
Vlasov disagrees with Smith’s assessment of the fight and believes the world title should be going home to Russia.
“This was a very hard-fought, competitive fight,” Vlasov said. “I thought I was winning rounds and was well ahead. Against the aggressive style of Joe Smith, I came forward the entire fight. I felt confident I was winning and was securing rounds in the bank with the judges. I never felt that I was behind at any stage of the fight. This was my opportunity to show the world I was a world champion, and I did that, and Joe Smith knows I did that.”
Ajagba Destroys Howard in 3
Efe Ajagba viciously stopped Brian Howard in round three of their scheduled 10-round heavyweight bout.
In round three, Ajagba landed a huge right hand that twisted Howard completely around as he fell hard the canvas with his legs wrapped up underneath him.
Ajagba, 236 lbs of Nigeria is 15-0 with 12 knockouts. Howard, 218 lbs of Lake Wells, FL is 15-5.
Ajagba said, “I felt good. I tried to pick the punches, use the jab. This guy is very slick sometimes. I tried to do the job. He was shaky, so when I went back to the corner after the first round, my coach told me to take my time, start with the body, leave the head.
“I trained for this fight, took my time, started with my boxing foundation, and came back strong. This camp was the best one for me, the best camp ever in my boxing career.
“It’s my time to shine, so I’m coming for the heavyweights.”
Jared Anderson remained perfect by stopping Jeremiah Karpency in round two of a scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout.
In round one, Anderson landed a perfect right to the body that sent Karpency down to the canvas. In round two, it was another right to the body that sent Karpency to a knee for the 10-count at 34 seconds.
Anderson, 253.8 ls of Toledo, OH is 9-0 with nine knockouts. Karpency, 226.6 lbs of Adah, PA is 16-3-1.
Anderson said, “I knew he was going to find a spot to fall. I respect him for getting in there and showing up today. It’s a man’s sport. I’m just grateful to be here, thankful for the opportunity.
“I {saw} the shot. His hands kept going up. I kept throwing my jab, looking for openings, feinting, moving around the ring, and it just came. It was a good shot, and he didn’t want to get back up.
“Everybody who says they’re the biggest and the baddest, come see ‘Big ‘Baby’ then.
“I want to thank Toledo, my city. A lot of them came out to Oklahoma, and I wanted to put on a show for them. I can’t wait for what is next.
Albert Bell remained undefeated by winning an eight-round unanimous decision over Manuel Rey Rojas in a junior lightweight bout.
In round two, Rojas was cut on the outside of his right eye. In round two, a headbutt opened up a cut on the left side of his head.
Bell landed 114 of 392 punches; Rojas was 94 of 383.
Bell, 132.2 lbs of Toledo, OH won by scores of 78-74 on all cards and is now 18-0. Rojas, 132 lbs of Dallas, TX is 20-5.
Robson Conceicao stopped Jesus Antonio Ahumada in round seven of a scheduled eight-round junior lightweight bout.
In round five, Ahumada started to bleed and have a lot of swelling on his face. In round seven, Conceicao landed a hard left that put Ahumada down. Ahumada got to his feet, but the fight was stopped at 1:20.
Conceicao, 128.4 lbs of Bahia, BRA is now 16-0 with eight knockouts. Ahumada, 129 lbs of Mexico is 17-4.
Trey Lippe Morrison stopped Jason Bergman in round three of a scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout, when Bergman could not continue due to a leg injury.
Bergman seemed to have scored a knockdown in round one when he landed a left hand that put Morrison on the deck, but it was ruled no-knockdown.
In round three, Bergman seemed to have twisted his ankle and fell to the canvas, and the bout was stopped at 1:27.
Morrison, 225.8 lbs of Tulsa is now 17-0 with 17 knockouts. Bergamn, 256 lbs of Adah, PA is now 27-20-2.
Duke Ragan won a six-round unanimous decision over Charles Clark in a featherweight bout.
Ragan, 125.8 lbs of Cincinnati, OH won by scores of 60-54 on all cards and is now 4-0. Clark, 126.6 lbs of Dallas, TX is 3-7-1.
Jeremiah Milton stopped Jayvone Dafney in the 1st round of their four-round heavyweight bout.
Milton landed a booming right that made Dafney prone on the top rope and the fight was stopped at 1:19.
Milton, 231.8 lbs of Tulsa, OK is 3-0 with three knockouts. Dafney, 226 lbs of McComb, MS is 2-3.
Sonny Conto Knocked out Waldo Cortes in the opening round of their scheduled four-round heavyweight bout.
Conto landed a booming right hand that sent Cortes plummeting to the canvas, and the fight was stopped at 1:41.
Conto, 230.4 lbs of Philadelphia is 7-0 with six knockouts. Cortes, 262 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is 6-4.
