Joe Smith Jr defends the WBO light heavyweight title tonight against late replacement opponent Steve Geffrard in the main event of the first Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card of 2022.
Live coverage will start on ESPN+ with the prelims at 7:45 pm ET, and continues at 10 pm ET on ESPN+ and ESPN with the two-fight main card.
Smith was originally slated to face Callum Johnson, a much more dangerous fight on paper, and one that figured to be a real slugfest between two heavy-handed guys who come to fight.
When Johnson was ruled out after testing positive for COVID, the 31-year-old Geffrard got the call and stepped in. The Miami native has not fought at a very high level as a pro, with his best win coming over Dmitry Sukhotskiy in 2016. He didn’t fight at all between 2018 and 2021, but apparently a win over washed up Denis Grachev was enough to earn a WBO ranking.
But you fight the fights for a reason, as we’ve learned many times over. Maybe this is Steve Geffrard’s “Cinderella Man” night and he’ll start the year off with a shocker; at the very least, he should be expected to give it everything he’s got.
We’ll be here with live coverage starting with the prelims. Join us!
Prelims (ESPN+, 7:45 pm ET)
- Omar Rosario (5-0, 2 KO) vs Raekwon Butler (4-1, 2 KO), junior welterweights, 6 rounds
- Jahi Tucker (5-0, 3 KO) vs Akeem Black (6-4, 2 KO), welterweights, 6 rounds
- Troy Isley (3-0, 2 KO) vs Harry Keenan Cruz-Cubano (6-2, 2 KO), middleweights, 6 rounds
- Lyubomyr Pinchukn (13-2-1, 8 KO) vs Jose Mario Flores (8-2-2, 4 KO), cruiserweights, 8 rounds
Main Card (ESPN+ and ESPN, 10:00 pm ET)
- Joe Smith Jr (27-3, 21 KO) vs Steve Geffrard (18-2, 12 KO), light heavyweights, 12 rounds, for Smith’s WBO title
- Abraham Nova (20-0, 14 KO) vs William Encarnacion (19-1, 15 KO), featherweights, 10 rounds