The “Common Man” Joe Smith Jr. (27-3, 21 KOs) took a hard fought majority decision over Maxim Vlasov (45-4, 26 KOs) to claim the vacant WBO light heavyweight title on Saturday night at the Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The lanky awkward Vlasov outworked Smith early and cut Smith over the left eye in round one. That cut troubled Smith the rest of the way. Smith connected with a big right hand in round two, but Vlasov continued to outwork him. Vlasov started bleeding from the mouth in round five. Smith landed some big shots in round seven. Vlasov rebounded well in round eight and had a big round nine as Smith faded. Smith rallied in round eleven. Vlasov went down down but referee Gary Ritter ruled it a punch behind the head. Still, a big round for Smith. Smith also won round twelve. Scores were 114-114, 115-113, 115-112.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Smith. “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 that {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. Continue reading “Smith edges Vlasov to win WBO LH title”