The story of Steve Geffrard is something out of the Hollywood script. The South Florida native accepted a hit on the headlines on eight days’ notice, but he produced no shocking disappointment. WBO light heavyweight world champion Joe Smith Jr successfully defended his crown for the first time, knocking out Geffrard in the ninth round on Saturday at the Turning Stone Resort Casino.
Smith (28-3, 22 KOs) was never threatened, as his action (665 punches) forced Geffrard (18-3, 12 KOs) on his hind legs. Geffrard had minor successes in the opening round, but it soon turned into a one-way exhibit for Long Island natives. He stuns Geffrard with his right hand in the fifth round and heats up in the ninth round. When Geffrard pinned his corner, Smith’s coordination failed, and Geffrard was forced to bandage his knee. Before referee Mark Nelson could finish counting 10, coach Kevin Cunningham threw a towel to end the one-way traffic.
Smith has his eye on another division champion, IBF/WBC champion Artur Beterbiev. Or perhaps a date with Canelo Alvarez should the heavyweight king decide to move up from super-middleweight.
Smith said, “He really delivered today. It was a great fight. As you can see, he is a great boxer, a good survivor. I tried to get him out of there early, but I realized he was tough and I wouldn’t be able to do it. I tried to wait until the later innings and start putting in more combinations to knock him out.
“{Beterbiev} is what I want. I want to go back to the gym, work on my job, and like I said every time I get in the ring, I get better and better. I believe the next time you see me, I will be available to anyone.
“If Canelo wants to go to 175 and fight me, I am ready for him. That’s the fight I want. Everyone loved watching that fight. That would be a big problem. ”
Abraham Nova defeats William Encarnacion
Invincible featherweight Abraham “El Super” Nova walks into the ring with a mascot and cheerleaders, but he soon finds himself in a fight. Short-noticed opponent William “El Gago” Encarnacion stunned Nova with a slash in the first round, but Nova (21-0, 15 KOs) settled and won by TKO in round eight.
Nova was world ranked at lightweight before relegated to featherweight last year. He survived the first patch and plastered Encarnacion (19-2, 15 KOs) with body shots. Encarnacion’s corner had seen enough and threw the towel in, shocking those present.
Nova said, “It was great to be fighting so close to home the day after my birthday. I had a tough opponent in front of me, but I got the job done.
“Honestly, I want {WBO world champion Emanuel Navarrete}. Everyone thought he was going to blow me away. Get him in there. To see if he does it. I know I will beat him. I knew I had a punch output, I knew I was going to knock him out, and I knew I was going to be the next WBO champion.”
In another action:
- Welterweight: Puerto Rican prospect Omar Rosario (6-0, 2 KOs) learned another lesson in his youth career, when he nearly finished Brooklyn’s Raekwon Butler (4-2, 2 KOs) in the opening round before being forced to a six-round gap and winning by unanimous decision (59-54 2x and 58-55). Rosario landed Butler 111-49.
- Welterweight: Jahi Tucker (6-0.4 KOs) is fighting past his years. The 18-year-old knocked out Akeem Black (6-5, 2 KOs) with an uppercut in the opening round and then ended it all with a nervous swing in the second round. Tucker became the second man to take out Black and took out 47 out of 98 punches thrown.
- Middleweight: US Olympian Troy “Transformer” Isley (4-0, 2 KOs) threw everything, including the kitchen sink, but Harry Keenan Cruz-Cubano (6-3, 2 KOs) endured a loss Terrible to survive the six innings gap. Isley tagged Cruz-Cubano with the keys above in the first rounds and came to a decision with a score of 59-53 and 59-54 2x.
- Cruiser Rank: Lyubomyr Pinchuk (14-2-1, 8 KOs) lost to Jose Mario Flores (8-3-2, 4 KOs) with scores of 80-72 and 79-73 2x.
