Eleider Alvarez v Joe Smith Jr Postponed
When Top Rank promotions announced that they would be the first major American promotional company to lead the charge back for boxing, many foresaw a potentially rocky road ahead. So far, those assumptions have proven to be very valid!
Even though it has not yet been a full month since live pugilism has returned to US airwaves, Top Rank has had to cancel a number of bouts directly due to COVID-19. It has recently been announced that the July 16 main event, pitting former light heavyweight champion Eleider “Storm” Alvarez (25-1, 13 KO’s) versus Joe Smith Jr (25-3, 20 KO’s), has been canceled. This time, however, the dastardly illness is not to blame.
SHOULDER OF BURDEN
Instead of the virus, this bout was sidelined as the result of Alvarez injuring his shoulder during training camp. Apparently, Storm and his handlers are confident that the setback is minor and should not take long to mend. It’s currently being speculated that the prizefight could be rescheduled as soon as this August or September.
Storm, who is ranked as the #3 WBO and #6 WBC light heavyweight, is only one fight removed from his losing effort in a pair of fights that he split with Sergey “The Krusher” Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KO’s). Having lost his WBO light heavyweight strap in his first title defense against the Krusher, Alvarez has successfully bounced back with a seventh round knockout of Michael Seals (24-3, 18 KO’s).
Similar to his upcoming Columbian opponent, Joe Smith Jr is also just one fight removed from a bitter loss to WBA world light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (17-0, 11 KO’s). Being ranked as the #4 WBO, #8 IBF and #8 WBC light heavyweight in the world, Smith understands that a win over Storm could do just the trick to land another title shot.
Yet before either can start talking about extending a win streak, they must first formally reschedule the original bout. Stay tuned to 3kingsboxing.com for all the latest boxing news and updates.
By: Bakari Simpson
