Joe Smith Jr To Canelo: “If He Wants To Come To 175 I’m Ready!”

Joe Smith Jr Issues Fight Challenge to Canelo Alvarez!

Prior to his first title defense, WBO light heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr (28-3, 22 KO’s) knew that a slew of mouth-watering bouts waited on the other side of victory. Yet the blue collar fighter was savvy enough not to overlook challenger Steve Geffrard. Now that Smith has officially defeated Geffrard by way of ninth round stoppage, he can now turn his full attention to the future.

With his mind on the bigger prizefights, it didn’t take long for Smith to extend a challenge to the face of boxing himself. Before the WBO champion could exit the arena, he took the time to call out undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KO’s).

“If Canelo wants to come to 175 and fight me, I’m ready for him. That’s a fight I want. Everybody would love to see that fight.”

MEETING IN THE MIDDLE

The notion of Smith and Alvarez squaring off has been kicked around by both, teams and fans alike. Despite just becoming the first undisputed super middleweight champion in history, the redhead was initially looking to pen a bout with WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu.

This potential opponent was not well-received by the public and appears to be the reason that Team Canelo is mulling over other options. Considering the Mexican superstar was willing to dance with Makabu at cruiserweight, Smith, at only one division down at light heavyweight, was just as serviceable a bout.

Obviously, given his most recent comments, Smith remains very open to waging a high stakes boxing contest with Canelo. Admittedly though, Smith vs Canelo is not the first choice of most fight fans. Honestly, it’s not even the first choice for Canelo, or Smith, himself.

Yet, even with that being said, provided that the match did come to pass, there is little doubt that it would be a fun, action-packed affair for however long it lasted. So, for the time being, we will just have to wait and see how the behind the scenes boxing politics unfold. Who knows, perhaps we are just a short time away from hearing an Alvarez vs Smith fight announcement.

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By: Bakari Simpson

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