Joe Smith Jr entered this fight with a pro record of 23-2-0 (19 KOs=83%) and he is ranked as the No.6 light heavyweight in the world (currently the #1 in this division is Adonis Stevenson) but he comes off the loss with Sullivan Barrera (Joe Smith Jr vs Sullivan Barrera). Before this bout, in 2016, he had beat Fabiano Pena, Andrzej Fonfara (Fonfara vs Smith) and Bernard Hopkins (Hopkins vs Smith).
His opponent, Melvin Russell, has an official boxing record of 11-4-2 (7 knockouts) and he entered as the No.301 in the same weight class. He won just one out of his last four fights, against Tahlik Taylor in 2017, after this bout, in 2018, he was defeated by Josh Fisher. Smith vs Russell is the main event of the evening. Watch the video and rate this fight!
Date: 2018-06-30
Where: Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, USA
Division: light heavyweight (175 lbs, 79.4 kg)
Smith’s previous fight: Joe Smith Jr vs Sullivan Barrera
Smith’s next fight: Dmitry Bivol vs Joe Smith Jr
Smith vs Russell full fight video:
(Free embeddable video hosted on Youtube and not uploaded by AllTheBestFights)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19hW1DBgPxc