“When he hit me hard at the end of the first round, I lost my concentration,” said Joe Smith Jr. (27-4, 21 KOs), who lost his WBO light heavyweight belt last Saturday against Artur Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs).
“This fight didn't go the way I imagined. I made a mistake, he hit me behind the ear, and I never recovered from this blow at the end of the first round. I lost my concentration. I needed to take a deep breath, relax a little and recover. But I just wanted to fight and move forward, which only drove me into the same traps. Now I will take a break. Of course, I am always in good physical shape, but let's see what awaits me in the future, ”added the ex-champion of the World Boxing Organization.
Beterbiev unified the WBC, WBO and IBF light heavyweight belts. The last WBA belt belongs to Dmitry Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs). It is quite possible that instead of determining the absolute champion at 79.4 kg, the Russian will have to cross the gloves with Anthony Yarde (22-2, 21 KOs) in London on October 22.
