By Jim Dower: In a huge upset, little known Joe Smith Jr. (22-1, 18 KOs) destroyed #2 WBC light heavyweight contender Andrzej Fonfara (28-4, 16 KOs) in stopping him in the 1st round on Saturday night on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC at the UIC Pavilion, in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Smith Jr. knocked Fonfara down twice in the 1st round. The fight was halted after the second knockdown by referee Hector Afu. The official time of the stoppage was at 2:32 of the 1st.
This was supposed to have been an easy fight for the 28-year-old Fonfara, but he made the mistake of showing no respect for Smith by going after him without thinking defense. Fonfara was in the profess of unloading with his big power shots when Smith Jr. caught him with a big right hand that flattened him. Fonfara got back to his feet but staggered into the ropes. The referee let the fight continue despite the fact that Fonfara was out on his feet. When the action resumed, Smith immediately backed a badly hurt Fonfara to the ropes and nailed him with several hard shots. Moments later, Smith landed a jackhammer left hook that snapped Fonfara’s head sideways. Smith then followed up with a hard right hand to the head that dropped Fonfara in the corner. The referee Hector Au then stopped the fight at that point. Fonfara was too hurt for the referee to take any chances of letting him get back up.
“I expected it to go 12 rounds,” said Smith Jr. after the fight. “I came here to prove a point. I believe I can compete against the best, and I proved that tonight. When I see someone hurt, I don’t want to let them off the hook. Once I saw him hurt, I was determined to get him out. I’m working myself to the top. I did what I came here to do,” said Smith Jr.
“He is a heavy puncher. He hit me with a great punch. It happens,” said Fonfara via Fightnews.com. “I threw some good punches, but I got too comfortable. I didn’t see the punch coming. That made it a great punch. I’m disappointed because I thought I would win the fight but it is boxing. I will rest and get back in the ring. I’ll get back to work.”