Are they better than given credit for? Or is he really a limited fighter that's good at what he does? His performance against Alvarez is probably the best I've seen of him. Reminded me of Antonio Margarito in a way.
Either Alvarez was just that bad, or Smith has dramatically improved. I have never seen him fight like that, he looked like a new man. I was very impressed, and think when he was first introduced to us he was just a powerful athlete without proper boxing training. It looks like he is getting the schooling now that he deserves, and it is showing.
Smith has done remarkably well all things considered. Insane that he's probably the #3 LHW now given the landscape just two years ago. If he'd been born into boxing or a country with a good amateur system he'd be a strong champ. Lotta talent - he's learned on the job very quickly.
Joe's losss to Bivol really lit a fire under his as, I've noticed improvements in almost every facet of his game. He boxed beautifully against Alvarez, he's improved his jab, doubles and triples up on it not, jabbing his way in, utilizing intelligent effective aggression, not coming in face first. He's worked on his defense, he's far better at blocking, parrying and rolling with shots, comes in at odd angles. He's also not sitting down on every shot, he's changing up the speed of his punches and had a far more varied punch selection, instead choosing to wear him down, not looking for haymakers with every punch and then poured it on his opponents late. Joe Smith Jr. just put on a masterclass against Alvarez, and a vastly underrated performance against two guys who aren't bad at controlling range, or land on flush, and he landed aplenty. For Joe, it was a masterclass, he boxed well at every range, he controlled range well, and he even laid back controlled the pace and countered off the back foot at time. He said he's been working on his craft, and it should be abundantly clear to everyone, he's telling the truth, an has is a dog that's not quite old, but learning new tricks.
I don't think anyone expected him to shut Alvarez out for however long it lasted, but he not only knocked him out he won every round and pretty much every second of the fight.
Teddy Atlas says Smith is one of his favourite fighters. That's huge! Teddy is a former feared street fighter, the realist man in the game, and the former trainer of the legendary Mike Tyson and you've definitely made it and are legit if an OG like Teddy's giving you props. Timestamped This content is protected
