Joe Smith Jr. did not take the path of least resistance to reach his second shot at a light heavyweight world title. As he prepares to step into the ring on Saturday against Maxim Vlasov at the Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma (10 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN+), with the vacant WBO belt on the line, Smith has been through the spectrum of the highs and lows that come with championship-level boxing.
After getting knocked out in his seventh professional fight back in 2010, Smith (26-3, 21 KOs) rattled off 15 wins over the next five years in the leadup to two victories that changed his career a first-round TKO win over Andrzej Fonfara, followed by a KO of Bernard Hopkins in which Smith knocked Hopkins out of the ring and ended his career with one punch. Smith was an underdog in both of those fights, and he d continue to carry that tag as the fights got even bigger.
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He used to crunch into tackles for Jersey Reds but now Nick Campbell is swapping crunch for punch as he prepares for his professional boxing debut.
After winning the Scottish amateur title the 6ft 7in heavyweight has his eyes on becoming Scotland s (and Jersey s) first British heavyweight champion.
Some are suspicious over his move from rugby to boxing but Campbell insists he s no gimmick and he s here to put Jersey on the map.
I m not here to be the professional boxer who used to play professional rugby. It s about making a statement and doing something in the sport. Every day you get comments on Twitter and Instagram, you hear what people are saying but it s fueling the fire. Every time I hear it it s encouraging me to train harder.
Conor Benn takes on Samuel Vargas.
Conor Benn defends his WBA Continental Welterweight title for a fourth time, and it’s another gradual step up in class as he meets ten stone seven gatekeeper Samuel Vargas over ten rounds at the Copper Box Arena, live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN worldwide.
Benn (17-0, 11 KOs) is still only 24, but the comparisons to his illustrious father Nigel have resulted in a lot of expectation placed on him ahead of his clash with Vargas (31-6-2, 14 KOs)
‘The Destroyer’ has been matched well so far in a 17 fight career that began in April 2016, and his only real scare came in a December 2017 six round thriller with Cedrick Peynaud, where he was down twice in the opener, before rallying to drop Peynaud in rounds five and six to secure a disputed points win.
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Mitsubishi Motors opens first full dealership in Gaborone Feb 25, 2021
New Botswana dealership opens its doors
Mitsubishi Service Centre becomes full-fledged sales and service outlet for new and used Mitsubishi vehicles
GABORONE. – Mitsubishi Motors extended its reach into Africa by adding a new fully fledged Mitsubishi dealership in Gaborone. MMSA had a popular service centre in its neighbouring country to the north, run by the well-known Dada family.
“BB Motors, run by the Bhamjee family, approached us as the African representative of Mitsubishi Motors towards the end of 2020 for the rights to upgrade its existing Mitsubishi Motors Service Centre to a full-fledged dealership, and it made sound business sense,” says Nic Campbell, General Manager of Mitsubishi Motors South Africa.