Alvarez vs Smith Jr

Who won Alvarez vs Smith Jr?

Joe Smith Jr beat Eleider Alvarez by knockout in the 9th round on Saturday 22nd August 2020 at The Bubble, MGM Grand in Nevada.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 175 pounds (12.5 stone or 79.4 KG).

The undercard featured the clash of Brant vs Kopylenko.

Alvarez vs Smith Jr stats

Back in August 2020, Eleider Alvarez stepped into the ring with a record of 25 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 13 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Joe Smith Jr made his way to the ring with a record of 25 wins, 3 loses and 0 draws, with 20 of those wins by knock out.

The stats suggested Smith Jr had a large advantage in power over Alvarez, boosting at 80% knock out percentage over Alvarez's 52%.

Eleider Alvarez was the older man by 6 years, at 37 years old.

Both Eleider Alvarez & Joe Smith Jr fought out of an orthodox stance.

Alvarez's experience as a professional fighter was relatively equal to Smith Jr's, having had 2 less fights, and made his debut in 2009, 2 months earlier than Smith Jr, whose first professional fight was in 2009. He had fought 33 more professional rounds, 189 to Smith Jr's 156.

Eleider Alvarez went into the fight ranked number 6 by the WBC and 3 by the WBO at light heavyweight.

Joe Smith Jr was ranked number 8 by the WBC, 4 by the WBO and 7 by the IBF in the 175lb division.

Alvarez vs Smith Jr form

Alvarez had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 3 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated Michael Seals on 18th January 2020 by knockout in the 7th round at Turning Stone Resort & Casino, New York, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Sergey Kovalev on 2nd February 2019 by unanimous decision in their WBO World Light heavyweight championship fight at The Ford Center at The Star, Texas.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Sergey Kovalev on 4th August 2018 by technical knockout in the 7th round in their WBO World Light heavyweight championship fight at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, New Jersey.

Before that, he had beat Jean Pascal on 3rd June 2017 by majority decision in their 12 round contest at Bell Centre, Montreal, Canada.

He had won against Lucian Bute on 24th February 2017 by technical knockout in the 5th round at Centre Videotron, Quebec City.

Smith Jr had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had beat Jesse Hart on 11th January 2020 by split decision in their 10 round contest at Mark G. Etess Arena, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, New Jersey, United States.

Previous to that, he had lost to Dmitry Bivol on 9th March 2019 by unanimous decision in their WBA World Light Heavyweight championship fight at Turning Stone Resort & Casino, New York.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Sullivan Barrera on 15th July 2017 by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Forum, Inglewood.

Before that, he had beat Bernard Hopkins on 17th December 2016 by knockout in the 8th round at Forum, Inglewood.

He had defeated Andrzej Fonfara on 18th June 2016 by technical knockout in the 1st round at UIC Pavilion, Chicago.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Eleider Alvarez had been fighting more than Joe Smith Jr.

Going to this contest, Eleider Alvarez had last fought 7 months and 4 days ago, while Joe Smith Jr's last outing had been 7 months and 11 days ago.

Alvarez's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 5 months and 29 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 12 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 43 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 8.6 rounds on average.

Smith Jr's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 2 months and 4 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 1 day. In those fights, he fought a total of 41 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 8.2 rounds on average.

What time did Alvarez vs Smith Jr start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 11:30 PM EST / 8:30 PM PST at The Bubble, MGM Grand, Nevada, United States, which was around 4:30 AM BST in the UK.

Who broadcast Alvarez vs Smith Jr?

Alvarez vs Smith Jr was broadcast on ESPN+ in the US.

What were the odds on Alvarez vs Smith Jr?

Eleider Alvarez was a 31/50 (-160) favourite going into the contest, while Joe Smith Jr made his way into the ring at 5/4 (+130) with oddsmakers.