Bivol vs Smith Jr

Who won Bivol vs Smith Jr?

Dmitry Bivol beat Joe Smith Jr by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest on Saturday 9th March 2019 at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in New York.

The scorecards were announced as 119-109, 119-109, 118-110 in favor of winner Dmitry Bivol.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Cruiserweight division, which meant the weight limit was 200 pounds (14.3 stone or 90.7 KG).

This contest was for the vacant WBA cruiserweight championship of the world.

Also, on the undercard Callum Johnson was victorious over Sean Monaghan, Maurice Hooker beat Mikkel LesPierre for the WBO World Junior Welterweight belt and Sergey Kuzmin defeated Joey Dawejko.

Bivol vs Smith Jr stats

Back in March 2019, Dmitry Bivol stepped into the ring with an undefeated record of 15 wins, zero loses and 0 draws, 11 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Joe Smith Jr made his way to the ring with a record of 24 wins, 2 loses and 0 draws, with 20 of those wins by knock out.

The stats suggested Smith Jr had a slight advantage in power over Bivol, with a 83% knock out percentage over Bivol's 73%.

Dmitry Bivol was the younger man by 2 years, at 28 years old.

Smith Jr had 4-inch reach advantage.

Both Dmitry Bivol & Joe Smith Jr fought out of an orthodox stance.

Bivol was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 11 less fights, and made his debut in 2014, 5 year later than Smith Jr, whose first professional fight was in 2009. He had fought 16 more professional rounds, 172 to Smith Jr's 156.

Bivol vs Smith Jr form

Bivol remained undefeated as a professional, stopping 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had beat Jean Pascal on 24th November 2018 by unanimous decision in their WBA World Light Heavyweight championship fight at Mark G. Etess Arena, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, New Jersey, United States.

Previous to that, he had beat Isaac Chilemba on 4th August 2018 by unanimous decision in their WBA World Light Heavyweight championship fight at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, New Jersey.

Going into that contest, he had won against Sullivan Barrera on 3rd March 2018 by technical knockout in the 12th round in their WBA World Light Heavyweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York.

Before that, he had beat Trent Broadhurst on 4th November 2017 by knockout in the 1st round in their WBA World Light Heavyweight championship fight at Salle des Étoiles, Monte Carlo, Monaco.

He had defeated Cedric Agnew on 17th June 2017 by technical knockout in the 4th round in their WBA Interim World Light heavyweight championship fight at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, Events Center, Las Vegas, United States.

Smith Jr 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 lost to Sullivan Barrera on 15th July 2017 by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Forum, Inglewood, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Bernard Hopkins on 17th December 2016 by knockout in the 8th round at Forum, Inglewood.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Andrzej Fonfara on 18th June 2016 by technical knockout in the 1st round at UIC Pavilion, Chicago.

Before that, he had beat Fabiano Pena on 23rd April 2016 by technical knockout in the 2nd round at Paramount Theatre, Huntington.

He had won against Will Rosinsky on 5th December 2015 by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Barclays Center, New York.

Activity check

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

Going to this contest, Dmitry Bivol had last fought 3 months and 13 days ago, while Joe Smith Jr's last outing had been 1 year, 7 months and 22 days ago.

Bivol's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 8 months and 20 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 4 months and 6 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 41 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 8.2 rounds on average.

Smith Jr's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 3 months and 4 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 26 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 31 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 6.2 rounds on average.

What time did Bivol vs Smith Jr start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 11:00 PM EST / 8:00 PM PST at Turning Stone Resort & Casino, New York, United States, which was around 4:00 AM GMT in the UK.

Who broadcast Bivol vs Smith Jr?

Bivol vs Smith Jr was broadcast on DAZN in the US, while the fight was broadcast in the United Kingdom by Sky Sports Action.

What were the odds on Bivol vs Smith Jr?

Dmitry Bivol was a 1/25 (-2500) favourite going into the contest, while Joe Smith Jr made his way into the ring at 107/10 (+1100) with oddsmakers.