Joe Smith Jr. vs Sullivan Barrera Preview July 15th
Joe Smith Jr. of Long island, New York will be facing Cuba’s Sullivan Barrera at the Forum in Inglewood, California this Saturday, July 15th. The 12-round light-heavyweight bout can be seen live in North America on HBO while fans in the UK can catch it live on BoxNation. The fight is for Smith’s WBC International Championship. Smith last fought in December when he stopped Bernard Hopkins in the eighth round when he knocked him clean put of the ring. Smith made a name for himself after stopping Andrzej Fonfara in the first round six months earlier. Meanwhile, Barrera’s last outing was a fifth-round TKO over Paul Parker in April.
Smith Jr. vs Barrera Betting Odds
Here are the winner odds from online sportsbook 5dimes.eu
- Joe Smith Jr. +160
- Sullivan Barrera -200
My Pick
The 27-year-old Smith carries an impressive record of 23-1 along with 19 Kos. He’s won 17 contests in a row with seven of his last eight being by stoppage. The big story here is the power and youth of Smith against the power of the aging veteran Barrera. Smith has shown that he has dynamite in his fists so far with a current knockout ratio of 79 per cent, including stoppages over top-ranked boxers such as Fonfara and Hopkins.
Smith stands 6-feet-tall with an unlisted reach and has fought 81 rounds since turning pro back in 2009. His lone pro defeat came at the hands of Eddie Caminero by a fourth-round TKO in 2010 in Smith’s seventh pro outing. Smith has also beaten the likes of Otis Griffin, Michael Gbenga, Tyrell Hendrix, Cory Cummings, and Will Rosinsky. He’s appears to be a fine knockout artist who throws good combinations and possesses a great right hand.
The 35-year-old Barrera fights out of Miami and has a record of 19-1 with 14 Kos under his belt. He had a pretty good amateur career and was a two-time bronze medalist at the Cuban national championships in 2002 and 2003. Barrera has the height advantage as he stands 6-feet-2-inches with a 73-inch reach. He also turned pro in 2009 and has boxed 94 rounds since then. He also has better-than-average power with a current knockout ratio of 70 per cent.
His lone loss came in March of 2016 when Andre Ward beat him by a 12-round unanimous decision. Barrera will need to utilize all of his skills and land power shots to trouble Smith, but he can’t leave himself open for his counterpunches. Barrera’s best career wins have been against Vyacheslav Shabranskyy, Jeff Lacy and Karo Murat and he stopped all three of them. Barrera has a good selection of punches to choose from, has an effective jab and doesn’t mind the infighting either.
Prediction…
Barrera has the size advantage as well as an edge in boxing skills and his power is also arguably as good as Smith’s. Smith will either need to land something hard and heavy to keep Barrera at bay or show the world that he also has some boxing skills. This is a fight that could go either way, it will be close, but I have a feeling Smith might just be able to take the W.
This fight could go either way.
Play: Smith Jr. +160 @ 5dimes.eu
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Joe Smith Jr. betting • Sullivan Barrera betting