And exit ?The Polish Prince?. Joe?s demolition of Andrzej Fonfara in the Pole?s adopted home town of Chicago was as stunning as it was unexpected. In a division that is chock full of solid fighters, ?The Beast from the East? (22-1) can now take his position among the top ten perhaps even replacing Fonfara, who was wrongly ranked No.2 by the increasingly controversial Transnational Boxing Rankings
It seems almost inconceivable that Smith was once stopped by a shot Eddie Caminero in 2010, though Joe suffered a broken jaw in the fight. .Eddie has lost 6 in arrow (5 by stoppage) since that win and needs to retire.
If the fit and ready Joe needs a test to prove this win was no fluke then a fight with recently waxed Edwin Rodriquez might be in order, but frankly I?d like to see him retire Bernard Hopkins who has lingered far too long. A fading Jean Pascal might be ripe for the picking as well. Artur Beterbiev is another possibility, but regarding Artur, Joe needs to get some traction before he steps up too fast and too high.
Of course, the winner of Thomas Williams vs. Adonis ?Super?man?? Stevenson also will be a great payday for someone.
As an aside, I have been critical on Referee Celestino Ruiz in the past but his work in the Payano vs. Warren championship fight on the Fonfara-Smith undercard was outstanding. He was non verbal and non-intrusive and kept the flow moving. Credit should be given where credit is deserved.
