American ex-world light heavyweight champion (up to 79.4 kg) Joe Smith Jr. (28-4, 22 KOs) commented on the defeat in the unification fight for the WBC, WBO and IBF titles from Canadian citizen Artur Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KO).
Recall that on June 19 in New York (USA) Beterbiev needed only two rounds to stop Smith. Beterbiev – Smith. As per order — report from WMMAA.
“I would like to start by saying thank you to everyone who supports me and my career, I love fighting for all of you. This past weekend didn’t go as planned as I lost focus on the gameplan, making a mistake that resulted in me getting hit behind the ear, which threw me off balance and I couldn’t recover. No excuses, I had to take a deep breath, relax and get back to boxing. I just wanted to fight and that led me into the same traps.
“I would like to bring home all the titles for all of you. I’ll take some time, stay in shape and decide what the future holds for me,” Joe wrote on Instagram.
Apparently, Smith is referring to one of Beterbiev’s “on the back of the head” blows, which his promoter Joe DeGuardia had previously claimed.