Alvarez expecting great fight with Smith

Alvarez and Smith collide in a WBO title eliminator on Saturday.

With former light heavyweight titleholder Eleider Alvarez set to take on the rugged Joe Smith Jr. this weekend in Las Vegas, Alvarez tells RingTV he’s expecting nothing less than a great and exciting fight for all the fans to watch. Both Alvarez and Smith have fan-friendly styles, so it shouldn’t take too long for things to heat up once the opening bell rings.

“It’s a very good challenge for me,” Alvarez (25-1, 13 knockouts) told The Ring through Claire Couturier of GYM (Groupe Yvon Michel). “Joe Smith always brings everything he has to the ring, it will be a great match for the fans. Smith is maybe not the fighter with the most ability, but he brings power and courage.”

Alvarez, 36, is most recently coming off a knockout win over Michael Seals in January, but says he knows he capable of performing better and hopes to do just that in this fight against Smith.

Meanwhile Smith, 30, has been a bit up and down since probably his most memorable win, knocking Bernard Hopkins clear out of the ring in late 2016. But in the years since Smith has gone 2-2, dropping decisions to Sullivan Barrera and Dmitry Bivol and taking wins over Melvin Russell and Jesse Hart.

Both fighters can bang so neither can really be counted out in exchanges, but Alvarez would appear to be more technically refined, which may give him the edge. That said, neither fighters are much for moving around so if they both meet in the middle of the ring and slug it out, well, let’s just say the fans won’t be disappointed.