By Thomas Gerbasi

Way before Joe Smith Jr. became a light heavyweight contender by knocking out Andrzej Fonfara in a single round and then halting Bernard Hopkins in eight rounds, his trainer, Jerry Capobianco, believed.

“He always told me I had it and that I was going to be champ of the world,” Smith recalled. “I always said, ‘Yeah, I don’t know about that.’ (Laughs) Now I’m starting to believe it.”

So are a lot of other people.

Finally in a position to strike at the 175-pound elite, the 27-year-old Smith isn’t just someone with a Long Island following and a cool story as a fighter who also holds a job as a Union Laborer with Local 66 anymore. He’s a player in an interesting weight class who can make things even more interesting for himself with a win over Sullivan Barrera on July 15.

As part of a tripleheader on HBO, Smith can use the bout as a springboard into an even bigger fight, and while it didn’t come easy, he’s glad that he’s got a fight on the calendar.

“I went back to work for a little while after the Hopkins fight and then I thought I was going to be fighting sooner, so I took off and started training,” he said. “I was expecting to fight (Adonis) Stevenson, but we didn’t get the fight, so by the time I figured out when I was going to fight, it wasn’t worth me going back to work, so I’ve just been focusing on my training.”

That time off the job site is a blessing in disguise, as Smith has been able to solely stick to boxing instead of fitting his gym work in over the course of the workweek. And if things keep going the way they have been over the last year, the day may come when he puts his hard hat down for good. Then again, a union job is always nice to have in your back pocket.

“I’d rather be focusing just on my boxing and my training, if I can,” Smith said. “I’m glad I’m getting to a point where I can do that, but it’s always nice making a steady paycheck and staying busy. It’s a good job and always something I can fall back on when I need it.”

That blue collar attitude made a star out of Smith in 2016. Already a popular fighter on the rise on the New York fight circuit, he built a solid 21-1 record before getting the call to face Fonfara in his Chicago backyard last June. Two minutes and 32 seconds later, Fonfara was stopped and the rest of the country knew who Joe Smith was.

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Six months after that victory, the world got on the bandwagon as Smith knocked out Hopkins, spoiling the future Hall of Famer’s quest for a win in his final fight.

“It was great,” Smith said of his career-defining win. “I didn’t ever expect to be in the ring with Hopkins. He was like a different era of fighter. (Laughs) But it was a great opportunity and I just wanted to take full advantage of it and prove myself once again, and that’s what I did.”

He left no doubts, either, finishing the fight by knocking the Philadelphia legend out of the ring. 

“That was the goal, to get him out of there,” Smith said. “But I didn’t expect to knock him through the ropes the way I did. It was one of the best parts of my career. I’m glad I did it the way I did because if I didn’t, then people would just be like, ‘He beat an old man.’ But the way that I did it, it made it that much better.”

Now it’s on to Barrera, a fellow contender who has scored knockouts of Vyacheslav Shabranskyy and Paul Parker since the lone loss of his career to Andre Ward in March 2016. It’s been a good run for the former Cuban amateur star, but Smith followers point to the knockdowns the 35-year-old suffered against Ward and Shabranskyy as signs that Barrera will be ripe for the bombs the New Yorker will be throwing a week from Saturday. Smith isn’t counting on his opponent to have a dented chin in Inglewood, and he probably could have taken an easier fight after the wins over Fonfara and Hopkins. But Smith is only looking up at the moment, and that means throwing hands with the best available opposition.

“I want to fight the best guys out there and I’m on a quest,” he said. “I’m trying to get to a world title shot, so if I gotta beat the best guys to get there, that’s what I’m gonna do. Joe DeGuardia and Star Boxing have been getting me the right fights to get me there and I’m just training hard and taking advantage.”

But is the one that gets him that shot?

“Every fight’s that one,” Smith said. “Every fight gets you a step closer, and I’m just waiting for my shot. Hopefully, that is the case that when I beat this guy, I get (Sergey) Kovalev, Ward, Stevenson or somebody.”

That’s an ambitious plan for a guy who didn’t know if he had it a few years ago and one who was advised by some to retire after breaking his jaw in his lone loss to Eddie Caminero in 2010.

He chuckles when reminded of this.

“I stuck with my gut instinct to tell me to keep going and it paid off.”