Jesse Hart and Joe Smith Jr. faced off before their highly anticipated 10-round light heavyweight showdown Saturday from Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena in Atlantic City (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET). Hart is attempting to gain a measure of revenge, as Smith knocked out his mentor and close friend Bernard Hopkins back in December 2016. (photos by Mikey Williams)
Hart (26-2, 21 KOs), who twice challenged for a super middleweight world title, will be making his second appearance at light heavyweight. Smith (24-3, 20 KOs) is making his second attempt at a world title, as he fell short in a spirited effort against WBA world champion Dmitry Bivol last March.
The ESPN co-feature, a 10-round battle of super middleweight unbeatens, will feature Terence Crawford stablemate Steven Nelson against Cem Kilic.
ESPN (10 p.m. ET)
Jesse Hart 175 lbs vs. Joe Smith Jr. 174.6 lbs
(vacant NABO light heavyweight title — 10 Rounds)
Steven Nelson 167.8 lbs vs. Cem Kilic 167.6 lbs
(vacant NABO super middleweight title — 10 Rounds)
ESPN+ (6:30 p.m. ET)
Joseph Adorno 136 lbs vs. Hector Garcia 135 lbs
(Lightweight — 8 Rounds
Chris Thomas 170.6 lbs vs. Samir Barbosa 168.2 lbs
(Super Middleweight — 6 Rounds
Shinard Bunch 147.2 lbs vs. Dennis Okoth 145.6 lbs
(Welterweight — 6 Rounds)
Sonny Conto 218 lbs vs. Curtis Head 271.6 lbs
(Heavyweight — 4 Rounds)
Jeremy Adorno 121.6 lbs vs. Fernando Ibarra 121.4 lbs
(Super Bantamweight — 4 Rounds)
Xander Zayas 147.2 lbs vs. Corey Champion 146.8 lbs
(Welterweight — 4 Rounds)
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