Jesse Hart and Joe Smith Jr. faced off two days 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.
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/7 p.m. PT
Jesse Hart vs. Joe Smith Jr., 10 rounds, light heavyweight
Steven Nelson vs. Cem Kilic, 10 rounds, super middleweight
ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT
Joseph Adorno vs. Hector Garcia, 8 rounds, lightweight
Chris Thomas vs. Samir Barbosa, 6 rounds, super middleweight
Shinard Bunch vs. Dennis Okoth, 6 rounds, welterweight
Sonny Conto vs. Curtis Head, 4 rounds, heavyweight
Jeremy Adorno vs. Fernando Ibarra, 4 rounds, super bantamweight
Xander Zayas vs. Corey Champion, 4 rounds, welterweight
Top Rank