Light Heavyweight Action Stars Unite! Joe Smith Jr. to Defend WBO World Title Against Callum Johnson January 15 at Turning Stone Resort Casino and LIVE on ESPN
Doubleheader will air LIVE on ESPN & ESPN Deportes (simulcast on ESPN+) at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT
Tickets on sale Friday, Dec. 3 at 10 a.m. ET
VERONA, N.Y. (Dec. 2, 2021) — Joe Smith Jr., Long Island’s working class hero, will make the long-awaited first defense of his WBO light heavyweight world title against British knockout artist Callum Johnson on Saturday, Jan. 15 at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y.
Smith-Johnson kicks off the Top Rank on ESPN 2022 schedule with a battle between two of the division’s biggest punchers. Smith was supposed to defend his title Oct. 30 in New York City, but a COVID-19 diagnosis delayed his return to 2022.
In the 10-round featherweight co-feature, the undefeated Abraham “El Super” Nova, who hails from Albany, N.Y., will face Mexican action star Jose Enrique Vivas. Smith-Johnson and Nova-Vivas will air live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (simulcast on ESPN+) at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT.
The undercard — streaming live and exclusively on ESPN+ — will see the long-awaited professional return of Cincinnati-born featherweight Duke Ragan (4-0, 1 KO), who captured a silver medal for the United States at the Tokyo Olympics. Long Island-born welterweight sensation Jahi Tucker (5-0, 2 KOs), Puerto Rican junior welterweight Omar Rosario (5-0, 2 KOs) and rising junior welterweight Kasir “Mazzi” Goldston (4-0, 1 KOs), are scheduled to appear in separate six-round bouts.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, tickets priced from $49 to $89 go on sale Friday, December 3 at 10 a.m. ET and can be purchased at the Turning Stone Resort Box Office, charge by phone by calling 800.771.7711 or online at Ticketmaster.
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