Dmitry Bivol's skill level was simply too much for the upset-minded Joe Smith Jr. to overcome. Bivol, with fast hands, quick feet and sharp combinations, dominated Smith on Saturday night to retain his light heavyweight world title for the fifth time at the Turning Stone Resort Casino. The judges awarded Bivol a unanimous decision via scores of 119-109, 119-109 and 118-110. ESPN also scored the fight 118-109 for Bivol, who had to stave off Smith in the 10th and 11th rounds. “Of course, this was not an easy fight. I trained hard but Joe Smith fought hard and he has strong hands,“ Bivol said. Smith was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons after the fight and not available to give his give his view of the fight. If Bivol remains with sports streaming service DAZN and Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, his path to a 175-pound title unification fight is blocked because the other top light heavyweights -- world champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk, titleholders
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