Steve Geffrard has described this weekend’s fight with Joe Smith Jr. as the ‘chance of a lifetime.’
Smith had been due to fight Callum Johnson in a defence of his WBO light heavyweight title but a case of Covid-19 has forced the voluntary challenger to duck out.
British light heavyweight champion Anthony Yarde is now expected to get the nod for Smith Jr.’s next fight - he beat Lyndon Arthur in a December rematch - but first up he has to get past Geffrard, an unfancied fighter.
Geffrard believed he had a shot at a fightback in 2021 when Maxim Vlasov also dropped out to fight Smith for the then-vacant title, but the fight was instead rescheduled.
“All of the sudden I get a call from my coach Kevin Cunningham, and he says man, Steve, you’re never going to believe this. They just called you to fight Joe Smith Jr. for the world title. I couldn’t believe it,” Geffrard said, reported BoxingScene.com.
Geffrard has seen little action of late, with almost three years passing before he fought Denis Grachev in March last year, but he remains ranked at 15 by the WBO. The 31-year-old American acknowledges he is a touch fortunate to get the nod.
“For me to get a call like that is insane. I know how hard it is to even get a world title shot. I have friends like Erickson Lubin who’s been ranked No. 1 in his division and stuff, and he keeps on having title eliminator after title eliminator,” he said.
“I’ve seen guys like Dillian Whyte have to wait and stuff. I’ve barely been active, so for me to even get that call and that opportunity is insane.
“I've definitely had a whole bunch of bad luck in boxing. Boxing hasn't been the nicest (to me). I kept on punching away even after starting my career 0-2, and managerial, business-type stuff that didn't go right. It's unreal for this to happen given some of the bad cards that have been dealt to me.”
The fighter is still shocked that he is involved in a fight he had anticipated watching on television. He expects now to put on a show for the fans.
“I was actually looking forward to the fight with Smith and Johnson because I thought it was gonna be a very exciting fight, both of those guys have styles that would go well with one another. I was looking forward to watching that fight,” said Geffrard.
“Joe's style and my style, it's good for a fan-friendly fight. Not everybody gets this opportunity. It's the chance of a lifetime.”