Joe Smith Jr. is fighting for the memory of his late brother, when he meets Gilbert ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez on Saturday night.
The two former light heavyweights are moving up to cruiserweight for their clash this weekend, shown live on DAZN.
He last fought in June 2022, when he lost his belt to Artur Beterbiev following a second-round knockout loss.
11 months later, this May, Alex Smith - Joe’s younger brother - was killed, and speaking to BoxingScene.com, the American fighter described the trauma.
“I was already having a bit of a rough time,” he said. “Everything changed after that loss to Beterbiev. I was sitting around and didn’t have something to focus on.
“Then this whole issue, this situation with my brother just made things even worse. It sucked.”
Smith, now 34, is in the latter stages of his career but a win over Ramirez would likely put him into contention in the cruiserweight division, though both are fighting at a 193lb limit this time around.
The winner on Saturday will emerge as the WBA mandatory for current champion Arsen Goulamirian, with the bout sanctioned as a title eliminator.
“I’m just keeping my head up and staying focused on this,” continued Smith, who may face retirement if he is unable to get back to winning ways.