You have to give Maxim Vlasov for knowing his place in possibly the biggest fight of his career.

The former cruiserweight title challenger from Samara, Russia understands his role as the boxer in his upcoming fight with heavy-handed contender Joe Smith Jr. The two collide on Feb. 13th, live on ESPN from MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, with the vacant WBO light heavyweight title at stake.

Vlasov enters his fourth straight fight at light heavyweight, all coming since an interim cruiserweight title fight loss to Poland’s Krzyszytof Glowacki (31-2, 19KOs) in Nov. 2018. A knockout win came of his first fight back at his old weight followed by a pair of decision wins heading into his forthcoming showdown with Smith (25-3, 21KOs), revered as one of the hardest punchers in the light heavyweight division.

“Joe Smith is very strong, he’s the much bigger puncher,” Vlasov admitted to BoxingScene.com. “He’s a good fighter, he can punch very hard and is good at breaking his opponents down. He’s very physical.

“He is the bigger puncher; I am the better boxer. I know what I have to do in this fight—and I will win this fight.”

All three career defeats for Vlasov (45-3, 28KOs) have come in the United States, though not without his share of success on this side of the world. The 34-year old Russian contender is 10-3 overall in the states. His biggest wins to date have taken place in his home country, including stoppages over Rakhm Chakhkiev and Olanrewaju Durodola—fights where he dominated on the scorecards prior to closing the show—and a 12-round win over Isaac Chilemba in July 2019 to avenge his first career defeat more than eight years prior.

The common thread in all of those fights was Vlasov’s ability to soundly outbox his foes. The power is there when he needs it, though viewed as a failsafe in his title fight with Smith who has dropped or stopped seven of his last eight opponents. The lone fighter over that stretch to remain upright for the duration of their fight was unbeaten Dmitry Bivol, though whom Smith badly rocked at the end of the 10th round prior to losing a 12-round decision.

“I know he will try to make this a fight,” notes Vlasov. “I prefer to box. I know I can’t just stand in front of him and try to match his punching power. I know he’s physically stronger than me. I plan to let him know that I am the much better boxer than him.

“We will see what happens but I am confident this fight will show what I can do in the ring at this level.” 

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox