WBO light heavyweight world champion Joe Smith Jr. will defend title at Turning Stone

Boxing will make its return to Turning Stone Resort Casino on Saturday, Jan. 15, when Joe Smith Jr. defends his WBO light heavyweight world championship against Steve Geffrard, according to a news release from the resort.

The co-main event will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN, marking the first nationally-televised boxing event in Upstate New York in two years.

WBO light heavyweight world champion Smith is a Long Island-native who is making his first title defense. His opponent, Geffrard, hails from Florida and is undefeated in his last 18 fights.

The featherweight fight features the undefeated Albany-native Abraham "El Super" Nova and William "El Gago" Encarnacion.

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Tickets for the event are on sale and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster or by calling the the Turning Stone Box Office at 800-771-7711. Tickets range from $49 to $89.

The Turning Stone's health and safety protocols require all fans 12 and older to provide proof of vaccination to attend all events at the Turning Stone Event Center or The Showroom. Children 11 or younger who are not vaccinated must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of the event and will be required to wear a face covering.

According to the release, Saturday's event is the kick off of an exciting year of boxing events in Upstate New York that will culminate in June with the induction of the 2020, 2021 and 2022 International Boxing Hall of Fame classes. The induction will include marquee names such as Floyd Mayweather, Laila Ali, Roy Jones Jr., Holly Holm, Bernard Hopkins, Wladamir Kitschko and Miguel Cotto.

Kenny Lacy is a sports reporter for the Observer-Dispatch. Email Kenny Lacy at klacy@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: ESPN to air Turning Stone's WBO light heavyweight world championship