Joe Smith Jr. and Umar Salamov have signed contracts for a light heavyweight title fight, Smith's co-promoter, Joe DeGuardia, told ESPN on Monday.
Smith's 175-pound title defense will take place Oct. 30 in New York at Hulu Theater at MSG, sources tell ESPN, and headline a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN event.
"The Theater [at MSG in New York] is the most logical spot," DeGuardia said. "I think it's the perfect place for Joe to make his first world-title defense. We'd certainly pack it, that's for sure."
Smith, ESPN's No. 3 boxer at 175 pounds, won the vacant title in April with a hard-nosed majority decision victory over Maxim Vlasov. The win capped an impressive rebound for Smith, a 31-year-old from Long Island, New York.
Since a lopsided decision defeat to Dmitry Bivol in March 2019 -- his only other title bid -- Smith (27-3, 21 KOs) has reeled off three straight wins. A ninth-round TKO of former champion Eleider Alvarez in August (a career-best performance) came on the heels of a decision win over Jesse Hart.
In Salamov, Smith will face yet another Russian (Vlasov and Bivol also hail from Russia). Salamov, 27, has fought outside the U.S. just once and has never faced an opponent of consequence. He currently trains in Las Vegas with Kevin Barry, who once coached heavyweight title challenger David Tua.
Salamov (26-1, 19 KOs) was forced to withdraw from a November fight against Vlasov in Russia after he tested positive for COVID-19. Now, Salamov skips the title eliminator and heads straight to his first crack at a belt.
Smith and Daniel Jacobs have been involved in talks for an early 2022 fight should Smith turn back Salamov, sources said. The fight would see Jacobs, a former 160-pound champion now campaigning at 168, move up to 175.