When it was announced that Liam Smith (23-0-1) would be Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’ next opponents most fans reacted the same way… ‘who’? Despite winning his last 8 fights by KO/TKO, it can easily be said that only hardcore boxing fans know who he is but that can all change with a victory.
Saturday night, Liam Smith will be on the biggest stage of his career with the opportunity to make his name a household one. As fans wait for the widely anticipated Canelo-GGG, Smith looks forward to having an opportunity to get in the way of the fight. “Canelo isn’t a full light middleweight like I am, and that’s to my advantage. It feels very good to be on this big stage, and it’s one that I have asked to be on.”
Smith’s resume doesn’t include any victories over household names. You can easily argue that his biggest victory was his last one when he defeated Predrag Radosevic. The second round stoppage saw Smith deliver punishing body shot after body shot.
Perhaps that’s what gave him the confidence he presently has. “I am going to show everyone that I can fight at a high magnitude and hopefully I’ll gain some more fans once I beat Canelo.” Granted, fans don’t expect for a fighter to say he’s going to lose but it’s been apparent since the fight was announced that Smith and his camp thinks they see some weakness in Canelo’s armor.
The person he won’t be asking for advice will be the owner of the gym where Smith works out. When asked if he had consulted Amir Khan, Smith said “Despite my gym being owned by Amir Khan, I haven’t talked to him about the fight because what he can do well, I can do well, and what Amir failed to do in the ring, I will not fail to do. I have my own skill set that I can excel in. I’m comfortable going toe to toe with Canelo, and let that be a warning to him come Saturday.”
So here’s Liam Smith’s chance to become more than a “lead up” fight for Canelo. He can make history or be history. We will find out on Saturday night which side he’s on.
Photo Credit: Golden Boy Promotions
