Liam Smith: All Or Nothing

Liam Smith: All Or Nothing

Liverpool’s Liam Smith will head to the Manchester Arena on Saturday night in a good old-fashioned all-British straightener. The fight against boxing’s great enigma Chris Eubank Jr isn’t about any fake meaningless baubles, it’s about relevance at the pinnacle of their sport. For Smith, it will almost certainly decide if he still has a future in it. A fourth career defeat and retirement might be his only option. The judge’s interpretation of a so-called subjective sport will likely prove pivotal to the fighting futures of both men. It could be that kind of fight.

But victory for either fighter moves them up in the snakes and ladders effect that only boxing does so brutally, if not so true. A win for Eubank will see an old family rivalry revisited and a fight that was lost last year. If Smith overcomes Eubank in Manchester, his promoter Ben Shalom has said a rematch with Eubank will happen at his beloved Anfield. But regardless of if the Anfield fairytale becomes a reality, victory keeps his career alive and with it, his hopes of another world title or at the very least, another night where the lights will shine bright. It really is all or nothing for the Liverpool fighter.

Smith is in many ways, British boxing’s quiet man. Often overshadowed by others with far less talent, in truth, Smith deserves better. A two-time ABA champion, and a former British, Commonwealth and WBO light-middleweight champion, his resume deserves much respect and is arguably better than his opponent’s on Saturday night.

Magomed Kurbanov was the last fighter to beat Smith, a highly controversial decision defeat in 2021 that would have gone the other way anywhere else. Smith gambled by going to Russia. In truth, he shouldn’t have had to.

Defeats to Jamie Munguia and Saul Alvarez are the only other blemishes on his record. In close to 130 total career fights the three men that have beaten Smith only have two defeats combined. The thirty-two wins Smith has amassed in his career are only slightly reduced by his three defeats.

Smith has rebounded since the Kurbanov setback, and the two wins over Anthony Fowler and Jessie Vargas put him firmly back in contention for bigger nights. The move to Boxxer promised those big nights and a fight with Eubank was more than mentioned as one of those fights, but when Conor Benn came calling, Smith had to bide his time and wait. His patience has now been rewarded.

A hometown gig last September against Hassan Mwakinyo ended in anticlimactic fashion when Mwakinyo surrendered when the fight was just getting started. Smith started slow, as he did against Fowler, but he would have won regardless of his opponent issuing his own version of ‘No Mas.’

The odds and most boxing pundits suggest that Smith’s career renaissance will end at the hands of Eubank. But the Brighton fighter has often flattered to deceive. Eubank spent too many of those vital early days consumed by his own arrogance, a refusal to have a full-time trainer and practically train himself hurt him immensely in his development. Ego has ruined many a fighter. And while the ego has softened as the naivety and ignorance of his youth has passed I am of the opinion it came too late for the damage to be reversed. Eubank is by no stretch of the imagination a bad fighter, but there are elements of the basic fundamentals that he hasn’t grasped, at least to the degree he could have and should have. Add in the wasted years at super-middleweight, a weight despite some success, was a weight he didn’t truly belong at and contributed much in his loss to George Groves in 2018, and you sense his career should have had a little more shine to it.

Eubank has now settled with Roy Jones, but it is a partnership that has so far failed to convince. Eubank has the look of a fighter who is caught between two styles and those basic flaws in his make-up still exist.

The build-up has been one of humour, and mischief rather than one of spite and hate, although the final press conference did lapse into the regrettable and the avoidable. Stories of what happened in sparring are disputed, both have different versions of the same spar. Is there ever real truth in boxing. But there is respect between the two fighters, they both know they will have to be at their best in Manchester to win. The defeated fighter is likely to be the best name on the winner’s record.

Smith has been active and looks reborn of late. Eubank has been inactive and anything but reborn. The odds favour Eubank strongly, but the 7-2 on offer for a Smith win on points looks far too tempting to ignore. A lot of smart money will be on the upset.

Natasha Jonas a long-time training partner of Smith, believes nobody should be underestimating the chances of the former WBO champion:

“If you look at Liam’s last few fights he has been guilty of starting too slow and I think the first few rounds against Eubank will be dangerous for him. There are two ways the fight could go. Eubank could come out fast looking to catch Liam cold. Or Eubank comes out too cautious because, in the second half of the fight, he will know Liam will come on strong in the later stages of the fight. Having worked alongside Liam as an amateur and as a pro, he is very underrated in how clever he is as a boxer. When he was at Joe’s there wasn’t a boxer there who didn’t run tactics by him because his boxing brain is so on point and everyone in the gym respected what he had to say. This could be the fight where he finally gets the recognition he deserves.”

The early stages will be crucial when Smith will be at his most vulnerable, and cuts could be an issue for him. But if he navigates those early waters without too much discomfort, Smith could take Eubank into those deep waters where he will be found wanting. Eubank is undoubtedly a tough tough fighter, and even in his two defeats, he finished the stronger fighter. He will be a hard man to break. But as Jonas alludes, Smith has that greater boxing IQ and a style to get the job done where many doubt he will. Educated pressure is Smith’s key to victory. To win, Smith will likely have to do it on points. For Eubank, he may have to do it on points. Make no mistake, it is a fight of much intrigue.

Eubank will fight on win, lose or draw. For Smith, the result of their middleweight clash is a lot more definitive for his career. And that could be the difference on Saturday night. Smith might just want it and need it a little more.

Photo Credit: Boxxer