Though the fight is not getting as much hype and publicity as the Gennady Golovkin-Kell Brook showdown that will precede it by a week, the Liam Smith-Saul Canelo Alvarez light-middleweight title fight is arguably a much tougher fight to pick. Smith, the defending WBO champ, is a considerable underdog, as is his countryman Brook, but some good judges are predicting a hard night for Canelo on September 17.
And Smith, unbeaten and trained by the excellent Joe Gallagher, is certainly as confident as Brook appears to be heading into his massive fight – if not more so.
Smith actually thinks he will end up having not one but two fights with the flame-haired Mexican superstar. Smith said, as reported by Box Nation (who will of course televise the fight in the UK) that after he causes the upset and defeats Canelo, he will want a shot at revenge.
“My mind is set on Canelo. When I beat Canelo, my next fight will be Canelo again,” Smith said. “They will want the rematch. Me and Joe Gallagher have had a good camp. I know I can perform at this level. I’ve always been told I’ve got a style the Americans will like. What you see is what you get. I am coming to fight!”
Smith has said a couple of times how he feels he will be able to stop Canelo in the later rounds. If he can do so, he will likely have scored the biggest British boxing win of the year (barring a Brook upset over GGG, anyway). Smith-Canelo does look like being an exciting, fan-friendly fight – the styles of the two men all but guarantees thrilling action. Canelo has been beaten only by the sublime Floyd Mayweather and he would certainly want that return fight if he did lose to the defending champion.
What are the odds of both Brook and Smith emerging victorious later this month; a month that has to be ranked as one of the biggest in British boxing for many a year.