LIAM Smith continues to be hungry to turn out to be a world champion once more.
The Liverpudlian was at his perfect defeating Chris Eubank Jr 4 months in the past and face his middleweight once more in a rematch on July 1.
No titles are on supply, as an alternative it’s bragging rights up for grabs and Eubank might be eager to stage up their rivalry at Manchester Arena.
It has been eight years since Smith gained his solely world title thus far, at super-welterweight. His win over Apollo Thompson was backed up by two routine defences. His third was a far larger check within the form of Canelo Alvarez. The Mexican inflicted the primary loss on Smith’s file in Texas after he was dropped by a physique shot within the ninth spherical. The reign of ‘Beefy’ lasted 11 months.
There have been a dozen fights since then for Smith leading to a 10-2 successful file. His second profession defeat got here in 2018 against one other Mexican Jaime Munguia. The third was probably the most controversial dropping on factors to Magomed Kurbanov in Russia two years in the past, a fight many believed the Brit had accomplished sufficient to win. French 154lb fighter Michel Soro suffered the same, arguably larger, injustice in Ekaterinburg earlier this month.
Smith has constantly shrugged off the losses and got here again with spectacular wins against the likes of Liam Williams, Anthony Fowler, Jessie Vargas, and Eubank Jr.
The 34-year-old craves one other world title alternative and has his eye on the middleweight strap held by Zhanibek Alimkhanuly.
“One of the parts I’m gutted over – why I want to be world champion again – the world title was won and probably put on top of the washing basket. I just didn’t cherish being world champion,” he instructed Sky Sports.
“I didn’t know how big it was. That’s why I’m desperate, I’d love to be world champion again. Because I’d cherish every bit of it. I know what it means.”
The Kazakh can be each bit the check that Munguia was and a stiffer one than Kurbanov, however Smith seems to be enhancing and has by no means been one to lack self-belief.
“He’s not really high risk, low reward because the reward is his world title,” he mentioned.
“The Denzel Bentley fight has brought [Alimkhanuly] down a peg, but still a very good fight. I’ve known of him for a bit, I watched him in the Olympics, saw him beat [Anthony] Fowler in the Olympics. He’s still only had 13 fights, a good fighter.”
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