It’s a moment every young kid with championship aspirations dreams of. Taking on the biggest opponent of your life in front of thousands of screaming fans and digging deep to score a dramatic come-from-behind victory. In the end, your hand is raised and then your team hoists you on their shoulders while you hold the championship belt over your head.
To say he’s giddy with anticipation and overflowing with confidence would be an understatement.
“This is a fight that I’ve wanted for a long time and it’s one that I get to prove myself against the best in the world,” Smith told Sherdog.com in a recent interview. “He’s arguably the biggest name in the sport and I want to get the win for the U.K. Canelo has already beaten some of the biggest names in the U.K. (ed: Amir Khan, Ryan Rhodes, Matthew Hatton) and it will be great to get those wins back. Everybody at home is pulling for me to win.”
Saying he’ll get the win is one thing and actually pulling off what would be a massive upset is another. When the fight was announced several weeks ago, the vast majority of the boxing world groaned in disappointment because a blockbuster fight between “Canelo” and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin was put on the backburner. It seemed as though the Mexican’s handlers settled on “Beefy” as the opponent and, considering what both men have achieved thus far, not many people expect Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs) to win, let alone be overly competitive.
“I don’t worry about anything people say because for the most part, most of these people don’t even know they’re talking about,” he said with a scowl. “If people are upset that ‘Canelo’ isn’t fighting Golovkin, then I don’t know what to tell them. They can (shove) off.”
But hearing the complaints and reading about how great a mismatch this bout allegedly will be has to anger and motivate Smith. Being labelled as nothing more than cannon fodder must get under one’s skin but Smith lets it roll of his shoulders and chuckles about it.
“I’m very motivated for this fight,” he said. “It’s the biggest fight of my life but I’m not more motivated than I would normally be just because these so-called experts don’t think I’ll win. I don’t need to prove anything to them; I need to prove things to myself and my team. I know what needs to occur for me to be triumphant and I’ll prove it (Saturday). I don’t pay any attention to what other people think will happen. If they think they know what to do or that I don’t have a chance against this guy, then why don’t they get in there and fight him?”
Smith’s head trainer, Joe Gallagher, echoes his fighter’s confidence.
“Smith is a serious threat,” Gallagher said at the open workout for the media earlier this week. “Liam Smith can box from the outside, he's a great counter puncher, can fight from the inside, has great shots from the inside, and has a great temperament. These are some of my favorite characteristics of Liam Smith. I think he might shock a lot of people in just how great he is come Saturday night.”
And how will Smith fight Alvarez remains to be seen. He’s been mum on his gameplan but he has proclaimed that he’ll shock the world on Saturday. And with “Canelo” possibly looking ahead to the mega fight with “GGG,” this might be the perfect time for the Brit to shock the world and ruin everybody’s plans.