By Scott Gilfoid: After witnessing undefeated super middleweight Rocky Fielding (21-0, 12 KOs) obliterate middleweight journeyman Brian Vera (23-10, 14 KOs) last Friday night, promoter Eddie Hearn seems to have changed his mind about wanting Fielding to face undefeated No.3 WBC Callum Smith (17-0, 12 KOs) for the British title this year.
The Smith-Fielding fight was one that was being talked about as their next fight, but Hearn has now decided to keep them in separate lanes for them both to try and get world title shots. Hearn believes that both fighters can get cracks at world titles within 12 months from now.
I can’t blame Hearn one bit for not letting the 6’3” Smith face Fielding because I think he would lose big time. Fielding looks to me to be the better overall fighter with faster hand speed, better power, and game that’s more suited to the pros than Smith. Fielding throws combinations to the head and the body. He doesn’t just throw body shots like Smith.
Fielding stopped Vera in the 2nd round after dropping him twice in the fight. He knocked him down with a nice uppercut in the 1st, and then dropped him in the 2nd with a cheap shot after pushing him to the canvas. The knockdown should have never counted because Vera had just gotten up off the canvas from being pushed down. I still don’t understand how the referee Ian John Lewis scored that as a knockdown. I mean, when have you ever seen a fighter pushed to the canvas and then immediately clocked with a shot after he got back up. The referee should have moved in, brushed off Vera’s gloves, and then separated them before restarting the action. Instead, Fielding stood over Vera while he was getting back to his feet and then knocked him down immediately once he was up. It was like watching an old Jack Dempsey fight before they had rules that prevented fighters from standing over their opponents that had been knocked down to immediately nail them once they got to their feet.
“Callum Smith is a huge fight,” Hearn said. “He’s up next. That’s a fight, as much as I feel the British title is a wonderful belt, it deserves a little bit more. If it comes with a little bit more, I don’t have any problems with making that fight. Rocky wants world title fights, and so does Callum Smith. Within 12 months, they’re going to get them. If they meet each other, it’s going to be one of those classic fights in a world title eliminator,” Hearn said.
Hearn really needs to consider taking his time with Callum Smith, because I think he needs drastic changes to his fighting style before he starts considering fighting for a world title. The stork-like Smith is too much of a body puncher, and that’s not going to work at the pro level once you get up there with the best fighters. Smith needs to learn to start using his height and reach, and stop throwing to the body so much.
Last night, we saw Smith nailed again and again by his opponent Christopher Rebrasse each time he went to the body. It was fortunate for Smith that Rebrasse didn’t have any punching power, because if he had, he would have knocked Smith out. Smith eventually won a 12 round decision, but I thought the fight was very, very close. The judges scored it 118-110, 118-110, 120-107, which I feel were a set of ridiculous scores. They did Smith no favors by giving him those joke scores because he’s not going to get scoring like that once he starts facing the talented super middleweights like the Dirrell brothers and Andre Ward. I mean, I doubt Smith will make it to the 6th round against those guys. As soon as he starts going to the body, they’re going to clean his clock with a shot.
Callum’s primitive fighting style needs to be changed to make him more pro ready. Right now, I see him too much like a 1950s type fighter and not ready for the top guys in 2015. Fielding is a much better fighter in my book, and that’s the guy that Hearn should be pushing hard. I don’t see Fielding as good enough to beat the talents in the division, but I rate him as a better fighter than Callum Smith and George Groves.
“He’s [Callum Smith] going to be No.1 with the WBC now,” Hearn said. “That’s probably going to put him one fight away from challenging for the world title. George Groves fights Badou Jack in August or September. We feel probably that we’re one fight away from that. The Rocky Fielding fight is definitely a great fight for Liverpool, but Callum has his eyes on a world title. It is within 12 months. That’s the time frame. I believe he can win a world title at super middleweight.”
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