Liam Smith obliterates Predrag Radosevic

By Boxing News - 06/04/2016 - Comments

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By Scott Gilfoid: WBO junior middleweight champion Liam Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs) not surprisingly destroyed #11 WBO fringe contender Predrag Radosevic (30-2, 11 KOs) in a 2nd round knockout on Saturday night to retain his WBO title at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. This fight was such a mismatch that Smith was smiling almost laughing while he was beating up Predrag. It was just woeful to watch how inept Predrag was in this fight.

Smith, 27, dropped Radosevic in the 2nd round with a left to the body. Radosevic looked like he wanted to get back to his feet, but he instead stayed down for the entire 10 count. It looked like Radosevic didn’t want to be there, and I’m not just talking about the knockdown. He looked like he was not eager to fight.

The official time of the stoppage was 1:34 of the 2nd round.

Afterwards, Smith said he’ll take on any of the big names in the division. Smith wasn’t being specific, but it was clear he meant Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Miguel Cotto and the Charlo brothers. I don’t think he meant WBA champion Erislandy Lara because that would be a dreadful style match-up for Smith.

“Any of those names, I’ll fight them tomorrow,” said Smith.

There’s talk that Kell Brook was offered a lot of money to fight Smith but he chose not to accept the offer. It’s not surprising because Brook would be fighting someone his own size if he fights Smith, and that would probably make it a tough fight for him. Brook often looks larger than his welterweight opponents. I’m not sure how much longer Brook will be able to melt down to 147 to fight against welterweights, however. I think Brook is a junior middleweight right now that is melting down to welterweight rather than fighting guys his own size at junior middleweight.

“We’re going to make a big fight for him in the autumn,” said Smith’s promoter Frank Warren. ”It’s a no brainer for him to fight Kell Brook. We’re not going to hang around and wait for him. I think he’ in the top three at 154, and by the end of the year he’ll be the best. Some people think he’s the weak link. Underestimate him at your own peril.”

Well, I still think Smith is the weak link. Beating a fringe contender like #11 WBO Predrag didn’t impress me in the least. Why is Smith still fighting fringe contenders? Predrag was blown out in four rounds by Felix Sturm three years ago in 2013, and he’s fought no one good since. Why fight Predrag after the way he was blown out by Sturm? I do not understand that kind of match-making. I could understand Smith crowing about his win if he had fought a top name like Cotto, Canelo, Lara or the Charlo brothers, but beating a limited guy like Predrag? That’s not good enough.

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I had a bad feeling that the Smith-Predrag fight was going to end quickly in the opening seconds of the 1st round after Smith hit Predrag with a left to the body that hurt him, causing him to back off and flee. Predrag had been dropped three times by body shots in his 4th round knockout loss to Felix Sturm in 2013. It was pretty clear from that fight that Predrag can’t handle body shots. That was confirmed in the opening round against Smith tonight when he was nailed with a body shot. Everything that happened after that one punch was just Smith toying with Predrag and hitting him at will with shots. Predrag was fine when he was getting hit to the head, but when Smith hit him in the body, he looked uncomfortable.

I blame this mismatch partly on the World Boxing Organization. They were the ones that ranked Predrag in their top 15. They should have thought seriously about not having him ranked in the top 15 after the way Sturm took care of him.

It pains me to say this but I see Liam Smith getting smashed when he finally steps it up one of these days against the likes of Cotto, Lara, Canelo or the Charlo brothers. I mean, I don’t even see Smith beating Brook. I think Brook is a MUCH better fighter than Smith. I think Brook could beat the entire Smith family from Stephen Smith all the way to Callum and Paul Smith. We’re talking about a different class of fighter with Brook compared to the Smiths.