By Robbie Bannatyne: They say its better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know. By definition, you don’t know what you’re dealing with when faced with an unknown quantity. To American audiences, Liverpool WBO light middleweight champion Liam Smith is a book without a cover, but that’s not stopped them judging his fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez as a blatant mismatch for their fight on September 17.
Have we learned nothing from the cautionary tales in boxing history of the unknown quantity taking a quantum leap in class to cut down a well know champion?
Just ask Lehlo Ledwaba about the folly of dismissing a fighter on the basis of never hearing his name before. In 2001, the well established and much respected South African IBF super-bantamweight champion was ruthlessly dispatched by a little Filipino force of nature called Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao.
Prior to the bout, HBO commentators mused about how they had never heard of Ledwaba’s opponent, who had been dragged into the fight as a late replacement on two weeks notice. Seemingly in over his head, he quickly stole the hearts of boxing fans who would never forget the name Manny Pacquiao.
Why then, has the boxing public across the pond dismissed Liam Smith with such sneering pretension when they have yet to see him throw a punch? Have the arrogant American boxing press and public had their eyes closed as the current wave of British world champions rule boxing with an iron fist?
On 17 September Beefy faces the biggest active name in World boxing! Details on presser coming soon. pic.twitter.com/ldhVp2po4S
— Frank Warren (@frankwarren_tv) July 9, 2016
Out of our vintage crop of British world champions, Liam ‘Beefy’ Smith is one of the finest cuts and Canelo will have his hands full when he faces the under-rated Liverpudlian on September. Make no mistake, Smith isn’t coming to make up the numbers and collect a cheque, he’s coming for war. Canelo, so used to bullying much smaller men pooled from the welterweight divisions, will have to pick on someone his own size in Liam Smith, a natural light-middleweight with a nasty streak.
The lukewarm response to Canelo fighting Liam Smith is the blow-back from the former’s refusal to meet Gennady Golovkin in a fight that boxing fandom was frothing at the mouth to see. I understand this, I was desperate to see Saul Alvarez tackle Triple G as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-DEH6gQwqM
However, Liam Smith doesn’t deserve our contempt for Canelo’s failure to face off with the fearsome Golovkin. The guy is a legitimate world champion in the shark tank that is the 154lb weight class. His willingness to do battle with the best warrants huge respect. Whether or the not the majority of American fans could pick his face out in an ID parade is a point of little prescience. Except, maybe, from the perspective of P-P-V buys which could suffer as result of Smith being unknown to the casual fan outside of Britain.
The fact that American fans couldn’t recognize Liam Smith at a bus stop is utterly irrelevant in assessing whether he can cut it in a boxing ring with Canelo. Soon American and Mexican fans will be privy to what is already the consensus opinion in the UK: Liam Smith is a top class prizefighter.
Thanks for reading fight fans, I look forward to reading your predictions for the fight.
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