By Tim Royner: Former WBO junior middleweight champion Liam Smith says a fight between him and former two division world champion Jessie Vargas is possible for March of next year. Smith (28-2-1, 16 KOs) says promoter Eddie Hearn is eager to make the fight between him and Vargas as a headliner.
Vargas won’t be available to fight Smith in December though. Smith says he’ll be fighting in December regardless of whether Vargas faces him or not.
Vargas, 29, hasn’t fought since last April when he defeated former super featherweight champion Humberto Soto by a 7th round knockout in Inglewood, California. He’s been sitting on the sidelines all this time. If Vargas does stay inactive until March 2020, he will have been out of the ring for 11 months. Vargas is wasting what’s left of his prime by fighting irregularly, and not facing the best.
Liam Smith talks Jessie Vargas fight
“MTK is going to work on that for March, over here or over there,” said Smith to IFL TV about a fight between him and Jessie Vargas. “I’m going to fight in December regardless, and then I’ll look for a big fight in 2020. I think it [Vargas fight] may top it’s own card in March. I think Eddie has plans for that.
“It’ll sell well anywhere. Eddie said ‘I love that fight with you and Vargas. It’s a top bill.’ So Eddie is keen on that fight, so hopefully it can be made. I’m really keen on that fight. I love that fight,” said Smith.
Smith, 31, has won his last two fights this year in defeating Sam Eggington and Mario Alberto Lozano by knockout. Unfortunately, those are not elite level fighters, and Smith has nothing to show for this year.
Smith lost to WBO junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguia by a 12 round unanimous decision in July 2018 in a failed bid to recapture his old title. The fight was competitive, but Munguia was able to run away with it in the second half with the fast pace he set.
Kell Brook not likely to agree to Smith fight
“Is he searching for a fight because if he is he doesn’t have to look far,” said Smith about a fight between him and Kell Brook. “I love that fight. It would be a big fight for me, and I’m sure it would be a big fight for him. Not a lot of people would be disappointed by it. I can understand his point of view in looking for Khan and looking for Crawford. But you have to be realistic.
“He doesn’t warrant those fights anymore. He can’t sit. He’s got to fight. I’m not being disrespectful towards him, but he’s got to fight. He can’t just sit outside of the ring demanding a big name. I think he’s hoping and sitting on the Khan fight right now. Yeah, I think he’s waiting on the Khan fight.
“There’s some tough fights out there for him that would be easy to be made, but he’s not really jumping at the chance to get back into the ring. I know he said he’d get back into the ring in December, but is he? We’re in November now. There’s still no talks, and he’s not on the Saudi card. We’ll have to see what he’s doing with the rest of his career,” said Smith about Brook.
It’s quite clear that former IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook is waiting on a fight against Amir Khan. This is a match that Brook has been waiting for since last year. Brook has stopped fighting high level opposition since his loss to Errol Spence Jr., and he’s waiting for the Khan fight. Smith sees Brook as making a mistake of being inactive and calling out guys like Terence Crawford and Khan.