By Scott Gilfoid: Unbeaten WBO light middleweight champion Liam Smith (30-0-1, 12 KOs) can’t seem to let go of the idea that he has to fight welterweight Kell Brook for some reason. I’m not sure why, but Smith can’t seem to focus on fighting the guys in his own division to try and make a name for himself in that eight class.
I guess it might be because Smith is seen as a paper champion in the eyes of a lot of boxing fans, and will likely lose his WBO title as soon as he faces his first quality contender. I don’t know but I think it would be better for the 27-year-old Smith to concentrate on defending his WBO 154lb strap as long as he can rather than pining away for a fight against Brook.
If Smith really wants the Brook fight, then he should vacate his WBO title and melt down to 147 and get in line behind welterweight contender Errol Spence Jr., because he’ll soon be facing Brook for his IBF title once he’s beaten the brakes off Konstantin Ponomarev in an IBF welterweight title eliminator bout.