Smith's Trainer: We Can Beat Canelo, But Will The Judges Agree?

By Edward Chaykovsky

Joe Gallagher, trainer of WBO world super-welterweight champion Liam Smith (23-0-1, 13KOs), is confident his fighter will be able to beat Mexican superstar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez  (47-1-1, 33KOs).

The fight is scheduled to take place on September 17 as part of Mexican Independence Day weekend. The venue has not been officially announced, but many believe the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is the frontrunner.

While Gallagheris confident in his fighter's abilities, he is worried about the judges siding with them in Las Vegas.

Gallagher points to how Floyd Mayweather Jr. dominated Canelo over twelve rounds in 2013 and one of the three official judges still scored the contest as a draw.

And last month Amir Khan appeared to most experts as the winner of the early rounds with Canelo at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. When the fight ended in the sixth round with Canelo getting a knockout victory, it was revealed that Khan was down on two scorecards.    

Gallagher told Sky Sports: "Liam's numbers have come in and he's hit the jackpot. He's ready to go to Las Vegas as a gambler, roll the dice and beat Saul Alvarez; one of the most feared fighters in the world. It's a huge opportunity.

"It was only a few years ago that Liam was going to go and spar Alvarez. [Matchmaker] Robert Diaz asked me if Liam could spar him but Liam had hurt his hand. It's weird how the wheels of the world work. They're taking Liam Smith as a serious threat and they need to. Liam is going to be fully motivated. He was after a Miguel Cotto or Kell Brook fight but he's got the big one in Alvarez. Liam has his destiny in his own hands.

"People are quick to write him off but they're not too quick to give him praise as one of Britain's best world champions. It's a great opportunity for Liam to go over there and show people that. Liam Smith can definitely win this fight. Whether they give it to him is another matter. You've got to win and win well to get the decision. Everybody thought Amir Khan won some of the early rounds against Canelo but the judges favoured Canelo and one judge I don't think even gave Khan a round.

"At the end of the day, we've got to go there and do the best we can do and make it competitive. We've got to come up with a game plan to pull off the upset of the year."