By Steve Kim
According to Liam Smith's trainer, Joe Gallagher, for them to get their hands raised in victory on Saturday night against Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (47-1-1, 33KOs) at the AT&T Stadium near Dallas, Texas, the trio of Levi Martinez,Oren Schellenberger and Nelson Vasquez - who have been appointed to judge this WBO title fight - must see things fairly.
"We've got two honest fighters putting their lives and careers on the line and they've done everything that's been asked of them. All we want on the night is three honest men, score the fight," Gallagher said.
"If Liam Smith lands an attack, score for him. If Canelo misses, score for him. And that's what I'm looking for and I feel if we get three honest men to score the fight correctly, I feel Liam Smith will be declared the winner on Saturday night."
Smith is not only the betting underdog but he's also the fighter going on the road facing one of the biggest draws in the sport on his turf. Still, Galagher is calling for them to get a fair shake.
"We don't want no CJ Ross situation come Sunday morning. We want to talk about the right man. Canelo Alvarez is a true professional, a superstar of boxing and I don't think he'd want to be given any favors on the night and do the right thing. But Liam Smith is fully aware of the situation, we're going in there with a game plan and if it comes out right - we wont be needing any judges," he promises.
Smith and his team will be looking for Alvarez to come out of the gate quickly.
"We're fully expecting Canelo Alvarez to straight out put it on us early and try and have us mannered the same way he does with a lot of fighters. He usually has the fight won within six rounds and he takes his foot off. It nearly bit him in the backside with (Miguel) Cotto," Gallagher stated.
"But the person he couldn't manner was Floyd and it was Floyd that mannered 'Canelo' Alvarez. So we're expecting a fast start from Saul Alvarez and we've got to be fast out the blocks ourselves."
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.
