By John Evans

“It’s a belting fight,” said Manchester trainer Anthony “Arnie” Farnell to BoxingScene.com when asked about the upcoming welterweight clash between his fighter Ronnie Heffron and Liam Smith.

Heffron, 9-0 (5), and Smith, 9-0-1 (4), meet in Heffon’s hometown of Oldham on May 18th in a British title eliminator and ‘belting’ is a pretty accurate description of the match up. The fight will be the first foray North for BoxNation’s new BoxAcademy series and it promises to be a cracker.

Although the fight between the two unbeaten fighters is already one of the best that could be made in the domestic 147lb division, it has come very early in both their careers. The pair was always likely to be on a collision course but it is a surprise – albeit a welcome one – to see them meet so soon. The Heffron camp had no hesitation whatsoever about taking on the assignment.

“We got asked if we’d take Liam Smith on and our first word was ‘Yes’,” said Farnell. “Liam’s good and has a great boxing family and they’re all good lads, but in boxing terms, I just think Ronnie’s on a whole different level.”

That isn’t to say Farnell doesn’t appreciate the qualities that Smith will bring to the ring. The former WBU middleweight champion has a lot of time for the 23-year-old Liverpudlian but simply believes that he is about to come up against an all round better fighter.

“He’s good. I’ve always rated him. He’s a good strong fighter. He won’t be able to deal with what Ronnie’s going to bring though” said Farnell. “Ronnie’s a lot sharper and has a lot more variety. He picks his shots well. If you let Liam get close and work he’s a hard man to beat. Ronnie won’t be doing that. We know Liam can’t outbox Ronnie. He’s a lot slower so he’s going to try and pick those big shots. When he does that, he’s going to be open.

“I’ve got no doubts that Ronnie will win this fight. No doubts in my mind” continues Farnell. “Liam’s got a good coach [Joe Gallagher] who’ll get him very, very fit for the fight, but our tactics will be perfect on the night. I know what I’m doing boxing wise and I know what’s in Ronnie’s arsenal. People haven’t seen half of it yet. He can box beautifully. He can put his punches together like [Juan Manuel] Marquez, just rattle them off.”

With Smith’s trainer Joe Gallagher recently stating that Smith places his punches like Erik Morales, trade your Corona lager and tacos for a pint of mild bitter and an Eccles cake and we could be set for a Mexican style war in the foothills of the Pennines.

“Ronnie’s maturing more now and learning to settle down instead of going out saying ‘I’ll bang this guy straight away’” continued Farnell. “He’s hurting people behind that jab now and picking them off as they come – and we all know Liam’s gonna come!”

Smith has comprehensively walked down his last few opponents and was particularly impressive when recording a third-round stoppage of common opponent Barrie Jones. Smith weighed in at 153lbs for that fight, Heffron beat Jones over six rounds at 148lbs. “Beefy” has generally campaigned closer to the light middleweight limit while Heffron is developing into a huge, wide shouldered welterweight. Farnell is confident that even if Smith does manage to impose himself enough to get close to the 21-year-old Heffron, he will still come up short.

“He’s got a strength and conditioning coach in and he’s always been a really strong lad for his age, but now he’s maturing. He’s getting bigger and bigger at the weight and he’s perfect for a welterweight. I think it’s going to hurt Liam to get down to welterweight. I don’t care what anyone says – I know it’s going to hurt him.

“Ronnie’s up for this one. It’s what I’ve been after for him too. I know he’s only a young lad but when he’s got that fire in his belly there’s no stopping him. He rates Liam. He’s beaten Callum [Smith’s brother)] twice as an amateur and he rates all the brothers but like he said himself, this is a fight he’s got to win.”

Farnell has had some illustrious names pass through his Failsworth gym, but whilse the likes of Tony Bellew and Frankie Gavin all came to him having enjoyed great amateur success, Heffron has been with him since the very start. Farnell has noticed an important change in the youngster. One he feels could prove to be the key to beating Smith.

“I’ve been training Ronnie since he was 14-years-old and I know what he’s like” said Farnell. “I think the maturity he’s showing will be one of the major points in the fight. Even before he came to me he was a top amateur at Boarshaw ABC. [Amateur coach] Ben Lancaster and his dad have done a great job with him. He’s always had it in him. When people used to come to the gym and see him training as a 15-year-old they’d say he was certain to be a big name in boxing. I’m buzzing with him to be honest. He knows it will be a tough fight and he’s training for a tough fight. We’ve got him really up for it and had some good sparring already to tell you the truth. We’ve been going over to Liverpool working with Steve Williams. He’s a workhorse so that’s good for Ronnie.”

He added: “I’m not bothered what sort of Liam Smith turns up. We know we can beat him. It’s going to have to be a very, very special lad to beat Ronnie. He’s already got one over on the family and he’ll definitely be beating Liam.”

Twitter @John_Evans79