Liam Smith-Anthony Fowler DAZN Weigh-In Results From Liverpool
The Battle of Liverpool nearly took place at the scale.
Plenty of drama surrounded Friday’s weigh-in, though ultimately with the main event intact for Saturday evening at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. Local junior middleweights Liam Smith and Anthony Fowler took varying means to make weight for their scheduled 12-round regional title fight.
Fowler (15-1, 12KOs) came in under the divisional limit at a trim and fighting fit 153 ¾ pounds for the DAZN headliner. His crosstown rival required more assistance, as Smith had to strip to his birthday suit and needed the commission to clear the scale area following a lengthy dispute over his weight before officially coming in right at 154 pounds.
Plenty of words were exchanged between the two during the staredown, though with the two eventually separated and instructed to save it for the ring.
Smith (29-3-1, 16KOs) saw a modest three-fight win streak snapped in his most recent fight, though in controversial fashion. The former WBO junior middleweight titlist was considered unlucky to land on the wrong end of a unanimous decision in favor of unbeaten Magomed Kurbanov in their regional title fight this past May on the road in Ekaterinburg, Russia.
Saturday’s bout is the first at home for Smith since a fifth-round stoppage of Sam Eggington in March 2019 at this very venue. Prior to that bout, Smith dropped a competitive but clear unanimous decision to then-WBO junior middleweight titlist Jamie Munguia in July 2018, nearly two full years after losing the same belt to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in September 2016.
Fowler has won six straight since his lone defeat, a ten-round split decision in favor of Scott Fitzgerald in their March 2019 battle of unbeaten prospects. The bout took place on the same show as Smith-Eggington, with Fowler to make his fifth career appearance at this venue come Saturday.
The show’s lone title fight saw defending WBA bantamweight titlist Shannon Courtenay forced to vacate at the scale after badly missing weight for her scheduled defense versus California’s Jamie Mitchell.
Watford’s Courtenay (7-1, 3KOs) weighed 120 ½ pounds, well over the 118-pound divisional limit and declining to use the allotted two-hour post weigh-in period to make the mark. It ends a reign without a successful title defense, having won the vacant belt in a ten-round thriller with Ebanie Bridges this past April.
The belt will only be at stake for Mitchell (6-0-2, 4KOs), who did her job at the scale as she weighed 117 ½ pounds for her first career title fight. The 36-year-old from Pacific Grove, California fights for the first time outside of The Americas in her title bid.
Below are the weights for the rest of the undercard.
Ted Cheeseman (17-2-1, 10KOs), London, 153 pounds vs. Troy Williamson (16-0-1, 12KOs), Darlington, England, 153 ¾ pounds—12 rounds, junior middleweight
Kieron Conway (16-2-1, 3KOs), Northampton, England, 156 ¾ pounds vs. James Metcalf (21-1, 13KOs), Liverpool, 156 ½ pounds—10 rounds, junior middleweight
Luke Willis (10-0, 1KO), Liverpool, 134 ½ pounds vs. Rylan Charlton (6-1-1, 3KOs), Norwich, England, 134 ½ pounds—10 rounds, lightweight
Peter McGrail (debut), Liverpool, 127 ¾ pounds vs. Ed Harrison (2-8, 0KOs), Lancashire, England, 128 ½ pounds—6 rounds, junior lightweight
Solomon Dacres (2-0, 1KO), West Midlands, England, 227 ½ pounds vs. Kamil Sokolowski (10-22-2, 4KOs), Devon, England via Czestochowa, Poland, 239 ½ pounds—8 rounds, heavyweight
Blane Hyland (4-1, 0KOs), Liverpool, 117 pounds vs. Santiago San Eusebio (3-1-2, 2KOs), Lyon, France, 116 ¼ pounds—4 rounds, bantamweight
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
