Paul Smith Calls For a Brian Magee Showdown

By Terence Dooley

British super-middleweight champion Paul Smith defeated fellow Liverpudlian Tony Dodson on points at the ECHO Arena, Liverpool last Friday night in what he hopes will his last local derby fight.  Smith, 27, feels that he has now cleaned up Liverpool, though Carl Dilks may have something to say about this, and is now looking towards an EBU title showdown with Belfast’s Brian Magee.

“I’d like to fight Brian Magee for his European title but I’m done with Liverpool fighters,” declared Smith when speaking to liverpoolecho.co.uk.  “I’ve got nothing else to prove fighting Scousers.  All I’m doing is dividing my fan base.  I want the whole city behind me.”

Smith was cut above his eye in round one, round two saw him suffer a gash to his forehead, and he was also hindered by a laceration on his scalp; the 29-1 (15 early) fighter revealed that he owes a debt of gratitude to veteran cutsman Mick ‘The Rub’ Williams.

“I felt like a patchwork quilt afterwards.  I thought it was getting stopped in the third or fourth.  The referee was glancing over but people know how good Mick is.  He sees Mick in my corner and automatically gives me more leeway because he knows Mick’s the best in the business.  The cuts seemed to heal up towards the end,” stated Smith.

Smith will allow his cuts to heal before considering his options.  A fight with Magee would be the next logical step; however, Magee is rumoured to be signing for Hatton Promotions and the fight will become that bit more difficult to make should this prove be the case.

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