By Terence Dooley
Liverpool’s Stephen Smith fights Italy's Devis Boschiero at the city's Olympia venue on September 19. It is a final eliminator for the IBF Super featherweight title, news that was music to Smith's ears after a frustrating year taking short-notice jobs in a bid to keep active and maintain his profile.
Now, though, he is looking forward to taking a huge stride towards world honours after promoter Eddie Hearn secured home advantage for his clash against the 34-year-old.
“I’ve had tick over jobs, all last-minute because Eddie knows I’m in the gym all the time and am ready if something comes up,” stated Smith when speaking to BoxingScene. “It’s not the best way to prepare, but now I’ve got a full camp and will work to a game plan, which is just the way it should be for the big fights.
“It’s nice to be able to sit down with [trainer] Joe [Gallagher] knowing he’s watching my opponent and working on a game plan. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a full camp working for an opponent.”
Smith watched former opponent Lee Selby rise to the IBF featherweight title earlier this year. Selby stopped Smith in the eighth round in 2011. Although they are now operating in different divisions, Smith believes that he can win the world title and use it as a springboard to a rematch with his Barry-based rival.
“I’ve got this big one at Super featherweight, if I win this we’ll both hold IBF titles in different divisions and it’s a fight I’d never back away from because he’s the only man to beat me,” stated Smith. “It’d be a massive fight, but I’m not looking past this one. I’m sure it can be made once I’ve got a world title and a bit of pulling power.”
Smith (22-1, 12 KOs) travelled to Oakland for his brother Paul’s Mission: Impossible against Andre Ward in June. The 30-year-old had words of praise for Ward yet did not feel the same level of awe he felt when watching Floyd Mayweather in the flesh.
“Watching him on the night wasn’t overly impressive,” he said. “He’s very hard to beat, but a lot of it is one-twos. In round seven, he threw a left uppercut and you think: ‘Wow, that’s good’, but he didn’t do anything out of the ordinary—he’s just very good at what he does. That last round was sickening to watch, I was glad the towel went in. Paul’s home safe, they’ve a new baby on the way so he’s going to enjoy his life a bit now.
“Boxing’s a tough sport. People don’t know how lonely a place it is when things aren’t going your way and you are there in Ward’s backyard with him landing shots left, right and centre in the end. It must have been the loneliest place in the world, but Paul took them and is a tough lad—and I’m not just saying that because he’s my brother.
“I’ve been to Vegas to watch Mayweather and you leave thinking: ‘Wow, how does he make it look that easy?’—he’s special. I grew up watching Sugar Ray Leonard, who is my hero to this day, but Ward didn’t make me feel that—maybe because he was fighting my brother—so I didn’t leave the arena thinking I’d seen something special.”
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