Unbeaten talents Liam Smith and Ronnie Heffron meet in an eliminator for the British Welterweight Championship on Friday 18th May at the Oldham Leisure Centre.
The fight headlines an exciting BoxAcademy show promoted by Queensberry Promotions in association with VIP Promotions to be televised live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 456/Virgin Ch. 546).
Glynn Evans talks in-depth to Smith about his background and career so far.
Name: Liam Smith
Weight: Welterweight
Born: Kirkdale, Liverpool
Age: 23
Family background: I’m the third of four brothers and I’ve two younger sisters. Me elder brothers Paul and Stephen have both won British and Commonwealth titles (at super-middle and featherweight respectively) and our Callum is on the Team GB amateur squad.
Trade: I’m a qualified painter and decorator but now I’m a full-time pro.
Nickname: ‘Beefy’. Me dad called me it. I was a fat baby!
What age did you become interested in boxing and why? All me brothers started when they were nine but I was mad on me footy. Even our Callum started before me and every day they’d harass me to give it a go. Finally when I was 14 I went to the Rotunda gym which is right on our doorstep and I liked it straight away.
What do you recall of your amateur career? All four of us boxed at the Rotunda. We’ve never stepped anywhere else. For me first seven fights I was trained by the late Jimmy Albertini. I won ‘em all then lost me first one when I had a different coach. Later Mick McAllister became head coach and me dad and a few others helped out. Mick still trains Tony Bellew today.
All told, I had 78 contests and won 68. I got beat in the national schoolboy finals but I won two Junior ABA titles plus the national Boys Clubs (NACYPs). I’d say winning me first Junior ABA title, beating Luke Smedley of Sheffield in the final when I was 15, was the most satisfying thing I did in the amateurs.
In 2008, I won the senior ABA title at light-welter beating Steve Turner of the Army in the final. I had quite a difficult run, had to fight six times.
I boxed about 17 times for England and only lost three or four. I won Junior and Senior Four Nations gold medals, boxed in all the home countries, plus Canada three times and Italy. In my last amateur contest I lost on a majority to Hungary’s European silver medallist Gyula Kate in Hungary. He was much older than me and very strong.
But I felt I was getting overlooked for the big tournaments. The coaches at the time seemed to favour southpaw boxer types and a few trips I was promised never materialised so I vowed that I’d turn as soon as I won the senior ABAs.
Why did you decide to turn pro when you did? Since I was a kid my style has always been that of an aggressive body puncher so everyone said I’d be better suited to the pros. After winning the ABAs, the 2008 Olympic qualifiers had already taken place. The next Olympics were four years off and the Commonwealth Games another two. Our Paul and Stephen were already pro with Frank Warren and Frank sent me a ‘Good Luck’ text before my ABA final. Shortly after, we had a meeting and then I signed with him.
Tell us about your back up team: Frank manages and promotes me and, after being trained by George and Danny Vaughan for my first six, I’m now coached by Joe Gallagher in Bolton. Joe’a absolutely obsessed with boxing, spends more time with his boxers than he does with his family. Sometimes, he’s at the gym from 10a.m to 10p.m.
Bolton is more convenient that Kerry Kayes’s gym because that was right on the other side of Manchester, over an hour away. Often, Amir will be around, sparring (British lightweight champion Anthony) Crolla.
What’s your training schedule? Which parts do you most and least enjoy? I usually train six days a week. Joe picks which day I’ll rest or just have a massage. He goes a lot on heart monitors so he knows exactly if you’ve been slacking or need resting. It’s all scientific.
We do all the usual stuff over the course of a week like shadow, sparring, the bar-bag, pads but no day is ever the same. You never know what you’re doing and that keeps it interesting. Joe has a great circuit for our conditioning. Some days we’ll not even get to put a glove or a bandage on.
There’s a great squad here with my brothers, the Murrays, (Anthony) Crolla, Scott Quigg, Scott Cardle, Callum Johnson. There’s great camaraderie and we do everything together. We’ll train in the morning then, after lunch, we’ll all sit down and study DVDs of one of the lad’s prospective opponents. Later we all run together; up the hills, on the track or sprinting. Then we’ll finish our day with a swim.
Joe is a great pad man so I enjoy that aspect most. Joe always makes you feel good about yourself. What I really hate is the running. I don’t so much mind the sprints and the track but I hate the hills. Still, it’s got to be done.
Describe your style? What are your best qualities? Like all lads who came through the Rotunda, I’ve got good technique so I can box. But, even through the amateurs, I’ve always been an aggressive body puncher. I stopped the two before my last fight with body shots. I’ve also got a tight defence. I don’t take many silly shots.
What specifically do you need to work on to fully optimise your potential as a fighter? You’d need to ask Joe (Gallagher). He knows all our faults, how to beat all his own lads. More than anything, I think I need to be kept busy and get more experience. Ability wise, I already think I’m ready for title level.
What have you found to be the biggest difference between the pro and amateur codes? The pros have been a real eye opener. Even the little head clashes really hurt and leave lumps and bruises. The other thing is the bandaging and little gloves. They make you feel you could punch holes through walls. It’s scary! I hardly got hit the night I fought Barrie Jones yet I still finished with lumps all over and a black eye. In the pros, believe me, anyone can get knocked out no matter how good they think their chin is. That’s always at the back of your mind.
Who is the best opponent that you’ve shared a ring with? Ability wise, it’d be our Stephen in sparring when I was an amateur or early as a pro. He’d spar 15 rounds straight off, with five or six often heavier lads and he’d drop ‘em all with body shots, including me. People forget how good he is because of one silly night (when he was knocked out by Lee Selby). He’s got everything.
All time favourite fighter: Sugar Ray Leonard. He might not have had quite as much ability as Mayweather but he took more risks which made him more entertaining.
All time favourite fight: I’m not sure but the best fight I’ve seen ‘live’ from ringside would be when Ryan Rhodes stopped Jamie Moore for the European light-middleweight title. I was a huge Jamie Moore fan but Ryan fought him at his own game and ended up knocking him out.
Which current match would you most like to see made? Mayweather-Pacquiao. For me, Mayweather wins a lot easier than everyone thinks. Ability wise, he’s untouchable.
What is your routine on fight day? I’m up quite early, by 9ish, and I like to spend the day with my family. If I’m at a hotel, my brothers will call to see if I need anything, then we’ll all go out to eat together. At the venue, I like to get wrapped early, get me music on and have a bit of banter with me coach, brothers and mates. Joe’ll warm me up on the pads and I’ll get meself in the zone.
I usually don’t suffer much from nerves until the TV fella knocks on the door or Ernie (Draper, the whip) tells me I’m due on. Then the butterflies start rumbling in the belly.
Entrance music: So far I’ve changed every fight. Usually a bit of Coldplay or Kings of Leon. I choose whatever gets me ‘stoked up’ when I’m out running.
What are your ambitions as a boxer? If I can stay busy, I’d like to be at the door of a British title fight by the end of 2012. I think a Lonsdale Belt is important for every British fighter and there’s a lot of extra pressure on me cos both Paul and Stephen have won British titles. That said, I’m confident in my ability to win even more than that.
How do you relax? I still play a lot of footy, Saturday and Sunday league though I ease off if I’ve a fight coming up. I play up front. I’m definitely the best of the four brothers! I also like a bit of snooker and pool with me brothers. It gets very competitive.
Football team: Liverpool. I get to games when I can. This season I went to Stoke away plus a few home games. Our Paul knows Stevie Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.
Read: Boxing News and Boxing Monthly. I’ve never read a book in my life. I just haven’t got the patience.
Music: Coldplay and Kings of Leon.
Films/TV: I’m big into me films. I like action ones, Denzil Washington, Stallone. On the tele, I like me soaps; Corrie and Eastenders.
Aspiration in life: To have a happy, healthy life in which I left no stone unturned.
Motto: The world meets nobody half way!
Tickets, priced £30 and £60 are available from www.vipboxing.com
Heffron v Smith is live and exclusive on Friday 18th May on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 456/Virgin Ch. 546). Join at www.boxnation.com
BoxNation is the first dedicated subscription boxing TV channel in the UK to bring together the biggest names in amateur, domestic and international boxing with an unbeatable schedule of matches from across the globe.
For just £10 per month BoxNation offers unbeatable value for money for all fight fans. To subscribe to BoxNation simply go to www.boxnation.com and hit the “Subscribe Now” button and choose your subscription package. Simple!
LAST CHANCE SALOON FOR HALL
Matthew Hall is promising a 'bloody and brutal' battle against Sam Webb in their British Light-Middleweight title eliminator on Saturday 28th April.
The Manchester puncher takes on the former British Champion at the Royal Albert Hall in a joint chief support with Billy Joe Saunders' English Middleweight title challenge against Tony Hill.
Both fights will be televised live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 456/Virgin Ch. 546).
Hall, a former Commonwealth Champion, says it's his last chance saloon and intends to do a demolition job on the Chislehurst man who lost the British title in his last fight.
"This is it for me, I've got to win the British title or it's the end of the road for me," said the 27-year-old.
"Everything is on the line in this fight and I've got to give it everything I've got to win on the night,"
"It's strange to be say it's my last chance saloon because Webb's three years older than me, but that's the position I'm in,"
"I feel that I'm at the peak of my strength now and I'm physically and mentally ready, so it's now or never,"
"Webb's a good fighter, but he's vulnerable and can be hit easy to hit and I'm going to do a bloody and brutal job on him."
The undercard features some of the best talent in Britain including unbeaten welterweight Bradley Skeete; hard-hitting super-middleweight Frank Buglioni, light-welterweight Bradley Saunders; welterweights Freddie Turner and Dean Byrne.
Tickets, priced at £40, £50, £75 and £100 are available from:
Ticketmaster: 0844 844 0444
Saunders v Hill and Hall v Webb is live and exlcusive on Saturday 28th April on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 456/Virgin Ch. 546). Join at www.boxnation.com
BoxNation is the first dedicated subscription boxing TV channel in the UK to bring together the biggest names in amateur, domestic and international boxing with an unbeatable schedule of matches from across the globe.
For just £10 per month BoxNation offers unbeatable value for money for all fight fans. To subscribe to BoxNation simply go to www.boxnation.com and hit the “Subscribe Now” button and choose your subscription package. Simple!
New AIBA Women's World Ranking revealed
Lausanne, Switzerland, 19 April 2012 - The International Boxing Association is very pleased to announce today its brand new Women's World Ranking.
In a historic year for Women's boxing, with the discipline making its debut at the Olympic Games in London, AIBA wanted to further promote the development of the sport by offering a points and performance based ranking system.
Click HERE to see the AIBA Women's World Ranking
This very first edition includes the results at the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships Barbados 2010, the AIBA Youth Women's World Boxing Championships Antalya 2011, the European Women's Boxing Championships Rotterdam 2011, the 2012 American Women's Championships and the 2012 Asian Women's Championships.
"Launching the AIBA Women's World Ranking makes me really proud. I have always been convinced that the future of our sport will be led by Women's participation. Boxing is growing very fast and I cannot wait to witness the first women boxers competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games", stated Dr Ching-Kuo Wu, AIBA President.
At the upcoming AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships Qinhuangdao 2012, the AIBA Seeding Commission will review all current rankings and approved the seeding immediately after the General Weigh-in and before the Official Draw.
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