Why Isn't ANYONE Talking Up Liam Smith?

[caldo2025]

I'll be the first one to admit that i'm a sucker for underdogs of any kind. Kell Brook aside, as I think that his handlers should be ashamed for ever letting him sign that death sentence. But I was unfamiliar with this kid Liam Smith so I did some digging and looked up some of his old fights and damn, this kid is a bull. Not only does he have power in both hands and a granite chin, the kids got this machismo arrogance that I admire. He's not going to be an easy out for anyone.

So i'm REALLY excited about this fight between Smith and Canelo and i can't understand why no one else is? These two boxers seem like they are both cut from the same material and I really think that this fight could end up being a war and a classic. I was a fan of Canelo until he ran from GGG so i'll be in Smith's corner for this one hoping he shocks the world. Fans should be way more excited about this fight because it's going to be great in my opinion.

Who do you think wins this one? why?

[Counter-puncher]

Nobody is excited, because Smith has entirely faced nobodies, and is stepping up about 3 or 4 levels. So hes more than likely getting tuned up.

[Badhusker]

Smith wouldn't have the title if they didn't strip Andrade. Andrade beats both Smith and Canelo in the same night imo. If you look at Smith's resume, he has beat no one that even avid boxing fans have heard of. In otherwords, an unknown. Its easy to look like a monster against poor opposition. Mismatch of a fight, on paper at least. Add to that most fans don't think too highly of Canelo at the moment for his GGG ducking.

[caldo2025]

Can't you people do anything but pose the same old tired arguments about strengths of schedule and who this guy hasn't fought and who this guy did. Can't you look at talent inside the ring and use the eye test to analyze how talented a boxer is? I've watched 5 of Liam Smith's fights and couldn't tell you the names of the guys he fought but i can tell you that he's got skills. Skills that will make a fight with Canelo VERY entertaining.

[Horse]

Liam Smith doesn't deserve to be talked up.

He is actually getting off very lightly, as he deserves far more abuse than he gets.

[Badhusker]

Can't you people do anything but pose the same old tired arguments about strengths of schedule and who this guy hasn't fought and who this guy did. Can't you look at talent inside the ring and use the eye test to analyze how talented a boxer is? I've watched 5 of Liam Smith's fights and couldn't tell you the names of the guys he fought but i can tell you that he's got skills. Skills that will make a fight with Canelo VERY entertaining.

I prefer to use the same old arguments that are based on facts and real accomplishments, instead of an untrained eye test against nobodies.
By the way, I wonder what is the big surprise Canelo is promising fightnight? Could it be him wearing Oscar's fishnets?

[CaptainSpacerod]

Can't you people do anything but pose the same old tired arguments about strengths of schedule and who this guy hasn't fought and who this guy did. Can't you look at talent inside the ring and use the eye test to analyze how talented a boxer is? I've watched 5 of Liam Smith's fights and couldn't tell you the names of the guys he fought but i can tell you that he's got skills. Skills that will make a fight with Canelo VERY entertaining.

The effectiveness of his or anyone's skills directly correlates to the skill level of the opponent.

In all likelihood Smith's skills here will be neutered to a large extent by Canelo's superior skills.

[gilgamesh]

Probably because they know he's really got no chance. I'd personally like to see the PPV flop badly and fall flat on it's face proving that Canelo hurt his drawing power a lot when he bitched out against GGG.

[Counter-puncher]

Can't you look at talent inside the ring and use the eye test to analyze how talented a boxer is? .

you could do a little test if you want, go onto youtube and look for some of the fights of Diego Chaves, when he was basically unknown in Argentina. the reason i say this is because, when i first saw the guy, i was sure- sure- he would be some big p4p top 10 star. i was positive. The eye-test couldn't fail me, surely?

okay, so then fast-forward to the guy actually fighting someone at world level. turns out, he's a pretty good fighter. but i don't think he's even won a world title fight, still? or maybe one?

I'm saying, dudes often look great against overmatched fighters, then struggle to look so dominant when they step up. that why boxing fans look at records.

[BitPlayer]

Can't you people do anything but pose the same old tired arguments about strengths of schedule and who this guy hasn't fought and who this guy did. Can't you look at talent inside the ring and use the eye test to analyze how talented a boxer is? I've watched 5 of Liam Smith's fights and couldn't tell you the names of the guys he fought but i can tell you that he's got skills. Skills that will make a fight with Canelo VERY entertaining.

The eye test against poor fighters doesn't have a good track record. People consistantly get wrong who the the next superstars are.

[boxing_rocks]

He isn't even a top boxer in his own family

[jamesmcdonnell]

Can't you people do anything but pose the same old tired arguments about strengths of schedule and who this guy hasn't fought and who this guy did. Can't you look at talent inside the ring and use the eye test to analyze how talented a boxer is? I've watched 5 of Liam Smith's fights and couldn't tell you the names of the guys he fought but i can tell you that he's got skills. Skills that will make a fight with Canelo VERY entertaining.

The eye test against poor fighters doesn't have a good track record. People consistantly get wrong who the the next superstars are.

Yeah, it's a very poor test indeed, someone might have skills, but good opponents neutralise them, or impose their own.

[Oiky]

Smith hasn't really done anything significant enough to be talked up and canelo has hurt himself a bit after all the bring me ggg talk and then fighting smith, yellow streak in him

FairPlay to smith, he won't be frightened, he's just not good enough

[caldo2025]

Can't you look at talent inside the ring and use the eye test to analyze how talented a boxer is? .

you could do a little test if you want, go onto youtube and look for some of the fights of Diego Chaves, when he was basically unknown in Argentina. the reason i say this is because, when i first saw the guy, i was sure- sure- he would be some big p4p top 10 star. i was positive. The eye-test couldn't fail me, surely?

okay, so then fast-forward to the guy actually fighting someone at world level. turns out, he's a pretty good fighter. but i don't think he's even won a world title fight, still? or maybe one?

I'm saying, dudes often look great against overmatched fighters, then struggle to look so dominant when they step up. that why boxing fans look at records.

I'm not saying that Liam Smith is a top P4P fighter but I think that he's going to present a much tougher fight for Canelo then most people think. Canelo and GB obviously are trying to collect the easiest world titles that they could find. Cotto was some low hanging fruit and now they go after what most consider to be the worst of the 154 pound champions.

After watching Smith fight, I can honestly say that this will be a very difficult fight for Canelo and he will be tested. I Canelo has the more polished game and now he's got a deadly faint move that he's used in his last 3 KO's but Smith doesn't appear to me to be a guy that is getting knocked out. He seems to love to exchange leather and he does some great work to the body.

I'm actually still a fan of Diego Chavez. I had him beating Timothy Bradley and Kell Brook backed out of fighting him for some reason because he's a full nights work.

You obviously have to use common sense with the eye test i guess. If Smith were moving up to fight Andre Ward at 168, i'd obviously not think he'd fair very well. But he's fighting at his limit against a guy that hasn't really faced any bombers yet at this weight. That's arguable though but I'm going to go ahead and say that this will be a VERY good fight and a definite FOY candidate.

One thing that i do know for a fact is that Liam Smith will not be an unknown worldwide after this fight. His style will grow a fanbase.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I've never seen him fight and that won't change in a few weeks.

[caldo2025]

Can't you people do anything but pose the same old tired arguments about strengths of schedule and who this guy hasn't fought and who this guy did. Can't you look at talent inside the ring and use the eye test to analyze how talented a boxer is? I've watched 5 of Liam Smith's fights and couldn't tell you the names of the guys he fought but i can tell you that he's got skills. Skills that will make a fight with Canelo VERY entertaining.

The eye test against poor fighters doesn't have a good track record. People consistantly get wrong who the the next superstars are.

Yeah, it's a very poor test indeed, someone might have skills, but good opponents neutralise them, or impose their own.

There are a couple schools of thought from members of this site. Most people have to take a magnifying glass to someone's record to identify how good they are. Others choose to use their eyes and put more weight on recent fights because honestly, what does a fight 5 years ago have to do with a fight next month? Very little.

Every boxer has a peak. Some have more than one but for the most part, they only have one and each fight after that they get a bit worse each time out. Liam Smith is 28 and doing nothing but knocking the people out they put up against him. I love what i see and at the very least, I think we are going to see an excellent fight. Canelo is not walking through this kid.

[Badhusker]

The eye test against poor fighters doesn't have a good track record. People consistantly get wrong who the the next superstars are.

Yeah, it's a very poor test indeed, someone might have skills, but good opponents neutralise them, or impose their own.

There are a couple schools of thought from members of this site. Most people have to take a magnifying glass to someone's record to identify how good they are. Others choose to use their eyes and put more weight on recent fights because honestly, what does a fight 5 years ago have to do with a fight next month? Very little.

Every boxer has a peak. Some have more than one but for the most part, they only have one and each fight after that they get a bit worse each time out. Liam Smith is 28 and doing nothing but knocking the people out they put up against him. I love what i see and at the very least, I think we are going to see an excellent fight. Canelo is not walking through this kid.

The thing is, even his last 4 or 5 opponents aren't great. I seriously wonder how he walked up to even fight for the vacant title? Rankings must have been weak. Even the habitual liar DLH cant spin this fight as something good. (Although i would love it if Smith beat Canelo)

[caldo2025]

Yeah, it's a very poor test indeed, someone might have skills, but good opponents neutralise them, or impose their own.

There are a couple schools of thought from members of this site. Most people have to take a magnifying glass to someone's record to identify how good they are. Others choose to use their eyes and put more weight on recent fights because honestly, what does a fight 5 years ago have to do with a fight next month? Very little.

Every boxer has a peak. Some have more than one but for the most part, they only have one and each fight after that they get a bit worse each time out. Liam Smith is 28 and doing nothing but knocking the people out they put up against him. I love what i see and at the very least, I think we are going to see an excellent fight. Canelo is not walking through this kid.

The thing is, even his last 4 or 5 opponents aren't great. I seriously wonder how he walked up to even fight for the vacant title? Rankings must have been weak. Even the habitual liar DLH cant spin this fight as something good. (Although i would love it if Smith beat Canelo)

You aren't forking out any money for this fight ha? From the looks of it, i'm the only sucker that's going to.

In a way, I do want these PPV numbers to be putrid for what GB and Canelo did with that GGG farce. I think Mexicans and Brits will still buy in though. I think the fight might do ok.