BoxRec

I feel for Smith because he is going to enter that stadium fighting two people Canelo and also the judges, to get his hand raised on Saturday night he will need to knock or stop Canelo because there is no way he will get a decision in America ...

After the Lara & to a certain extent Khan bouts (before he got knocked out) proved that there is definitely a Canelo bias in America

What do you guys think ?

I hope so, but I doubt it.

I agree with the OP. I think Smith will put in a credible and perhaps even winning performance but there's no chance he's getting a decision over there and I can't see him knocking Canelo out. Hope I'm wrong and he gets a fair shake from the judges but the smart money would be Canelo on points.

Stuarty30 wrote:I agree with the OP. I think Smith will put in a credible and perhaps even winning performance but there's no chance he's getting a decision over there and I can't see him knocking Canelo out. Hope I'm wrong and he gets a fair shake from the judges but the smart money would be Canelo on points.

Makes my blood boil how we even have to bring this up just wish the judges would score the fight fairly I see Joe Gallagher constantly drilling this in but don't think it will make a slight difference

Stuarty30 wrote:I agree with the OP. I think Smith will put in a credible and perhaps even winning performance but there's no chance he's getting a decision over there and I can't see him knocking Canelo out. Hope I'm wrong and he gets a fair shake from the judges but the smart money would be Canelo on points.

There's a good chance Canelo won't need the judges here.

gilgamesh wrote:

Stuarty30 wrote:I agree with the OP. I think Smith will put in a credible and perhaps even winning performance but there's no chance he's getting a decision over there and I can't see him knocking Canelo out. Hope I'm wrong and he gets a fair shake from the judges but the smart money would be Canelo on points.

There's a good chance Canelo won't need the judges here.

Yeah there's a chance Canelo could get the KO definitely. If he does I think it'll be late on. I fancy Smith to cause him some problems but his level of opposition and lack of big fight experience could go against him.

Canelo is good to watch but far from unbeatable, I wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if Smith outboxed him over 12.

I think Smith can win this by butchering Canelo's body, his chin is too good to be put down from shots to the head. Very intriguing fight, looking forward to it!

DannyMCR wrote:I think Smith can win this by butchering Canelo's body, his chin is too good to be put down from shots to the head. Very intriguing fight, looking forward to it!

Hmm thats interesting mate I think that would be the best strategy but who knows what goes on in Joe's head he could do a Scott Quigg or a Crolla against Barroso and get the game plan perfect

Matty Hatton went the distance with ginger in a gutsy display. Smith should be able to make it to the end. Don't think he will though. Stopped inside 8

Any idea who the officials are yet? I just hope Lawrence Cole isn't the ref. This clown seems to get half the big fights in the state as his Daddy is the commish. If it's Cole then Smith will get warned for throwing punches.

kbackup408 wrote:

DannyMCR wrote:I think Smith can win this by butchering Canelo's body, his chin is too good to be put down from shots to the head. Very intriguing fight, looking forward to it!

Hmm thats interesting mate I think that would be the best strategy but who knows what goes on in Joe's head he could do a Scott Quigg or a Crolla against Barroso and get the game plan perfect

Bit of a flawed genius isn't he, I'm assuming/hoping he learnt a lot from the Quigg fight

Flump wrote:Any idea who the officials are yet? I just hope Lawrence Cole isn't the ref. This clown seems to get half the big fights in the state as his Daddy is the commish. If it's Cole then Smith will get warned for throwing punches.

Was he the guy that kept pulling Burns`s hands down when he fought Figureola? Terrible ref.

I really like this fight and not just because we have a Brit fighting a massive boxing star,stylistically i think this will gel into an excellent fight with a lot of hard shots being thrown with not much feeling out punches afetr the 1st round or 2 are out of the way,ive always said that Smith is our Canelo(without the resume) but i think style wise their similar,both very strong and have that almost immoveable image about them,i can never imagine either guy being stopped,neither guy is particualarly quick and against slippery opponents tend to struggle,both men like to put pressure on their opponents and if the opponents happens to want to trade then that suits them to the ground,both guys work the body well,Beefy maybe more so,i'd maybe even give Liam the edge in speed too,Alvarez is tried and tested at the top level though and headlining a massive bill is nothing new to him

Another thing both guys have is huge self belief,Canelo looked a bit stiff against Mayweather i suppose but shook off the dissapointment and moved on,Smith looks a determined so and so and i doubt he'll have any fears of fighting in front of 80,000 or so fans,he seems to have huge self belief and an almost disrespect for opponents he shares a ring with

I think this will be an excellent fight with both men staying in the pocket working head and body,i think Alvarez's big fight experience will see his arm raised though,not too mention the fact that close rounds always seem to go his way

forcefraser wrote:

Flump wrote:Any idea who the officials are yet? I just hope Lawrence Cole isn't the ref. This clown seems to get half the big fights in the state as his Daddy is the commish. If it's Cole then Smith will get warned for throwing punches.

Was he the guy that kept pulling Burns`s hands down when he fought Figureola? Terrible ref.

Yeah thats the one,i cant stand him either or that clown Jack Reiss

Cole is fornicating awful

I highly doubt Smith stops Canelo and he would probably have to do a number on him to win even narrowly on points. I don't think that will matter much though, as I expect Canelo to win fairly and clearly.

Liam's way out of his depth. It's only a few months ago he was fighting Jimmy Kelly ffs.

forcefraser wrote:Matty Hatton went the distance with ginger in a gutsy display. Smith should be able to make it to the end. Don't think he will though. Stopped inside 8

Yeah , I think Canelo has come on a bit since the Hatton fight .

When this fight was made i said smith will get flattened but as it gets closer i see liam winning,liam wont run and hide and liam can fight just as good as canelo,two solid lmw fighters here it will be like two bulls meeting head on and iv got a feeling beefy can do this

handsofstone wrote:I really like this fight and not just because we have a Brit fighting a massive boxing star,stylistically i think this will gel into an excellent fight with a lot of hard shots being thrown with not much feeling out punches afetr the 1st round or 2 are out of the way,ive always said that Smith is our Canelo(without the resume) but i think style wise their similar,both very strong and have that almost immoveable image about them,i can never imagine either guy being stopped,neither guy is particualarly quick and against slippery opponents tend to struggle,both men like to put pressure on their opponents and if the opponents happens to want to trade then that suits them to the ground,both guys work the body well,Beefy maybe more so,i'd maybe even give Liam the edge in speed too,Alvarez is tried and tested at the top level though and headlining a massive bill is nothing new to him

Another thing both guys have is huge self belief,Canelo looked a bit stiff against Mayweather i suppose but shook off the dissapointment and moved on,Smith looks a determined so and so and i doubt he'll have any fears of fighting in front of 80,000 or so fans,he seems to have huge self belief and an almost disrespect for opponents he shares a ring with

I think this will be an excellent fight with both men staying in the pocket working head and body,i think Alvarez's big fight experience will see his arm raised though,not too mention the fact that close rounds always seem to go his way

100% mate I see people giving Liam stick about his resume but isn't he trying to fight the best now ? Give the kid some chance I think everyone that thinks Liam will be blown out hasn't really seen him tough, tough, lad from L'pool

He stands a chance.

Smith is underrated and I think Canelo and his team are severely underestimating him. Smith's a good boxer, he doesn't excel at anything but he's solid across the board, can bang well, switches his attacks and has good timing.

He needs a KO to win because the biased judges won't give him the decision even if he beats Canelo to a pulp. But Smith has more power than his KO record suggests. Canelo has a good jaw but I wouldn't be TOO shocked if Smith manages to KO him with a body shot.

Liam's opposition is just too poor for me to contemplate him winning this

tigermoth87 wrote:He stands a chance.

Smith is underrated and I think Canelo and his team are severely underestimating him. Smith's a good boxer, he doesn't excel at anything but he's solid across the board, can bang well, switches his attacks and has good timing.

He needs a KO to win because the biased judges won't give him the decision even if he beats Canelo to a pulp. But Smith has more power than his KO record suggests. Canelo has a good jaw but I wouldn't be TOO shocked if Smith manages to KO him with a body shot.

I agree Smith has power and he hits at weird angles he isn't your typical boxer that said I'd say he is a solid 6/10 in every department with his chin being his biggest asset

Canelo will need to throw bombs to dispatch this kid

I don't view this as the same impossible task Brook was up against at the weekend. Although Smiths record is pretty gash I see him and Canelo as more evenly matched. Smart money would be on Canelo but Smith has a chance here. Even if he makes it a good contest he comes away with his reputation at an all time high. He'll probably learn more in this fight than he has in his last ten!

Stuarty30 wrote:I don't view this as the same impossible task Brook was up against at the weekend. Although Smiths record is pretty gash I see him and Canelo as more evenly matched. Smart money would be on Canelo but Smith has a chance here. Even if he makes it a good contest he comes away with his reputation at an all time high. He'll probably learn more in this fight than he has in his last ten!

This