The Smiths: Why Liam Smith and his three brothers are the most special family in British boxing | Boxing News

Chris Eubank Jr. is the son of boxing legend Chris Eubank. But when he boxs with Liam Smith on Saturday, he’ll be up against another dynasty of British boxing.

The Smith family is one of the most extraordinary and ordinary families in sports. The brothers have been at the center of some of the biggest events in British boxing over the past decade.

Whenever someone is fighting, the other brothers never stray far. They do not have a strong desire to pursue fame. They are still close to the original amateur boxing club.

Liam Smith plays soccer for his local team on Sunday mornings, whether he was boxing Saturday night or not. sky sports news I found out this week.

The brothers are most at ease in each other’s company. they look normal.

“We are,” said Liam Smith. “Family is everything.”

“This boxing is short,” he continued. “Boxing career is short, boxing is over, what’s next?

“Once boxing is over, no one wants to know about you anymore. It’s a mad ring.”

But it is impossible to imagine another family achieving what they already have in British boxing.Liam, Paul, Callum and Stephen Smith are all British champions. They have all challenged for world titles. Liam and Callum Smith are already world champions.

Paul Smith, the oldest, took the lead. He packed out Liverpool’s Echo his arena in the British title fight. He lost to George Groves and James DeGale in his 2010 and his 2011 but rebuilt.

He was on his way to a world title fight with Arthur Abraham and he boxed twice. He faced future Hall of Famer Andre Ward in Oakland.

By the time Stephen Smith completed his 12th bout as a professional, he had won both the British Featherweight and Commonwealth Featherweight titles.

In 2016, he won the IBF Featherweight title with Jose Pedraza, and the same year he fought Jason Sosa for the WBA “Regular” title, but lost in a points decision.

In 2021, I decided to retire my brother Paul Smith.

But Liam and Callum Smith are still active and in the hunt for a second world title.

Callum Smith was the youngest of four brothers and was, like the others, a good amateur. Stephen Smith was his 2006 gold medalist, but he, like Paul, won silver at his Commonwealth Games.

An English boxer alongside the likes of Anthony Joshua and Josh Taylor, he was very unlucky to be denied entry to the 2012 London Olympics.

Worked professionally. In 2015, he stopped Rocky Fielding in the first round at Echo Arena, becoming the fourth Smith brother to win the British title. won the title.

He entered the World Boxing Super Series and reached the final. He stopped George Groves to earn Muhammad Ali his trophy, the WBA title, and a means of revenge for the latter’s victory over his brother Paul.

He lost the World Championship to Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez in 2020, but has made a comeback in the light heavyweight division, most recently beating Mathieu Baudrick to establish himself as a mandatory challenger for the WBC title. bottom.

Canelo Callum and Liam Smith have a common opponent. Alvarez fought Liam Smith at super-welterweight in an outdoor stadium in Texas in 2016. It was his one of the biggest fights of Smith’s career to date, and he was already an experienced world champion at the time. was the champion.

Liam Smith is British and Commonwealth Champion. He won the WBO ‘interim’ title when he defeated Liam Williams for the first time. He fought Jaime Munguia in Las Vegas. Although he lost that bout by points decision, he regained his best form. bottom.

But he knows Saturday’s Chris Eubank Jr. in Manchester will be his biggest night in the UK. A win this weekend would mark a new chapter in Smith’s legacy.

“Everything, it means a lot to all of us. It continues to improve my career and make our name better and better,” said Liam Smith. sky sports.

“This is just to add, we are four British champions, four world title challengers and two world champions.

“We’ve fought in LA, San Francisco, New York, Vegas, Monte Carlo… if you count England, England, Europe, Intercontinental here and there, we’ve won about 30 titles. I think we’ve won 30. Titles.

“This just keeps adding up. It adds to all our family history. As the books are made and the films are completed, it just adds up.”

Even former opponents Groves had to admit what they did. “They are very good for British boxing, a very talented family,” he said. sky sports.

“They are great for British boxing. When I first turned pro, Paul Smith was title level in England. He could have been British champion. Didn’t compete in the Olympics.” But he was definitely a fighter who was in the qualifiers, and the other two followed suit,” he added.

“The Callum I boxed with is huge for his weight, he’s a good boxer, he’s a big puncher, and he’s doing great right now.

“Callum and Liam, the Smith brothers’ younger brothers, are a bit more mean. Maybe they should have been more mean when they grew up with their older brothers!”

Smith punches with poison. That aggression is part of the style that makes him successful.But Groves said, “If Liam loses his composure [with Eubank], he may get stuck. “

Liam Smith denies being the angry man all the time. “I think that’s how I meet. That’s why a lot of people say they think Eubank is under my skin,” he said.

“I’m argumentative. That’s my personality. You’re not going to let me do the games and antics that Eubank is playing. I’m sitting there and saying, ‘I have to be 60%.’ Just by being there, I’ll never say ‘I’ll beat him’.

“If I did that antics, my mother would [would tell him off].”

Paul Smith has seen his brother boxing closer than anyone. He says it works better when he’s angry. “Liam is one of those fighters who fights better with a little needle and a little animosity,” he said.

“That’s where he feels most comfortable and confident.”

He says he’s dangerous when Liam Smith smiles.

“When he starts smiling in the ring, it’s more relaxing to see Liam start smiling in the ring because he knows he’s got him. He starts smiling. But that’s the problem: people think that his smile is something of a secret and a weakness.

“When he’s smiling, he’s happy. He sees something and he’s happy. So when it starts, you can relax a little bit.”

The three brothers take care of that when they’re ringside at Manchester Arena on Saturday.

Liam Smith believes that having spent moments like this together is at the core of their success.

“We’re so close and everything we’ve been doing feels like we’ve been here before,” he said.

“One of us kept trying for a world title, then another, then another, and then another, and the same for the UK title.

“It’s like we’ve all been there before, every time someone gets ready for a big night, a big challenge. It helped us all.”

raising awareness

The Smith brothers usually box with the word autism sewn onto the back of their shorts.

They were inspired to do so because of their own personal experiences. One of the sisters was diagnosed with autism. When it happened many years ago, the brothers were still children, but they didn’t understand what it meant.

“I remember like it was yesterday when my mom told me she had autism,” said Liam Smith. behind the rope.

“She said, ‘This is classified as a disability, so you may not be able to speak. If you don’t speak by the time you’re 10, you won’t be able to speak.'”

“At the time, we didn’t know what autism was. That’s why over the years, we’ve tried to raise as much awareness as possible, and we still do.” now more [understood]We fight autism in shorts, every t-shirt we make is autism and we do a lot for schools, obviously charities. What did we say it was for that day when you said you were sick?

“Girlfriend [their sister] It’s a one-off. she is a character in her own right. We’ve had good days and bad days with her, and it’s been going on for over 21 years.

“We’ve had tough days with her, but she’s had great days. She has autism and we’re not going to change that for the world.”

Chris Eubank Jr. vs Liam Smith will air live on Sky Sports Box Office on Saturday, January 21st.Book now if you are sky tv subscribers or Sky TV non-subscribersBuy your tickets here.