HAVING suffered his first professional loss in September, Liam Smith no longer holds a world title. However the former WBO super-welter ruler lost to one of the best โ and most famous โ fighters around in Canelo Alvarez, out in Arlington, Texas. A few weeks on, Boxing News caught up with the affable Liverpudlian to discuss the fight and his future plans.
Looking back, whatโs your take on the fight?
The whole experience was invaluable for me and itโll stand me in good stead, but I still look back and itโs a bitter pill to swallow. Iโm not a sore loser but Iโm going to honest, it was my biggest fight and my biggest challenge and it was also the worst camp Iโve ever had. Iโve got to take pluses from the shape we got in, I was as fit as I could possibly be and I got in very good shape considering the little things that went wrong in camp. The cut that opened on my forehead was the cut that came five weeks before the fight, in hindsight maybe I shouldโve pulled out, I was champion, but thereโs too much fighter in me. The cut in general didnโt bother me, it was the consequences of it. Missing sparring, with that I missed all the timing I usually have and as a fighter you donโt know that until you get in the ring, I was sharp on the pads and everything, but you canโt beat sparring. In round two I thought โmy timingโs not here.โ
Do you regret not pulling out of the fight?
I wouldnโt say I have regrets, itโs just hard to swallow. If I was offered the rematch tomorrow Iโd take it, I know people will laugh at that but Iโd take it. The type of fight I wanted, I got, but I just never capitalised. Thatโs not to say Iโd have won if I had my timing because I donโt know. Believe me, I know I had success but I would have had a lot more success [if the timing was there] and the positions I was in, I know I couldโve capitalised more than I did. One thing I know I have โ ask any of my coaches or sparring partners โ is good timing and variety, and thatโs what I didnโt have on my biggest night to date. I felt like a shot fighter, as in every time Iโve been told about a shot fighter, the shots are there but you canโt throw them. I could see shots but I couldnโt throw them.
So he was in positions where you felt you could catch him.
Absolutely, but it wasnโt my night and maybe it was never meant to be my night. Maybe I wasnโt ready for it just yet. I know, in that fight, he was blowing and letting me get him into the positions I wanted. He didnโt budge me within six rounds, but I stand up for round seven thinking itโs 4-2, 5-1 at worst [on the cards] and the minute I go in thinking I can take over, I get dropped off a head shot. โFor f***s sake.โ And he gets a second wind.
What did you make of Canelo as a fighter?
He was exactly as I expected. Heโs a very good fighter, one that I still think I could mix with, one that Iโd never look out of my depth with. I donโt think I looked that out of my depth in the fight, I donโt think the commentators did me justice though. I know the success I had and how far off my game I was that night, I know I can compete at that level and I can compete with Canelo Alvarez. Heโs a very good fighter. He was also very confident to let off his shots because heโs been at that level, I was a little more safety first. Heโs not a massive, massive puncher, heโs a solid puncher โ which probably sounds a bit hypocritical as I got stopped. Heโs a good fighter, a good person as well.
What did you take from the event as a whole and fight week?
Youโll see in my next fight what I took from it, I milked every moment of it. I walked to the ring with 50,000 Mexicans throwing flags in my face. It didnโt get me a bit. The media were made up with me, I handled it great. Caneloโs been and done it before so he was moaning at times, like when we had to keep doing the head to head for the cameras, but this was my first taste so I was fine with everything, and HBO were very grateful. I take pluses from it, but again, Iโm not happy to lose.
So whatโs next, when are you next out?
I want anything thatโll get me to that world title again. People have a bit of a hard on for Liam Williams. If he comes through the [Ahmet] Patterson fight, Iโll take that fight no problem. Heโs had two [British title] defences, Iโve had two so the winner can hold it outright. Thereโs a high WBO ranking as well so Frank could push to make it an eliminator. If heโs going to take any of my opportunities Iโll fight him tomorrow. Iโm still top dog in Britain, no one can question that and no one better question that because Iโll prove it. I know the big names arenโt fighting until next year. Iโd love those big names, the [Miguel] Cotto fight, Kell Brook, Amir Khan if they fight at 154lbs.
This interview was originally published in the November 3 issue of Boxing News magazine. To subscribe, click here.