WHEN undefeated British light-middleweight champion Liam Smith was asked to place his weekly diet under the scrutiny of Dr James Morton for the My Diet section of next week’s Boxing News magazine (April 14/16), he had no reason to be worried. Liverpool’s clinical Smith is as disciplined in the ring as out.
“I usually stick to the same diet when I’m out of training camp, although I will have a bit of junk food as well,” he revealed. “I’m always on the weight and I’m always making sure I’m on the weight, so I don’t change what I eat outside of camp.”
Smith used to eat mainly high-protein staples like fish and chicken but has become more experimental as he has got older, including trying exotic meats, like ostrich.
“I made that change about two years ago, just before I won the British title,” he explained. “I’ve certainly felt a difference since making that change, it’s a lot easier to diet because before I was just having the same meal over and over but now it’s always different, so I’m enjoying what I eat. I made the change because I had started trying a few different meats, like ostrich, and liked them, so I just made the switch.
“Callum [his super-middleweight brother] is the same, he always has been, but I’m the fussy eater in the family so it was a lot harder for me before we made these changes, it was boring.”
Nutrition is certainly a family affair, with the four brothers – Stephen and Paul are the eldest two – receiving help from both parents, and it’s a dynamic that works.
“My mum does the shopping for us, she’s been doing it for a long time now so she always knows what to get,” Liam continued. “My dad does the meal planning as he cooks it, so it’s mainly in their hands.
“I don’t think there will be any need for me to change anything too much in the future, as long as I feel comfortable making the weight then there won’t be any changes to my diet.”
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