Liam Smith 153.25 vs Sam Eggington 153
David Price 254 vs Kash Ali 243
Joe Hughes 138.5 vs Robbie Davies Jr 138.5.
Anthony Fowler 153.5 vs Scott Fitzgerald 154
The vacant WBC Silver Super-Welterweight title will be on the line when Liam Smith and Sam Eggington clash at The M&S Bank Arena Liverpool tomorrow evening, shown live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US.
Smith became Liverpool’s first World Champion in over 20 years when he stopped American John Thompson to claim the WBO Super-Welterweight crown at the Merseyside arena in 2015 before making a second successful defence of the title against Predrag Radosevic at the same venue in 2016.
‘Beefy’ hasn’t fought in his home city since and is itching to get back under the lights as he sets about winning back a version of the World title he bravely lost against pound-for-pound star Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in Texas in 2016, and in doing so becoming the city’s first two-time World Champion.
Former European Welterweight Champion Eggington knows he is fighting for his career after suffering a shock stoppage defeat to Tanzania’s Hassan Mwakinyo at Arena Birmingham in September, but insists he will thrive off his underdog tag.
“I’m massively excited for my fight with Sam and I feel it’s a good fight to kick-start my 2019,” said Smith. “It’s even better now there’s a good title on the line for us. I’m just looking to put on a performance for people to think ‘he was a level above’.”
“I’m excited,” said Eggington. “It doesn’t take a genius to know that I’m the underdog in this fight. I quite like it like that. Nothing to lose, everything to win, so I’m looking forward to Saturday night. I’ve put what I can into camp for a tough, hard fight, and on Saturday night I’ll put it all out there.”
Sam Eggington says a win against former World Champion Liam Smith at The M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool on March 30 would fire him straight back into the title mix at 154lbs.
Former European Welterweight champ Eggington admits that his clash with Smith, shown live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US., is make or break after suffering a shock stoppage defeat to Tanzania’s Hassan Mwakinyo at Arena Birmingham in September, but insists he feels no pressure heading into the Merseyside showdown.
‘The Savage’ was preparing to face former World ruler Brandon Rios at Wembley Stadium when he was wiped out by the dangerous African in two rounds, but the Stourbridge man says there is no chance he will be making the same mistake again by overlooking his former sparring partner Smith, who he expects a ‘bloody battle’ with.
“I don’t feel any pressure going into this one,” said Eggington. “The bookies have me down as a huge underdog and that suits me just fine. I’m going to put the work in behind the scenes and come up on the blind side and get a big win that no-one is going to expect. I didn’t think I’d get a huge fight like this so soon after my loss, so to get Liam, a former World Champion, is a huge motivation for me.
“I do a lot of sparring with Liam and he’s a good bloke, they all are at Gallagher’s gym. I think he’d say the same about me, but there’s no room for niceties, come March 30 we’ll be knocking lumps out of each other and I’ll be fully prepared for a bloody battle with him. I’m in no position to be turning down fights like this after what happened. He’s the favourite but we’re quietly confident of getting the win.
“Our spars have always been competitive. You could have sold tickets for some of them! That’s why I’m so confident our fight can’t disappoint on March 30. We’re going to be in 10oz gloves with no head guards, it’s going to be brutal and I can’t wait. It’s guaranteed to be an exciting fight for the fans – I promise you that.”
The 25-year-old, who holds notable victories over Frankie Gavin and Paul Malignaggi, returned to winning ways with a four round decision over Sam Omidi last month. Another win on March 30 could see him return to fringe-World level, and the all-action Brummie is unfazed at the prospect of fighting any contender put in front of him.
“A defeat isn’t the end, I’ve proved that myself. I’ve got a big opportunity to get things back on track later this month. They say you’re only as good as your last fight, so to beat Liam would push me right back up there. That’s the drive for me in this fight. A win would open up doors to bigger fights and get people talking about me as a serious force again.
“By the end of this year I’d like to have beaten Liam and had another big fight against a top operator. There’s plenty of options out there so we’ll see where it goes. I can’t look too far ahead though – look at what happened against Mwakinyo, I was looking too eagerly ahead and I got blown right out, so I’m not going to do anything like that again.”
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Liam Smith will make his long-awaited Liverpool homecoming on March 30 when he takes on Sam Eggington at the M&S Bank Arena, live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Smith became Liverpool’s first World Champion in over 20 years when he stopped American John Thompson to claim the WBO Super-Welterweight crown at the Merseyside arena in 2015 before making a second successful defence of the title against Predrag Radosevic at the same venue in 2016.
‘Beefy’ hasn’t fought in his home city since and is itching to get back under the lights as he sets about winning back a version of the World title he bravely lost against pound-for-pound star Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in Texas in 2016, and in doing so becoming the city’s first two-time World Champion.
Former European Welterweight Champion Eggington knows he is fighting for his career after suffering a shock stoppage defeat to Tanzania’s Hassan Mwakinyo at Arena Birmingham in September.
‘The Savage’ was preparing to face former World ruler Brandon Rios at Wembley Stadium when he was wiped out by the dangerous African, but the Stourbridge man believes a win against Smith would put his name back in the mix for title action at 154lbs.
“It’s a very good fight for me,” said Smith. “I’ve done a lot – and I mean a lot – of sparring with Sam. You know what you are going to get with him. He comes to fight. You aren’t sitting on the edge of your seat wondering what he’s going to bring. You know exactly what he’s bringing.
“It’s the same with me and you know this is going to gel into a good fight. We will meet in the middle. It’s what we both do. I do feel, though, I do everything better than him and beyond. I feel if I ‘turn up’, you will all see what I mean.
“I am a big way back into boxing for him. And as we’ve sparred a lot, whatever confidence he can draw, he will try and draw some from that.
“I’ve got to do a proper job on Sam and a proper job is what I truly believe I will do. Having those little gloves on are so different to sparring and with those 10oz gloves on, I am massively confident I will find those gaps. Everything I throw will hit Sam and I just feel I have too good a variety for him to carry on going.”
Super-Welterweight rivals Anthony Fowler and Scott Fitzgerald put their unbeaten records on the line when they meet in one of the most eagerly-anticipated domestic clashes of the year. Preston’s Fitzgerald says he is a “different level” to Fowler’s previous opponents but ‘The Machine’ has vowed to “go through” his former teammate to set-up a mouth-watering clash with British Champion Ted Cheeseman.
Also on the bill, newly-crowned European Super-Lightweight Champion Joe Hughes clashes with Liverpool’s British Champion Robbie Davies Jnr in another tasty domestic showdown.
Malmesbury’s Hughes will be looking to build on a career-best win after he finally got his hands on the European title at the second time of asking after dominating Andrea Scarpa in Italy. Davies Jnr is looking to take another step up after claiming the British and Commonwealth titles in a bloody and bruising war with Glenn Foot at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle last October.
Popular Heavyweight David Price fights in Liverpool for the first time in nearly three years as he looks to make a fresh charge on the Heavyweight division following his recent win over Tom Little at The O2.
There’s also action for rising Liverpool Cruiserweight talent Craig Glover and ‘Miss GB’ Natasha Jonas, with Liverpool Super-Lightweight Tom ‘Fazza’ Farrell aiming to impress in front of his home crowd and undefeated Super-Lightweight Ged ‘G-Man’ Carroll looking to improve to 10-0.
“I can’t wait to be back in Liverpool on March 30, I love it there!” said Eddie Hearn. “This is one of the best all domestic cards we have put on in the city – Liam Smith returns from his World title defeat to face the all action Sam Eggington in what will be an absolute war and Anthony Fowler faces off against ex GB teammate Scott Fitzgerald in another crunch 154lb clash.
“The British and European Super-Lightweight titles are on the line for Liverpool’s Robbie Davies Jnr and Joe Hughes and big David Price fights in Liverpool for the first time in nearly 3 years as he looks to make a charge in the Heavyweight division after his recent win at The O2. There’s plenty more action with rising Cruiserweight Craig Glover, Tom Farrell and Natasha Jonas – it’s going to be a busy night and a great event on March 30.”
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Liam Smith says it feels like he is making his professional debut all over again as he prepares to take on Sam Eggington in his first fight under the Matchroom Boxing banner at The M&S Bank Arena Liverpool on Saturday, live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US.
‘Beefy’ hasn’t fought in his home city since he successfully defended the WBO Super-Welterweight World title against Predrag Radosevic in June 2016 and the rejuvenated Scouser believes he has something to prove to his new promoter in front of his home crowd as he targets another shot at World glory.
“I’ve got to prove a point to Matchroom that I was worth signing and show them that they made the right decision,” said Smith. “Everything has come for a great time for me. I’m back in Liverpool topping the bill against a decent opponent that a lot of the British public know. The buzz since the fight has been announced has been great for myself.
“I’m at a vital part of my career now. Sam is a good opponent to get started with, but I’ve got to put in a performance, so it’s bad for Sam take the fight at this moment. I am a big way back into boxing for him. And as we’ve sparred a lot, whatever confidence he can draw, he will try and draw some from that.
“I feel like I’m turning pro all over again. This is a new lease of life for me and exactly what I needed at this stage of my career. I’ve got to do a proper job on Sam and a proper job is what I truly believe I will do. It’s my tenth fight at the arena in Liverpool and I’m 9-0 in there, so I look forward to making that 10-0.”
