On November 7th, Callum Smith will be doing battle with rival Rocky Fielding. And the fact this bout is going ahead at all is very refreshing for boxing fans – particularly those on UK shores. Unbeaten prospects often steer clear of threatening domestic opponents, but Smith and Fielding are about to do the exact opposite.
These Liverpudlian pugilists deserve a lot of respect for signing the contract. Let’s remember that both men are very close to challenging for world titles, and that the loser will face a major setback. Fellow Brit James DeGale is testament to that; after losing a razor’s edge decision to George Groves, it took the guy years to rebuild and land a world title shot.
Smith and Fielding, who are former Amateur club-mates, will be squaring off for the British (Londsdale) belt in what could become yet another derby grudge match. British boxing’s most recent derby was that between Hull’s finest Lightweights, Luke Campbell and Tommy Coyle. Not a bad scrap at all.
“It was offered and I’ve always said I want to win the British title and I think if I don’t fight for it now, I probably won’t ever fight for it,” Smith told Boxing News. “I’m also 100 percent confident I’ll win, so rather than wait around for a world title shot I might as well win it to fulfill my ambition, vacate it and move on.”
Smith went on to assure that though a healthy rivalry exists between them, there’s no bad blood as of yet.
“We boxed at the same amateur gym and he’s quite a quiet person but he seems to pipe up a bit on Twitter. We speak less now we’re going to fight but there’s no genuine needle. I’m looking forward to it, it’s a big local derby and there’s a lot of interest in it at the minute.”
Smith (17-0, 12 KO) and Fielding recently fought on the same card back in June, taking on their toughest tests to date. Fielding (21-0, 12 KO) made a huge statement by dismantling Brian Vera in just 2 rounds, while Smith fought to a hard-earned 12 round Unanimous Decision over Christopher Rebrasse.
This is a hard one to call, indeed. Who are you picking in Callum Smith vs Rocky Fielding?
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