The Smiths: Why Liam Smith and his three brothers are the most extraordinary family in British boxing | boxing news

Chris Eubank Jr is the son of a British boxing legend. But when he takes on Liam Smith this Saturday, he’ll be up against another dynasty in the sport.

The Smiths are the most extraordinary and ordinary family in sports. The brothers have been at the center of some of the biggest events in British boxing for the last decade and more.

As long as one is fighting, the other brothers won’t be far behind. But they have their roots in their hometown of Liverpool. They have no great desire to pursue celebrity. They are still close to their original amateur boxing club.

Liam Smith still plays football for a local team on Sunday mornings, whether he was boxing on Saturday night or not.

Siblings feel more comfortable in each other’s company. They seem normal.

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

“This boxing is short,” he continued. “Boxing is a short race, boxing is over and then what?

“Once you’re done boxing, nobody wants to meet you again. It’s a crazy circle.”

But it’s impossible to imagine another family achieving what they already have in British boxing. Liam, Paul, Callum and Stephen Smith have been British Champions. All of them have challenged for world titles. Liam and Callum Smith have already been world champions.

Paul Smith, the eldest, led the way. He packed Liverpool’s Echo Arena with his British title fights. He lost to George Groves and James DeGale in 2010 and 2011 but rebuilt.

He worked his way up to a world title fight with Arthur Abraham, whom he boxed twice. He even faced future Hall of Famer Andre Ward in Oakland.

By the time Stephen Smith completed his twelfth professional fight, he had won the British and Commonwealth featherweight titles.

In 2016 he faced José Pedraza for the IBF featherweight title and also fought Jason Sosa for a “regular” WBA title that same year, losing those on points decisions.

In 2021 he decided to join his older brother Paul Smith in his retirement.

But Liam and Callum Smith are still active at the highest level and both are still in the hunt for their second world titles.

Callum Smith is the youngest of the four brothers and was a stellar fan like the others. He won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, as did Paul, while Stephen Smith was a gold medalist in 2006.

A boxer from Great Britain alongside Anthony Joshua, Josh Taylor and more, was incredibly unlucky when he was denied a spot at the 2012 London Olympics.

He stood out as a professional. In 2015 he stopped Rocky Fielding in the first round at Echo Arena to become the fourth Smith brother to win the British title. He also won the European super middleweight title in his next fight via first-round knockout.

He entered the World Boxing Super Series and fought his way to the final. He stopped George Groves to win the Muhammad Ali trophy, the WBA title and get some revenge for the latter’s victory over his older brother Paul.

He lost his world championship to Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez in 2020, but has re-emerged as a force at light heavyweight, most recently defeating Mathieu Bauderlique to confirm his place as the mandatory challenger for the WBC title.

Next he will challenge the fearsome Artur Beterbiev for the unified light heavyweight titles.

In Canelo Callum and Liam Smith have a common opponent. Álvarez fought Liam Smith in 2016, at super welterweight in an outdoor arena in Texas. It was one of the biggest fights of Smith’s career to date and he was already a seasoned world champion by then.

Liam Smith has been a British and Commonwealth Champion. He won an ‘interim’ WBO title when he first beat Liam Williams. He fought Jaime Munguía in Las Vegas. Although he lost that fight on a points decision, he got his best form back. Since then he has boxed everywhere from Liverpool to Russia to Mexico to New York, impressing in every match along the way.

Of course, he knocked out Chris Eubank Jr when they fought in January. That win is another chapter in the Smiths’ legacy.

He knows how much it meant. “This also keeps my career on the rise and makes our name better and better,” said Liam Smith. sky sports.

“This just adds to this. All four of us have been British champions, all four of us have fought for world titles, two of us have been world champions.

“We have fought in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Monte Carlo… We have won around 30 titles, if you count the English, British, European, intercontinental ones here and there. I think we have won 30 titles.

“This just keeps adding up. It adds up to all of our family history. When the book or movie is made, it just adds up.”

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

“They’re great for British boxing. When I first turned pro, Paul Smith was British title level, he could have been British champion. They were always talking about younger brothers being stars. Stephen, the next oldest, was A standout fan. Wrestler who didn’t go to the Olympics but was definitely in the race for qualification and the other two did the same,” he added.

“Callum, who I boxed with, was huge for the weight, a good boxer, a great puncher and now he’s doing brilliant things.

“There’s a bit more of a grudge in Callum and Liam, the youngest of the Smith brothers, maybe they had to have more of a grudge growing up with older brothers!”

Liam Smith denies being a man who is always angry. “I think that’s the way I see it. That’s why a lot of people say they think Eubank is under my skin,” he said.

“I’m argumentative. That’s my character. You’re not going to get me to come and play whatever game or prank Eubank is up to.”

Paul Smith has watched his brother box as closely as anyone. He points out that he performs well when he’s angry. “Liam is one of those fighters that will fight better with a bit of edge and a bit of animosity,” he said. “Liam is at his happiest face to face.

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

He says that during a fight, when Liam Smith smiles, that’s when he’s dangerous.

“Once he starts smiling in the ring, I get a lot more relaxed when I see Liam start smiling in the ring because he knows he’s got it. When he starts smiling, it’s a problem. People think smiling is like a sign or a weakness.

“When he smiles, he’s happy, he’s seen something and he’s happy. So once that starts we can relax a little bit.”

The three brothers will be keeping an eye out for this when they front row at the Manchester Arena on Saturday.

Liam Smith believes that the fact that they have all been through moments like these together is the foundation of their success.

“We’re very close and we feel like we’ve been here before because of everything we’ve done,” he said.

“One of us went on to compete for a world title, then the next followed, then the next and one followed that. It’s the same with British titles. We feel like we’ve all been in those places before.”

“Anytime someone is preparing for a big night, a big challenge, it seems like we’ve all been there before. It’s just helped us all.”

Sensitization

The Smith brothers often box with the word autism embroidered on the back of their shorts. They work to raise awareness and understanding about the condition.

They were inspired to do so by their own personal experience. One of her sisters was diagnosed with autism. When that happened years ago, the brothers were just children but they themselves did not understand what it meant.

“Our sister is autistic and we will continue to try to raise awareness and continue to reach out to the public. There are still people who have sons or daughters who are diagnosed with autism and still don’t know what it is.” Which is the same position that me, Paul, Stephen and Callum were in when my mum sat us down and said she was autistic,” said Liam Smith. sky sports. “I remember it like it was yesterday.

“She said: ‘It’s classed as a disability and he may not talk. If he doesn’t talk by the time he’s 10, he’ll never talk.’

“At the time we had no idea what autism was. So for years and years we tried, and still do, to raise as much awareness as possible. Now it’s more [understood]. We fight with it in our shorts, every t-shirt we’ve ever made has autism, we do a lot for schools, obviously, for charities. For that day when he said he was autistic, we said what is that?

“The more we raise awareness about this, the more other people will know about it when it comes.

“She [their sister] It’s unique. She is a character in herself. We have our good days, we have our bad days with her, but we’ve had that for over 21 years. We would not change her way of being for anything in the world now.

“We have some tough days with her and she has some great days. She’s autistic and we wouldn’t trade that for the world.”

Liam Smith vs Chris Eubank Jr II is live Sky Sports Box Office on Saturday