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Merseyside duo Smith and Fielding collide for British title

| 07.11.2015
SPORTSBOOK ODDS

Lee Gormley | November 3, 2015

Callum Smith v Rocky Fielding

  • Vacant British and WBC Silver super-middleweight title fight
  • Saturday, November 7th
  • Scheduled for: 22:00 GMT
  • Echoe Arena, Liverpool
  • Live on Sky Sports 1

Smith and Fielding collide in Merseyside

Liverpool’s undefeated super-middleweight pair Callum Smith and Rocky Fielding collide on Saturday night for the vacant British title, but there will be more than just belts up for grabs in this anticipated Merseyside meeting at the Echoe Arena.

Boxing - Glasgow SECC

Smith possesses all the ring attributes needed to emulate his brother Liam’s recent world title achievements in the near future, but he contests fellow Liverpudlian Fielding for local bragging rights, as well as defending his WBC Silver strap.

Liverpool’s two emerging super-middleweights have both maintained flawless professional records in their promising careers to date, but it’s Smith (17-0, 12 KOs) who is the odds-on 3/10 favourite with Coral for home supremacy.

Fighting for pride of Liverpool

Neither fighter is old enough to remember when British super-middleweights once ran the world, with the likes of Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn having previously dominated the sport, though this talented pair are out to forge their own paths.

Those former glory days could soon be on the rise again, with James DeGale currently the IBF champion, while Martin Murray will soon compete for the WBO belt this month, but this Merseyside duo are capable of being leading lights such a resurgence.

Boxing - Liverpool Echo Arena

“We both respect each other…”

Fighting for the pride of Liverpool, Fielding (21-0, 12 KOs) hails from Stockbridge Village in the west of this famous city, while Smith is a North-end product from highly-regarded Rotunda ABC boxing club, but the pair have refreshingly not required trash talk to promote their bout.

“I don’t really need any bad blood to get myself up for the fight. We both respect each other and we both know each other from our amateur days, so there’ll be no bad blood,” stated Smith.

“If it starts from now, so be it, but either way I’ve just got to get in the ring and do what we’ve worked on for the last 10 weeks. If I do that I’m confident I’ll come out the winner.”

Fielding relishing underdog tag

Smith is another rising talent from the talented brother production line bearing from Liverpool, and is tipped to scale the heights his sibling Liam has recently, but Fielding is relishing his tag as underdog going into this latest bout.

Boxing - Liverpool Echo Arena

“The talk is around Callum, and the pressure,” stated the 28-year-old, who is 5/2 to overcome Smith on their home patch. “I’m going in there to do a job – and I want to do a good job.”

Fielding revealed he has left no stone unturned in preparations for the bout with Joe Gallagher’s 25-year-old prospect Smith.

“We’ve had all types in. We’ve had big, big guys. We’ve had big cruiserweights in, light-heavyweights in and middleweights for their speed,” he continued.

“I’m ready to scrap..”

“We’ve covered everything with our sparring – big, strong lads with good power shots.

Boxing - Liverpool Echo Arena

“It was good sparring but it’s about what I can do to them, and my tactics to get the game-plan ready for the night.

“If it comes to, ‘Let’s have a scrap, let’s fight, let’s get in the centre’ – then I’m prepared to do that.”

Smith will look to continue his rise to prominence and take a step closer towards becoming the second of his family to clinch a world title, while Fielding aims to overcome the odds and maintain his respective unbeaten streak in this British title contest, with Merseyside pride also at stake.

Related

Read our recent exclusive with Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan

See our boxing archive

Coral’s top tip: Callum Smith is headed for a big future in the sport and is odds-on 3/10 to overcome Rocky Fielding.

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Author

Lee Gormley

Lee joined the Coral team in 2014 after studying at Leeds Trinity University, having moved across the water from Ireland, and has plenty of industry experience from his time with various news outlets in both England and Northern Ireland. After graduating with a BA Honours degree in Sports Journalism, he has since become an important member of the talented sports desk, passionately covering boxing, football and snooker, among many other sports. Lee is also a massive Manchester United and Republic of Ireland fan, but curbs any bias during his work, and outside of his job can be found regularly taking part in sport himself, such as boxing, GAA and football.