Liam Smith has grown tired of waiting for Kell Brook to respond, opting to move on and challenge other fighters. And the one he has in mind is likely doable with Jesse Vargas being mentioned. If all goes according to plan, the 33-year-old could face Vargas under the upcoming rematch between Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua.
A Smith vs. Brook showdown was widely touted, especially after the IBF champion's win over Mark De Luca in February. Smith was on hand to witness that fight and his name was suggested in the post-fight as a possible next opponent.
The Brook champ seemed fine with the idea but it appears it never went beyond that. For Smith, the camp of Brook may be aiming for bigger name fights and a heftier payday. And he appears to understand that direction although he is confident that a fight between them will also rack in big revenue, Boxingscene.com reported. He thinks that the person that Brook wants to face is Terence Crawford.
“I don’t think Brook wants the fight. I think he’d rather fight a bigger name like (Terence) Crawford. Someone who if he loses to no-one could give him stick for it,” Smith said.
A clash with Vargas is more doable although Smith may have to wait. The sporting world is on pause right now due to the COVID-19 pandemic and boxing is one of the notable events affected by it. The last time Smith took the ring was in December. He faced Roberto Garcia and won via unanimous decision at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix Arizona.
Smith has fought in 32 matches, winning 29 of them with 16 coming via knockout. He has already suffered two losses in his boxing career. Those were losses to Canelo Alvarez (KO) and Jaime Munguia (decision).
The COVID-19 break should give Smith ample time to get himself in shape and prepare for any fight that may come his way. Aside from that, he is enjoying a new chapter in his life as he looks after her newborn daughter. But he admits that he needs some activity going soon.
“I need to start punching something. My strength and conditioning coach has sent me a lot of bodyweight stuff to do with what I’ve got around me. So I’ll maybe have another week of what I’ve been doing, a couple of runs and shadow and then I’m going to get on it as if I’ve got a fight coming up. Eating right, dieting, and stuff like that,” Smith said.
