Sean
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Saturday 26th April -
Liam Smith vs Aaron McKenna
Intriguing middleweight match up this one as its basically a must win for both fighters in my eyes , for Liam Smith (38 Fights - 33 Wins (20 KOs) - 4 Losses - 1 Draw) its a case of he has to win this one to stay relevant and so that he can re establish himself and challenge for titles whereas for McKenna (19 Fights - 19 Wins (10 KOs) its important that he wins so that he can announce himself on the world stage and have a decent scalp on his resume to say that he can handle experienced , top flight opposition. The two obvious questions are how much has Beefy got left in the tank and is McKenna ready for this step up ?? .. Smith has been a world champion , and has basically been there , seen it , done it and worn the t shirt ... several times .. hasnt fought for a while , last time we saw him was when he lost to Chris Eubank Jr back in September of 2023 so its been a while since hes been in the ring , was due to face Josh Kelly in September of last year but had to withdraw due to illness , so thats a little concerning but as i say hes an old hand so he knows the score and whats expected so hopefully it wont prove to be too much of a problem. Only lost four and they were against Canelo Alvarez , Jaime Munguia , Magomed Kurbanov and Chris Eubank Jr (after he'd won the first fight) so decent names and shows that he can hold his own in the division. Now 36 years of age and has been involved in some proper wars over the years so , as i said earlier , its hard to tell how much he has left in the tank which makes this match up interesting .. McKenna was a potential Olympian but decided instead to turn professional on his 18th birthday and he hasnt looked back since .. His last two fights have bothe ended by way of stoppage , first one against Mickey Ellison when his corner threw in the towel in the sixth round and then last time he stopped Jeovanny Estela in the tenth , ref stopped it due to unanswered punches .. both of those fights were last year , but this one is gonna be on a whole different level as hes never faced anyone of Smiths calibre and experience in the ring before and im looking forward to seeing how he copes as hes definatley a name for the future i think. Personally from what ive seen so far i dont think McKenna is quite ready for someone like Smith , thats not to say that he cant win obviously , but i just think that Smith is an experienced wily ol fox and i can see him doing enough to take this one .. as i say its all dependant on what hes got left , i think hes good for a fight or two yet and he doesnt mind knuckling down and riding the storm when it gets rough , thats something we dont know about McKenna yet , how does he do when things aint going his way , like i say this one is a proper fascinating puzzle in alot of respects and its gonna be interesting to see how it plays out .. McKenna has a lot going for him i have to say , youth (9 years younger) , a sizable height and reach advantage and hes a very busy fighter but for me Smiths experience counteracts alot of that imho and like i said earlier i think he comes out on top in this but i dont think hes gonna have it all his own way and can see some rocky moments for him during the fight but ultimately i think he wins.
Liam Smith To Win
Anthony Yarde vs Lyndon Arthur
Gotta be honest and say i like both boxers but really not that fussed about this trilogy fight , i understand why its happening as its one a piece at the moment , but given the way Yarde stopped him in the second fight i really cant see any reason for this third , but its happening so i'll do a write up and say my piece and give my un-informed opinion .. Yarde (29 Fights - 26 Wins (24 KOs) - 3 Losses) has won his last three (last two of those in 2024) winning two of those by knock out , before that he was stopped by Artur Beterbiev , one of the best around so no shame in that at all , but there were times in that Beterbiev fight where he looked very good and was troubling Beterbiev until he finally ground him down and won by an eight round TKO , his other two losses have come to Lyndon Arthur (in their first fight back in 2020) and before that Sergey Kovalev , so two of those losses came to a pair of the best light heavies out there , and in the first Arthur fight he did have genuine excuses in that he lost his dad and three of his grand parents to corona virus within days of each other and his head was all over the place (first fight happened in 2020) , but fair play he never used that as a reason for the loss its juts a stated fact. Arthur (26 Fights - 24 Wins (16 KOs) - 2 Losses) hasnt been seen since June of last year when he beat Liam Cameron by a split decision , and in all fairness that was a close fight i thought that could of gone either way and before that he was took to the cleaners by Dmitry Bivol by a unanimous decision , no shame in that obviously ! Both fighters know each other well so i dont envisage any major surprises tbh , Arthur will use his effective jab and whilst i think hes the better boxer he always has to be wary of Yardes' aggression and power which he has in abundance. I think this one will go the same way as the second fight , i think Arthur boxes well enough in the early stages of the fight but from , maybe , round four onwards Yardes' gonna up the pressure and come on strong and imo i think theres a fair chance that Yarde stops him again.
Anthony Yarde To Win .. By Stoppage
Viddal Riley vs Cheavon Clarke
Not a bad match up this one i think , should be a decent fight and could well be the fight of the night. Viddal Riley (12 Fights - 12 Wins (7 KOs) comes into this on the back of a second round TKO of Dan Garber back in December of last year , before that he beat the decent Mikael Lawal by decision retaining his English Cruiserweight title , had a decent amateur career winning 8 national championships , a European Silver Medal and was a youth Olympian in 2014. He had a decent record as an amateur 41 wins - 8 losses with 19 KOs , thats a decent KO rate considering it was in the amateurs so all in all he has a decent pedigree. Clarke (11 Fights - 10 Wins (7 KOs) - 1 Loss) arrives on the back of his first loss in the pro's , losing to the unbeaten Frenchman Leonardo Mosquea by a split decision , before this he beat Nigerian Efetobor Apochi on points Looked a bit lack lustre last time for me , so will definatley have to up his game for this one imho. He looked a different beast when stopping Ellis Zorro in the eight round to win the vacant British Crusierweight title , and the fact that hes defending that strap here suggests to me that he'll be in peak form. Neither are out n out bangers but both carry decent power , but for me Riley is the more skilful and better ring technician. Clarke will try to put it on Riley i think but i reckon that Riley , with a height and reach advantage , will be cagey and crafty and rely on his better skills/ring IQ. Definatley a hard one to call as i can see a path to victory for both fighters but im edging towards Riley as the winner , although that could change as im not 100% confident.
Viddal Riley To Win
Chris Billam-Smith vs Brandon Glanton
Looking forward to this one i gotta say , has all the ingredients for a potentially explosive encounter. Billam-Smith (22 Fights - 20 Wins (13 KOs) - 2 Losses) isnt the slickest of boxers or one of the hardest punchers around rather relying on heart , grit and determination amongst other things , but you're always guaranteed a good , solid fight when hes in the ring .. a case in point would be his last fight where he lost a unanimous decision and the WBO Cruiserweight Title (along with the WBA (Super) Cruiserweight Title .. he gave a good account of himself i thought but ended the fight with a broken thumb , damaged ribs , fractured left hand and a cut left eye needing stitches but was still standing and fighting at the end of it .. Thats not to say he hasnt got a decent skillset , he has , and he judges the distance well and isnt without power as he has some decent stoppages under his belt it has to be said. Before that Ramirez loss last time he avenged his only other loss by out pointing Richard Riakporhe by UD. American Brandon Glanton (22 Fights - 20 Wins (17 KOs) - 2 Losses) has the exact same record as Billam-Smith albeit with four more KOs to his name , arrives looking for his fourth win on the bounce and has promised a fire fest and a war and as a come forward , heavy hitting type of fighter i can see that happening. Won the vacant WBO International Cruiserweight Title in his penultimate fight beating the experienced Croatian Emil Markic by stoppage. Wont bother him fighting here in England as in his last four fights hes fought in four different countries , Russia , Dubai , USA and France. He likes to keep active looking at his record with at least two fights a year , although this will be his first of this year. He suffered his first pro loss to David Light back in December 2022 when fighting for the vacant WBO Global Cruiserweight and WBO International Cruiserweight Titles , and despite the loss he still managed to drop Light in the tenth round , he followed that up with another loss to the unbeaten Russian Soslan Asbarov , again by decision. I think on the whole that Billam- Smith has the better resume and has faced the better opposition to date , and hes definatley been up against more skillful boxers and ones that can hit equally , if not more than , hard as Glanton , so if he can take Glantons power i think theres a fair chance that he can come out of this one victorious , but its in the back of my mind that he did have a hard fight last time , and that left eye often opens up which is a concern obviously. If Billam-Smith can take Glantons best shots then i can see him outworking him and getting a decision win , possibly even a stoppage , but if he cant then its game over and i see a Glanton stoppage win. Definatley a few what ifs in this one and for me a 50/50 fight but i think the Brit can come out on top and resume winning ways.
Chris Billam Smith To Win
Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn
As i said earlier in the thread i just cant get excited about this fight for various reasons but its happening so i'll give my thoughts on it. Gotta say straight off the bat that its a difficult one to weigh up to be honest , so many ways this could pan out and so many imponderables that could come into play makes it hard to try and work out i think. Eubank Jr (37 Fights - 34 Wins (25 KOs) - 3 Losses) stopped Pole Kamil Szemereta last time in the seventh round , and before that avenged his loss to Liam Smith by stopping him in the tenth round. Before this he suffered his first stoppage loss to Liam Smith by a fourth round stoppage but ive often thought that could be as a result of the effects of the weight cut he had to do for the initial Benn fight which was later cancelled as prior to this his chin had held up well , whereas Conor Benn (23 Fights - 23 Wins (14 KOs) is yet to taste defeat in his career , last two fights have been in the States , because he couldnt fight here in the UK because of the ban he had which was later revoked , he won both of them by unanimous decision and in all honesty though theres no quibble that he won both , for me , he looked lacklustre , and was lacking that 'pop' in his shots that he had beforehand when he was last seen stopping Chris Van Heerden and Chris Algieri. Theres no doubting that this is the biggest fight of Benns' career so far , hes never fought at this level before where on the other hand Eubank Jr has been fighting decent names for a long while i.e. James Degale , Arthur Abraham , Liam Smith , Billy Joe Saunders , George Groves .. none of them elite to be honest but all decent Fringe / World class opponents , and for him in some respects this could be seen as a step down in opposition / class. For me Benns' best wins to date have come against Chris Algieri , Chris Van Heerden and the German Sebastian Formella who are all decent enough but as i say i think this will be his toughest test to date. Benn is going up two weight classes for this and there is of course the rehydration clause for Eubank , Benn has fought a couple of times at 154 (the fights in the States the last twice) , and Eubank Jr is more of a 168 fighter than a 160 one , thats the main thing for me about this fight , after getting down to the weight and the rehydration clause hows it gonna effect Eubank Jr , is he gonna be able to retain his natural physical strength , his stamina , his punch resistance etc or is he gonna be totally drained ?? Hes now 35 years old and the weight loss gets harder and more draining when you get older so for me thats a big factor in the possible outcome of the fight and this is one of the reasons why im not that interested in this one because i agree with the saying thats theres weight classes for a reason .. If the weight thing hasnt much of an effect then i think as the naturally bigger fighter with more experience and having been up against better opposition Eubank Jr should win this , i wouldnt say easily but i think he takes it. If the weight clause does have an effect then im really not sure and i would probably side with Conor Benn as the more aggressive and explosive fighter , but we wont really know until the day so its all ifs buts and maybes really. The fact that Eubank Jr's last three fights have been at 160 gives me hope , won two and lost one by stoppage , but i dont think he looked at his best in any of them , even his last win against Szeremeta. In recent training footage Benn looks sharp and powerful , and i think he'll come into the fight looking for a knockout , probably looking for it from the first bell .. i can see him trying to grind Eubank Jr down , and if the weight is an issue then that will have an effect and play into Benns gloves .. but Eubank Jr is an old hand and i think that he'll probably try and weather the early stormand keep on the outside , picking Benn off and catching him coming in and i think the longer the fight goes on the more it will favour Eubank Jr (if the weight isnt an issue) .. As i say theres so many different ways this could play out but my gut tells me that Eubank Jr has enough in the locker to beat Benn but im nowhere near 100% confident about that if im being honest.
Chris Eubank Jr To Win
Liam Smith vs Aaron McKenna
Intriguing middleweight match up this one as its basically a must win for both fighters in my eyes , for Liam Smith (38 Fights - 33 Wins (20 KOs) - 4 Losses - 1 Draw) its a case of he has to win this one to stay relevant and so that he can re establish himself and challenge for titles whereas for McKenna (19 Fights - 19 Wins (10 KOs) its important that he wins so that he can announce himself on the world stage and have a decent scalp on his resume to say that he can handle experienced , top flight opposition. The two obvious questions are how much has Beefy got left in the tank and is McKenna ready for this step up ?? .. Smith has been a world champion , and has basically been there , seen it , done it and worn the t shirt ... several times .. hasnt fought for a while , last time we saw him was when he lost to Chris Eubank Jr back in September of 2023 so its been a while since hes been in the ring , was due to face Josh Kelly in September of last year but had to withdraw due to illness , so thats a little concerning but as i say hes an old hand so he knows the score and whats expected so hopefully it wont prove to be too much of a problem. Only lost four and they were against Canelo Alvarez , Jaime Munguia , Magomed Kurbanov and Chris Eubank Jr (after he'd won the first fight) so decent names and shows that he can hold his own in the division. Now 36 years of age and has been involved in some proper wars over the years so , as i said earlier , its hard to tell how much he has left in the tank which makes this match up interesting .. McKenna was a potential Olympian but decided instead to turn professional on his 18th birthday and he hasnt looked back since .. His last two fights have bothe ended by way of stoppage , first one against Mickey Ellison when his corner threw in the towel in the sixth round and then last time he stopped Jeovanny Estela in the tenth , ref stopped it due to unanswered punches .. both of those fights were last year , but this one is gonna be on a whole different level as hes never faced anyone of Smiths calibre and experience in the ring before and im looking forward to seeing how he copes as hes definatley a name for the future i think. Personally from what ive seen so far i dont think McKenna is quite ready for someone like Smith , thats not to say that he cant win obviously , but i just think that Smith is an experienced wily ol fox and i can see him doing enough to take this one .. as i say its all dependant on what hes got left , i think hes good for a fight or two yet and he doesnt mind knuckling down and riding the storm when it gets rough , thats something we dont know about McKenna yet , how does he do when things aint going his way , like i say this one is a proper fascinating puzzle in alot of respects and its gonna be interesting to see how it plays out .. McKenna has a lot going for him i have to say , youth (9 years younger) , a sizable height and reach advantage and hes a very busy fighter but for me Smiths experience counteracts alot of that imho and like i said earlier i think he comes out on top in this but i dont think hes gonna have it all his own way and can see some rocky moments for him during the fight but ultimately i think he wins.
Liam Smith To Win
Anthony Yarde vs Lyndon Arthur
Gotta be honest and say i like both boxers but really not that fussed about this trilogy fight , i understand why its happening as its one a piece at the moment , but given the way Yarde stopped him in the second fight i really cant see any reason for this third , but its happening so i'll do a write up and say my piece and give my un-informed opinion .. Yarde (29 Fights - 26 Wins (24 KOs) - 3 Losses) has won his last three (last two of those in 2024) winning two of those by knock out , before that he was stopped by Artur Beterbiev , one of the best around so no shame in that at all , but there were times in that Beterbiev fight where he looked very good and was troubling Beterbiev until he finally ground him down and won by an eight round TKO , his other two losses have come to Lyndon Arthur (in their first fight back in 2020) and before that Sergey Kovalev , so two of those losses came to a pair of the best light heavies out there , and in the first Arthur fight he did have genuine excuses in that he lost his dad and three of his grand parents to corona virus within days of each other and his head was all over the place (first fight happened in 2020) , but fair play he never used that as a reason for the loss its juts a stated fact. Arthur (26 Fights - 24 Wins (16 KOs) - 2 Losses) hasnt been seen since June of last year when he beat Liam Cameron by a split decision , and in all fairness that was a close fight i thought that could of gone either way and before that he was took to the cleaners by Dmitry Bivol by a unanimous decision , no shame in that obviously ! Both fighters know each other well so i dont envisage any major surprises tbh , Arthur will use his effective jab and whilst i think hes the better boxer he always has to be wary of Yardes' aggression and power which he has in abundance. I think this one will go the same way as the second fight , i think Arthur boxes well enough in the early stages of the fight but from , maybe , round four onwards Yardes' gonna up the pressure and come on strong and imo i think theres a fair chance that Yarde stops him again.
Anthony Yarde To Win .. By Stoppage
Viddal Riley vs Cheavon Clarke
Not a bad match up this one i think , should be a decent fight and could well be the fight of the night. Viddal Riley (12 Fights - 12 Wins (7 KOs) comes into this on the back of a second round TKO of Dan Garber back in December of last year , before that he beat the decent Mikael Lawal by decision retaining his English Cruiserweight title , had a decent amateur career winning 8 national championships , a European Silver Medal and was a youth Olympian in 2014. He had a decent record as an amateur 41 wins - 8 losses with 19 KOs , thats a decent KO rate considering it was in the amateurs so all in all he has a decent pedigree. Clarke (11 Fights - 10 Wins (7 KOs) - 1 Loss) arrives on the back of his first loss in the pro's , losing to the unbeaten Frenchman Leonardo Mosquea by a split decision , before this he beat Nigerian Efetobor Apochi on points Looked a bit lack lustre last time for me , so will definatley have to up his game for this one imho. He looked a different beast when stopping Ellis Zorro in the eight round to win the vacant British Crusierweight title , and the fact that hes defending that strap here suggests to me that he'll be in peak form. Neither are out n out bangers but both carry decent power , but for me Riley is the more skilful and better ring technician. Clarke will try to put it on Riley i think but i reckon that Riley , with a height and reach advantage , will be cagey and crafty and rely on his better skills/ring IQ. Definatley a hard one to call as i can see a path to victory for both fighters but im edging towards Riley as the winner , although that could change as im not 100% confident.
Viddal Riley To Win
Chris Billam-Smith vs Brandon Glanton
Looking forward to this one i gotta say , has all the ingredients for a potentially explosive encounter. Billam-Smith (22 Fights - 20 Wins (13 KOs) - 2 Losses) isnt the slickest of boxers or one of the hardest punchers around rather relying on heart , grit and determination amongst other things , but you're always guaranteed a good , solid fight when hes in the ring .. a case in point would be his last fight where he lost a unanimous decision and the WBO Cruiserweight Title (along with the WBA (Super) Cruiserweight Title .. he gave a good account of himself i thought but ended the fight with a broken thumb , damaged ribs , fractured left hand and a cut left eye needing stitches but was still standing and fighting at the end of it .. Thats not to say he hasnt got a decent skillset , he has , and he judges the distance well and isnt without power as he has some decent stoppages under his belt it has to be said. Before that Ramirez loss last time he avenged his only other loss by out pointing Richard Riakporhe by UD. American Brandon Glanton (22 Fights - 20 Wins (17 KOs) - 2 Losses) has the exact same record as Billam-Smith albeit with four more KOs to his name , arrives looking for his fourth win on the bounce and has promised a fire fest and a war and as a come forward , heavy hitting type of fighter i can see that happening. Won the vacant WBO International Cruiserweight Title in his penultimate fight beating the experienced Croatian Emil Markic by stoppage. Wont bother him fighting here in England as in his last four fights hes fought in four different countries , Russia , Dubai , USA and France. He likes to keep active looking at his record with at least two fights a year , although this will be his first of this year. He suffered his first pro loss to David Light back in December 2022 when fighting for the vacant WBO Global Cruiserweight and WBO International Cruiserweight Titles , and despite the loss he still managed to drop Light in the tenth round , he followed that up with another loss to the unbeaten Russian Soslan Asbarov , again by decision. I think on the whole that Billam- Smith has the better resume and has faced the better opposition to date , and hes definatley been up against more skillful boxers and ones that can hit equally , if not more than , hard as Glanton , so if he can take Glantons power i think theres a fair chance that he can come out of this one victorious , but its in the back of my mind that he did have a hard fight last time , and that left eye often opens up which is a concern obviously. If Billam-Smith can take Glantons best shots then i can see him outworking him and getting a decision win , possibly even a stoppage , but if he cant then its game over and i see a Glanton stoppage win. Definatley a few what ifs in this one and for me a 50/50 fight but i think the Brit can come out on top and resume winning ways.
Chris Billam Smith To Win
Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn
As i said earlier in the thread i just cant get excited about this fight for various reasons but its happening so i'll give my thoughts on it. Gotta say straight off the bat that its a difficult one to weigh up to be honest , so many ways this could pan out and so many imponderables that could come into play makes it hard to try and work out i think. Eubank Jr (37 Fights - 34 Wins (25 KOs) - 3 Losses) stopped Pole Kamil Szemereta last time in the seventh round , and before that avenged his loss to Liam Smith by stopping him in the tenth round. Before this he suffered his first stoppage loss to Liam Smith by a fourth round stoppage but ive often thought that could be as a result of the effects of the weight cut he had to do for the initial Benn fight which was later cancelled as prior to this his chin had held up well , whereas Conor Benn (23 Fights - 23 Wins (14 KOs) is yet to taste defeat in his career , last two fights have been in the States , because he couldnt fight here in the UK because of the ban he had which was later revoked , he won both of them by unanimous decision and in all honesty though theres no quibble that he won both , for me , he looked lacklustre , and was lacking that 'pop' in his shots that he had beforehand when he was last seen stopping Chris Van Heerden and Chris Algieri. Theres no doubting that this is the biggest fight of Benns' career so far , hes never fought at this level before where on the other hand Eubank Jr has been fighting decent names for a long while i.e. James Degale , Arthur Abraham , Liam Smith , Billy Joe Saunders , George Groves .. none of them elite to be honest but all decent Fringe / World class opponents , and for him in some respects this could be seen as a step down in opposition / class. For me Benns' best wins to date have come against Chris Algieri , Chris Van Heerden and the German Sebastian Formella who are all decent enough but as i say i think this will be his toughest test to date. Benn is going up two weight classes for this and there is of course the rehydration clause for Eubank , Benn has fought a couple of times at 154 (the fights in the States the last twice) , and Eubank Jr is more of a 168 fighter than a 160 one , thats the main thing for me about this fight , after getting down to the weight and the rehydration clause hows it gonna effect Eubank Jr , is he gonna be able to retain his natural physical strength , his stamina , his punch resistance etc or is he gonna be totally drained ?? Hes now 35 years old and the weight loss gets harder and more draining when you get older so for me thats a big factor in the possible outcome of the fight and this is one of the reasons why im not that interested in this one because i agree with the saying thats theres weight classes for a reason .. If the weight thing hasnt much of an effect then i think as the naturally bigger fighter with more experience and having been up against better opposition Eubank Jr should win this , i wouldnt say easily but i think he takes it. If the weight clause does have an effect then im really not sure and i would probably side with Conor Benn as the more aggressive and explosive fighter , but we wont really know until the day so its all ifs buts and maybes really. The fact that Eubank Jr's last three fights have been at 160 gives me hope , won two and lost one by stoppage , but i dont think he looked at his best in any of them , even his last win against Szeremeta. In recent training footage Benn looks sharp and powerful , and i think he'll come into the fight looking for a knockout , probably looking for it from the first bell .. i can see him trying to grind Eubank Jr down , and if the weight is an issue then that will have an effect and play into Benns gloves .. but Eubank Jr is an old hand and i think that he'll probably try and weather the early stormand keep on the outside , picking Benn off and catching him coming in and i think the longer the fight goes on the more it will favour Eubank Jr (if the weight isnt an issue) .. As i say theres so many different ways this could play out but my gut tells me that Eubank Jr has enough in the locker to beat Benn but im nowhere near 100% confident about that if im being honest.
Chris Eubank Jr To Win
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