'I'm better than Dodson in every department' - Paul Smith
Paul Smith has always been groomed for stardom. ABA champion and Commonwealth games silver medallist, (only losing to future star Jean Pascal) the world was his oyster. I for one saw great things ahead. If you had told me back then that it would take seven years for him to win a British title, I and many in the trade would have described you as mad. Still, when Paul dethroned Tony Quigley for the British super-middleweight crown a new era had begun and once again, the future is bright for the talkative Scouser.
Still, as the old boxing cliché goes, it's harder to keep a title than to win it in the first place. And looming in 'Smigga's' future is cross city rival Tony Dodson, ex-British champ and a man who is devoting his life to getting back what he feels is rightfully his. The pair will meet at Liverpool's Echo Arena on March 12th in what could be one of the fights of the year. As mentioned on a recent interview with Dodson, a couple of text messages were sent from the challenger to the newly crowned champion. Paul explains.
“I woke up on the morning of the fight and I had two texts off Tony, we have spoken on the phone before, done sparring. He was like 'fight me, fight me fight me.' It stank of desperation. He was going on that I struggled with Quigley and he battered him. I replied, he may have battered him, if that's what he thinks, but he woke up in the Royal hozzy with nothing, and I woke up in my own bed with the Lonsdale belt. I sort of left it that, he tried to carry it on, wanted to ring me, but I told him that I had had enough of boxing for the night and wanted to spend some time with my family.
Their paths however, would cross sooner that either could have imagined. And it was an easy decision for the champ.
“When the list of names came out and his name was on it it was an easy decision. Not because of the text message, but style-wise, fan-wise, ticket-wise, and a fight in Liverpool, it was the natural choice.”
It will be a wonderful clash of styles, the stylist versus the puncher and BoxRec News was lucky enough to attend the press conference. Dodson has already told this site that feels his extra strength will be the deciding factor come fight night. Smith naturally disagrees, but is happy to acknowledge what his rival is bringing to the table.
“Fitness. He's always fit and his punch, it's the last thing you ever lose, but to be honest, he hasn't got much else. He has that punch, but I have proved that I can take a good shot and I will be every bit as fit as him, maybe even fitter. In every department I'm better than him."
As previously mentioned, Smith's career has been relatively slow burning. He fought in Season 3 of 'The Contender', only missing out on progression due to a cut sustained in his victory over American David Banks. A contentious defeat to Steve Bendall left a number of observers worried that Paul may not have that little something extra to move up to championship class. And despite winning against Quigley, Dodson is correct to point out that Smith hasn't had any real wars. While Tony believes that to be an advantage for himself, Smith disagrees.
“I haven't had any wars, but that will be the deciding factor. He's only a year or two older than me and he's had about 20 wars. I've had 29 fights and I've never had a war and I have got plenty in reserve. But if it goes like that again, has he got anything left in the tank, can he do it again?”
The sense of anticipation is palpable. This is going to bring a City to a standstill. Dodson-Quigley was huge, Quigley-Smith was huge. Smith acknowledges that this could be even bigger that the previous battles over the last year.
“I think and hope so, as I said before it's great that 8000 people will come and watch me fight, and not just me. There's no reason why it can't sell out and be even bigger than the Quigley fight. It will be a great night for Liverpool.”
One of the main announcements at this press conference that preceded this interview was the fact that negotiations were taking place for Smith to fight German world champ Robert Steiglitz. The prospect of fighting for a world title excited Smigga, though he was quick to point out that it wouldn't be an easy night.
“I have seen him a few times and he's good. I keep making the point that he is the weakest of the champions but that doesn't mean he is weak, he's good, but he's no Carl Froch, no Lucien Bute, Mikkel Kessler or Andre Ward. It would be a hard fight but I know I have got the beating of him. It's one fight at a time but if I get the chance I will grab it with both hands.”
It has taken Paul Smith far too long to get to this place. He is a champion, he is touching distance away from a world title shot. All these hopes and dreams can be snatched away if he fails to put away Tony Dodson. With all this on the line, the old adage that you need to 'rip the title away from the champion' has rarely been so correct.
