REPUTATION ENHANCED
Smith loses out to the powerful Munguia, but enhances his reputation in defeat
Liam Smith does himself proud on away turf against the fierce Jaime Munguia
‘HE’S A GOOD FIGHTER. HE’S ONLY GOING TO GET BETTER AND BETTER’
LIAM “BEEFY”
SMITH did almost everything right in his challenge for the WBO superwelterweight title of Mexico’s Jaime Munguia. He and trainer Joe Gallagher had clearly studied Munguia, figured out his weaknesses and identified the strategy that they felt would give them the best opportunity to succeed. And Smith executed the plan almost to perfection: he kept his guard high and tight, he remained compact, he countered Munguia’s looping, booming power punches with fast, sharp combinations.
The one thing the likeable Liverpudlian was not able to do – and no amount of strategy and planning could compensate for this – was hurt Munguia. Had his right hand been heavier, his left hook more punishing, the story might have had a different ending; as it was, Smith had to content himself with putting on a reputationenhancing performance that may have given future Munguia opponents reasons for optimism, even as the young man from Tijuana also showed why he will prove so tough to beat.
In his previous outing, Munguia had flattened Sadam Ali inside four rounds to annex the title that Ali had taken from Miguel Cotto; it was a star-making win, but one that raised a question: was Munguia as good as he looked, or was it merely a case of a middleweight fighting at super-welter and overwhelming an opponent who was effectively a welterweight?
The focus going into his fight with EX-WBO titlist Smith was whether the fact that the Merseysider was a natural 154-pound fighter would prove a sterner challenge for the youngster; but soon after the bell rang to begin the contest, it was clear that Smith’s experience, talent and skill would be the biggest obstacles to victory for the 21-year-old.
As Munguia bounced and lunged, Smith, 29, kept tight and focused, looking to answer every punch with not just one but two of his own, aiming early on at Munguia’s body. The Mexican responded in kind, however, at the end of the opening round, to remind Smith that he wasn’t going to be intimidated easily.
Indeed, Munguia came to life
somewhat in the second, opening up and flinging punches in Smith’s direction. Smith remained unfazed, stepping inside Munguia’s sweeping blows to crack him on the jaw with a straight right even as Munguia came back at him with a hook. Smith had arguably his best round of the fight in the third, landing a fast double hook and pivoting Munguia as the champion fell in with a punch, turning him and cracking him with a left-right.
Munguia came out for the fourth a different man. Still aggressive, he dialled back his recklessness just a little, bouncing on his toes and moving in and out and presenting a more difficult target for Smith to counter. Munguia landed a short hook, and another, and a double hook combination, and Smith responded with a three-punch combo to end the round.
Munguia was a fascinating study in contrasts. On the one hand, he displayed an abundance of youthful inexperience, demonstrating that he is clearly a work in progress: his punches were often wild and wide, and his footwork virtually non-existent. On the other, he showed some veteran moves: using his elbow to keep Smith at the perfect distance so he could suddenly uncork a short left hook, and looking to pull down Smith’s right hand as if he was about to launch a hook to the head, only to suddenly switch to the body.
Munguia’s combinations at times were things of beauty, moving from upstairs to down with perfect execution. Yet his defence was virtually absent, and how Smith must have wished at times that he carried a little more dynamite in his gloves, so cleanly was he able to land on numerous occasions.
Munguia’s power and punches began to tell as the fight heated up in the fifth. The two men beckoned to each other as they exchanged furious combinations, and Munguia drove Smith to the ropes. The breakthrough came in the sixth, as Munguia’s punishing body work took its toll, slowed Smith down and kept him in position for an uppercut and left hook that sent the Englishman staggering backwards and onto his haunches. Smith comfortably beat the count of referee Russell Mora, but Munguia resumed his fierce assault in the seventh. Smith remained composed, and actually had a decent comeback round in the eighth. The ninth saw both men throwing hell for leather, Munguia rocking Smith repeatedly with heavy shots, but Smith refusing to yield, digging deep and coming back with flurries of his own. As Munguia tired down the stretch, his attacks, never exactly textbook, became even more sloppy, but his size, strength
and sheer youthful refusal to yield allowed him to carry the championship rounds.
Throughout it all, Smith never lost his form or his focus, and at the end of 12 rounds he had certainly done enough to show an American audience that knew him only for his September 2016 loss to Canelo Alvarez that he is a legitimate challenger.
The result was not in any doubt, however, and the scores of 119-110 and 119-108, from Dave Moretti and Eric Cheek respectively, reflected the ringside view, although Tim Cheatham gave Smith the benefit of the doubt in a few rounds with his 116-111 card.
Munguia acknowledged, even in victory, that he still has work to do. “I am a little green,” he said, “but this is experience that will help me next time.”
“He’s a good fighter,” said Smith. “He’s probably answered a few questions tonight. He’s young, he’s only going to get better and better.”
On the undercard at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (Golden Boy/ Queensberry/don King), undefeated Miguel Cotto protégé Alberto Machado made his first defence of the unnecessary WBA secondary super-featherweight belt a successful one, as he swept the board on all three scorecards to inflict a first, painful defeat on fellow portsider Rafael
Mensah, of Accra, Ghana. Early on, however, it looked as if the cards would be entirely unrequired as the man from San Juan dropped Mensah with a beautiful left hook at the end of the first round that sent him to the canvas against the ropes. Mensah looked confused as Machado boxed beautifully from range over the next several sessions, jabbing, landing southpaw right hooks and crisp straight lefts.
By the fifth, the right side of Mensah’s face was swelling badly and Machado looked on the verge of pulling off a stoppage victory. With Mensah surviving the onslaught, though, Machado seemingly chose to preserve his energy for the long haul, looking for options to open up whenever they presented themselves but otherwise content to box down the stretch en route to 120-107 scorecards from Max Deluca, Chris Flores and Robert Hoyle. Tony Weeks refereed. Brazilian middleweight Yamaguchi
Falcao remained unbeaten with a points win against Merida, Mexico’s Elias
Espadas over 10 bad-tempered, sloppy and foul-filled rounds. Referee Jay Nady warned Falcao several times for holding, and the bout also featured headbutts (unintentional and otherwise), spitting out of mouthpieces and complaints about rabbit punches. The crowd seemed to enjoy the mayhem, but it wasn’t one for the Marquess of Queensberry’s Big Book of Boxing. The scores were 96-92 (twice) and 95-93 to the Sao Paulo southpaw.
THE VERDICT Smith acquits himself well against Munguia, who is technically flawed but a powerful force of nature.