Bullish Smith fires early warning

CALLUM Smith has fired a warning out to the rest of the super-middleweight division after insisting he is the best in the World Boxing Super Series tournament.

Smith, who is trained by Joe Gallagher at his gym in Bolton, takes part in the quarterfinals of the tournament on Saturday when he faces Erik Skoglund at the Echo Arena.

The World Boxing Super Series is an eight-man elimination tournament pitting together the best boxers in the world, with the likes of George Groves and Chris Eubank Jnr also competing.

Smith is the favourite to win the entire tournament, and he agrees that he is the man to beat at super-middleweight.

“From the outside looking in, I am possibly not the obvious favourite because I am still relatively unproven at the highest level,” said Smith.

“You have George Groves who is a world champion, who you could say could be favourite, he’ll probably be a bit annoyed that he is not.

“But from my point of view, yeah, I think I am the best in the tournament so, yes, I do agree with it. It is a privilege to be called the favourite, but it is just an opinion. I have to do my job now and go on and win it.”

Both Smith and Skoglund are unbeaten in their respective careers, and the 27-year-old British fighter admitted that he will have to keep his eye on the prize.

“I have been enjoying camp, it has been going very well. I know I have to be at my best to win,” he said.

“My trainer, Joe Gallagher, and I have watched Skoglund a lot and he is a good fighter, he is a good all-rounder.

“He does the basics very well, but everything he does, I do a little better. As long as the best version of me turns up, I will beat the best version of him.

“I am excited to be the first British fighter to get in the ring in the tournament. I just cannot wait to be a part of it. I think the fans will be thinking the same, with me being the first Briton in it, it will probably be their first look at the tournament.

“So I am not feeling pressure, more excitement.”

There is a decent undercard on the bill, with Salford-trained Martin Murray in action, while Luke Blackledge goes up against Zach Parker.

Tickets for the event, at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, are still available at stubhub.com.