Welsh tough Liam Williams back with a win

Article first published at BigFightWeekend.com

Flinty Welsh Middleweight Liam Williams, 25 (20ko)-4-1, returned from a year of inactivity with a one punch knockout victory against the over matched Florin Cardos at the York Hall, London. A win that reveals little; Williams has always been a powerful hitter, but serves as a reminder to Hamzah Sheeraz, the tall and rangy 24-year-old Middleweight prospect, that their proposed fight for 2024 will feature all of Williams’ trademark intensity.

Age 31, Williams still has time to feature in high profile bouts in a weight class lacking the profile fighters traditionally associated with the historic division. In short, despite losses to Liam Smith, Chris Eubank Junior and Demetrius Andrade, Williams retains international prospects and will entertain the public in pursuit of more illustrious scalps. Whether that quests proves forlorn or successful.

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November 24, 2023 0

Smith looks to dominate Eubank again

^{Article first published at gambling.com}

Liverpool’s Liam Smith is seeking to confirm his superiority over Chris Eubank Jnr. this weekend at the Manchester Arena in a clash between two veterans in the Middleweight division. It will be a rematch of their fiery contest earlier this year in which Smith upset the odds to break Eubank down and stop the 33-year-old in the 4th round.

Bookmakers view their prospects differently in light of the surprise outcome and Smith, the former WBO Light-Middleweight belt holder, is now a 4/6 favourite to win again and Eubank 7/5 to reverse the result.

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September 2, 2023 0

Eubank, nostalgia and the glow of the past

Article first appeared at BigFightWeekend.com

To each their own. Every generation venerates a new clutch of heroes. My grandfather was born in the era of Jack Dempsey, marvelled at Joe Louis and was a contemporary of fellow Doncastrian Bruce Woodcock, who could fight a bit. His voice whispered through the pages of the books I inherited on his passing in 1984 too, Ali was the best of them all the collection suggested. He was gone before Iron Mike tore through the late 80s and before the seeds of love for the sport he planted blossomed into interest.

For children of the 70s like me, it was all about Tyson; inescapable, unique, intoxicating. But he was also out of reach. Seen through the prism of highlights and delayed screenings. Domestically, it was Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank, with a fleeting dose of McGuigan, and a sprinkling of Big Frank.

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January 20, 2023 0

Chris Eubank Jr. tackles blue-collar veteran Liam Smith

Article first appeared at Bookmakers.com

Most of Chris Eubank Jr.’s career has been spent in a quest for authenticity. To prove himself worthy of the name he inherits from a legendary father and to garner respect as a serious contender in the Middleweight division. There have been high points where he has legitimised the hyperbole projected before him, and there have been fallow periods in which his career has stagnated and the whisper of cynicism that haunts those with illustrious predecessors has grown ever louder.

On Saturday night at the Manchester Arena, he faces Liam Smith, a decorated member of the famous Smith boxing family and, superficially at least, the antithesis of everything that Chris Eubank Jr. represents. This contrast isn’t a new narrative. Eubank is always boxing someone hoping to knock him off the pedestal he adopts, and the one he is presumed to sit upon. Boxing thrives on these types of storylines and makes wagering on them at betting sites all the more popular.

It is the white and black Stetsons of the great Western films and helps build rivalries and ticket sales. Of course, the nature of humans, and of fighters, is never so binary. Nuance exists in both Eubank and Smith. But nuance doesn’t sell. Good guys and bad guys do.

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