Joe McNally wants Liam Smith’s fight with Josh Kelly to be his last – but in the event of victory expects Smith to pursue a third fight with Chris Eubank Jnr.
Smith and Kelly fight at Wembley Stadium on September 21, on the undercard of the IBF heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and the champion Daniel Dubois.
At 36 defeat by Kelly could prove the end of Smith’s fine career just three fights after, by stopping Eubank Jr, he recorded his highest-profile win.
He was stopped in the rematch eight months later in September 2023 – little over a year before he returns to the ring against Kelly – when having struggled with a back injury he endured a one-sided defeat.
The combination of the nature of that defeat and his age means it remains possible that when he enters the ring against the talented Kelly, 30 years old and fighting for the first time as a middleweight, Smith will have little left to give.
McNally – the trainer under which he revived his career via a victory in 2021 over Anthony Fowler – recognises that that remains a risk, but he instead believes Kelly has made a mistake by, to his mind, pursuing Smith in a calculated fashion, and to the extent that he already has expectations about what could prove Smith’s next move.
“I’d love it to be,” McNally told BoxingScene when asked if the next fight could be Smith’s last. “He’s paid his dues. But I know that Eubank fight burns him real bad, and I do think that if he does an impressive job on Josh Kelly and he’s injury-free, I know he’ll love that trilogy for him, and it’s only fair to do so for him, isn’t it?
“The first one wasn’t no fluke. He dismantled him – and then the second one he was fucked. It’s only fair. The public have asked for it. But the promoters and Chris themselves – they want no part of it. As soon as he done the first job on him, ‘Rematch; rematch; rematch’. Liam didn’t have to. He didn’t have to, but he done it, so I think it’s only right that they give him a trilogy.
“I wanted him to pull out of the Eubank fight – he wasn’t ready. His injury was too severe, and the money they were giving him – it’s prizefighting. You’re fighting for your future; for your family. That’s the bottom goal – to be a champion and be financially secure. So when they’re offering that type of money, what does he say? Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I wanted him to pull out knowing Chris had nowhere to go. [Promoter and broadcaster] Boxxer and Sky, ‘The fight will go; the fight will go’. It was going nowhere. He could have fought Chris now. Chris ain’t doing nothing. When it comes to the names, Chris prices himself out of everything. Which is a shame, because he’s a fantastic fighter.
“If the passion weren’t there to prepare for the fight, without the money, I wouldn’t have no part of it. But he’s training like a motherfucker, and that’s all I can ask for.”
McNally, who also trains James Metcalfe, considers the decision of Kelly and his trainer Adam Booth to prioritise fighting Smith when they had previously targeted Metcalfe to be a reflection of the perception that Eubank Jr proved Smith to be in decline.
He has also questioned how suited Kelly is to fighting at 160lbs, considers Booth – who has stressed he isn’t overlooking the threat posed by Smith – and Kelly to be over-confident, and expects Smith to emphatically prove them wrong
“Adam Booth proposed the fight to James Metcalfe, to fight Josh Kelly, and James accepted,” McNally continued. “Off his last win against a blown-up lightweight [Placido Ramirez], they publicly called out James Metcalfe. Josh Kelly pulled out – to not fight James Metcalfe.
“Liam was still going through his injury off the Eubank fight when he had a phone call off one of their team saying, ‘Will you fight Josh Kelly in five weeks – name your price?’ That’s when we knew that’s what they were looking for. Liam’s chipped away in the gym, working towards that; Riyadh Season’s come along, they’re paying him the wages, and Liam’s came in 13 weeks out and said, ‘I’m fighting Josh Kelly’. He was a little bit heavy – weighty – but we’ve got a long time to prepare for it. That was missing out of James Metcalfe’s career – making his money – but it’s come round to Liam Smith. Obviously they want the name on the record, and Liam’s fully prepared. Let’s see if Josh can step up.
“The Eubank fight [made them favour Smith over Metcalfe] – Anthony Fowler got manoeuvred into the same contest through the McGuigans. They pushed for it. It was a big mistake. Liam’s massively underrated. His back stays good, and he’s working really hard. [Kelly previously] come up and done a bit of sparring in the gym with Liam, but it was day and night; one, he chose to stand there with Liam and it was very good on Liam’s behalf, and the second one he run around the ring.
“I don’t think the wise move is to stand with Liam, but he might fancy his chances. But if they’re going off the sparring; they’re going off the Eubank II fight… When Liam Smith is on it, he’s on it – and he is on it. If he goes into that fight injury-free, I expect him to go through him like a knife through butter.
“I know what Liam Smith is, inside-out. The only time I’ve gone into a fight with Liam Smith not confident is when he was fucked and injured – Eubank II. I went in there with the sole mindset of protecting him from getting hurt, not to win. If right, Liam Smith is a little marvel in there; the small things, you don’t see until it’s too late. Josh, style-wise, is made for Liam. I don’t think he’s a solid 12-round fighter. He looked good against Troy Williamson, but Troy’s a solid, solid British-European-level fighter. I just think it’s come at the wrong time for Josh Kelly.
“That wasn’t Liam in there [against Eubank]. But you can only go off your last fight. That’s the reality of the sport. You’re as good as your last fight. Josh was the bollocks, against a blown-up lightweight, and Liam was shite, getting beat up off Chris Eubank. Back fucked, and it took Chris 10 rounds to get him out of there. I just don’t think Josh Kelly punches hard enough, and the truth of it is he’s very athletic – I don’t think his IQ’s good enough to keep Liam off for 12 rounds. Not a chance.
“Liam had moved up for two fights, and Liam wasn’t the biggest at 154lbs himself. I don’t think Josh is. But we had to build Liam up over a period of 15, 16 months to fill out. They did propose 154lbs, but we’ve built him up and said, ‘No – he’s 160lbs now’. They bowed down. They must be super-confident. ‘Okay, 160lbs it is.’ His main asset’s speed; does the extra half a stone take that away from you over 12 rounds? Maybe so.”
Declan Warrington previously spoke to Kelly’s trainer Adam Booth
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