Liam Smith targeting February return to action

Former WBO junior middleweight champion Liam Smith will have to wait a little bit longer before getting back into the ring.

In January 2023, Smith, 33-4-1 (20 KOs), produced an outstanding display to stop Chris Eubank Jnr in four rounds but the 36-year-old middleweight has been out of the ring since turning in an out-of-sorts performance in the September rematch. 

Last week, Eddie Hearn told BoxingScene that Matchroom had been involved in discussions with Smith about a return to action. Although Austin “Ammo” Williams was ruled out as an opponent, Hearn confirmed that discussions about an agreement were ongoing with a January 17 fight in Liverpool in play. 

On Saturday, Smith was in Birmingham to watch his brother, former WBA super middleweight champion, Callum, return to action with a fifth round win over Carlos Galvan and provided an update on his own career.

“The first quarter of the year, I’m hoping for a date in February,” he told The Stomping Ground. “Eddie’s offered me a date January 17th but, unfortunately, it just doesn’t align. It’s a little bit of crossed wires. I’m just not gonna make January 17th so fingers crossed I get a date in February.”

John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79