BOXING
Liam Smith is hopeful of landing a spot on the undercard of the biggest boxing card in Britain this year, when Chris Eubank Jr takes on Conor Benn in London.
The former WBO super-welterweight champion has been out of the ring since September 2023, when he was stopped by Eubank in a rematch at Manchester’s AO Arena.
After knocking Junior out in their first contest eight months earlier, Smith was heavily fancied in the return. But he stepped through the ropes clearly not at 100% and was found painfully wanting.
Following a one-sided beatdown, referee Kevin Parker stepped between the two 1:45 into the 10th round.
But after being forced out of a fight with Josh Kelly in September at Wembley Stadium due to illness, ‘Beefy’ (33-4-1, 20 KOs) looks primed to box on the blockbuster family rivals undercard.
The spine of the bill will be made up between talents from Boxxer and Matchroom, with April 26th at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the likely date and venue.
Aaron McKenna, the 19-0 Irish middleweight who turned pro in California in 2017, is one potential name that could find himself in the opposing corner against Smith.
McKenna, 25, boxed twice last year and most recently securing a 10th-round TKO over previous unbeaten Jeovanny Estela in Japan in July.
Meanwhile, Adam Azim could also feature on the card, along with Viddal Riley.
The latter is looking for a new opponent after Isaac Chamberlain suffered an injury, ruling him out of their proposed February 1st clash at Wembley Arena.
Azim is still set to headline that card against Sergey Lipinets in a scheduled 12-round contest, but is keen to stay active and we certainly want to feature on the biggest card in the UK in 2025.
Former Olympian Cheavon Clarke would be a capable opponent for Riley after he suffered his first defeat in 11 last time out, upset in a European cruiserweight title clash by Frenchman Leonardo Mosquea in Monte Carlo in December.