Liam Smith looked ready on the scales ahead of his clash with Hassan Mwakinyo tomorrow night in Liverpool.
Coming off a victory over Jessie Vargas in New York, the fighter returns to his hometown to headline. His opponent, Mwakinyo, has 14 knockouts from 20 wins. The 2 losses on his record though will give the already-confident Smith a boost.
Mwakinyo weighed in at 155 lbs before ‘Beefy’ entered to applause and posted 159 lbs on the scales. It’s unclear whether there had been a weight limit agreed beforehand.
The face-off ended with a smile and a handshake, although Smith revealed to Sky Sports that he mentioned a sparring session between the two. He didn’t give further details, but the general hint was that he either hurt or completely outboxed Mwakinyo.
“I just said ‘remember the spar, Hassan.’ It’s all I needed to say.”
“The Liverpool fans always turn out and I’m humbled and grateful for it all the time, and I’m happy that every time we’ve fought here in Liverpool I’ve been able to repay them with a win. I think Saturday’s going to be no different. Again, under the lights, little gloves on, with a bit of fear in me because of the crowd, I think you get the best of me and I think Hassan is a world of trouble Saturday.”
Smith is looking to handle business this weekend before moving on to ‘huge fights.’ He’s still keen on a Chris Eubank Jr matchup, and it’s a domestic clash that fans would love to see.
The event will also feature Tasha Jonas, who looks to unify the WBO and WBC super-welterweight world titles against undefeated Patricia Berghult. Jonas impressed last time out with a TKO over Chris Namús, with many wondering beforehand if her power would carry up in weight. It did.
She told Sky Sports that she was delighted to be fighting in her home city, wanted to ‘give the people something to smile about’, and was confident for a win.
“I have to box smart, box clever, keep my concentration and just impose my strengths.”
The full Boxxer card will be broadcast tomorrow night on Sky Sports.