Liam Smith vs Sam Eggington Boxing Odds, Preview and Prediction

Former world champion Liam Smith is scheduled to make a highly-anticipated homecoming on March 30, 2019 when he takes on Sam Eggington at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England.

Liam Smith vs Sam Eggington

Smith became the first boxing world champion from Liverpool in 20 years when he defeated John Thompson to become the WBO 154-pound champion in 2015. He made two successful title defenses before being knocked out by Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in 2016.

Smith has a professional record of 26-2-1 with 14 knockouts. The 30-year old from Liverpool stands 5-9. After back to back wins over local rival Liam Williams, Smith challenged Jaime Munguia for the WBO light middleweight title, losing the bout via unanimous decision in a competitive bout.

Eggington was one of the prospects from England a couple of years back and he is a former European and British & Commonwealth welterweight champion. Eggington also won the WBC international welterweight belt by defeating Frankie Gavin and then making a successful title defense against Paulie Malignaggi.

Eggington has a record of 24-5 with 15 knockouts. The 25-year old from Birmingham stands 5-11 while fighting out of the orthodox style. Savage Sam is just 3-2 in his last five bouts, losing by points to Mohamed Mimoune and by knockout to Hassan Mwakinyo. In his last bout, Eggington won a four-rounder over Sam Omidi.

Who Wins?

Smith is the favorite here at -1000 while Eggington came back at +550. Liam Smith is a former world champion who has shared the ring with Canelo Alvarez and Jaime Munguia, although he lost both bouts for the only losses of his boxing career Eggington hasn’t fought in Smith’s level yet so it will be interesting to see how he steps up in this fight.

Smith owns a pair of victories against the current British middleweight champion Liam Williams who was undefeated before fighting Liam Smith Then Smith also won the WBO light heavyweight belt by defeating American John Thompson who was a better technical boxer than Smith. After winning the belt, Smith was able to successfully defend it twice before he ran into Canelo. Against Munguia, Smith was more competitive all throughout even if the final scorecards were pretty wide.

I think Smith is a level above Eggington when it comes to experience. I think he’s a world-level fighter while Eggington is, at best, a European level fighter in my opinion. Eggington’s best opponents so far have been Paulie Malignaggi and Frankie Gavin. Eggington knocked out Gavin in 2016 and did the same to a washed out Malignaggi in 2017. Without being disrespectful, I would like to categorize Eggington though as a European level fighter at best.

We have two fighters here who aren’t technically very good but who are very excellent pressure fighters. Those said, I’m expecting a really exciting and competitive fight here. Neither fighter is going to take a step back here so there should be plenty of action all night long. Both are going to try slow down the other with body shots and both will try to end this fight in a stoppage as well. Smith doesn’t particularly have a very good defense but Eggington’s defense. Offensively, Smith is more methodical while Eggington doesn’t really fight with a specific game plan and if he has one, he isn’t good at sticking to it.

Both are going to take each  other’s punches well and I’m not expecting a stoppage. In the end though, Smith’s experience and skill should be better and he should be the won who will be victorious in a 12-round war.

I’m picking Liam Smith to beat Sam Eggington by decision.

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Joe Hughes vs Robbie Davis Jr.

Joe Hughes is the European junior welterweight champion and on paper, this looks like he is taking a step back because he is fighting for the British junior welterweight belt currently owned by Robbie Davis Jr. The European belt is more prestigious and holds more value but this bout is more than just belts and rankings for Hughes. It’s about a fulfillment of a dream to win the most important belt that a British fighter can win.

Hughes is 17-2-1 with 7 knockouts to his credit while Robbie Davis Jr. is 17-1 with 12 knockouts. The interesting factor in this bout is that Hughes is fighting with a physical disadvantage because he has Erb’s palsy which means that one of his arms is shorter by three inches. This means that basically, Hughes is a one-handed fighter. And being left handed dominant, it’s easier to make a read on him.

No disrespect to Hughes as he’s defied odds all throughout his boxing career but while he can do so against the entry level fighters, it’s going to be more difficult as the level of opposition improves. Now Robbie Davis Jr. isn’t a world beater at all. But at the British and European level, he is a solid fighter although not yet polished.

I think Davis tries to attack Hughes here and try to overwhelm him with his punching power and combinations. Hughes is basically a one-handed fighter so it’s also easy to defend against him. I think Hughes puts up a valiant effort here but Davis is going to walk right through and get the win here.

I’m picking Robbie Davis Jr. to beat Joe Hughes.

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David Price vs Kash Ali

David Price’s stock has gone up lately. He displayed heart against Povetkin, performed better than expected against Kuzmin and then got the knockout over Tim Little in his last outing. I think Ali is a lot better than little but he’s not fought at the same level as Price has. Ali has stopped six out of his last eight opponents but the level of opposition is questionable because only two opponents have winning records. Ali is an experienced four-round fighter having fought to that round 9 times but he’s not been past round six so he’s basically just a four-rounder fighter.

These are two four-round fighters because while Ali hasn’t fought much outside the 4th round, Price is the fighter who almost always gasses after four rounds. The early stages of the fight is going to be crucial because if Ali can hurt Price, then he should have the advantage as this fight gets past rounds 4. But if Price gets his jab going and keeps on pressuring Ali without getting hurt or damaged, he’s going to be fresher down the stretch and should win this fight on points. I think Price does that and I think he’s going to score a knockdown in the first half of the bout. Ali will come on stronger in the second half og the fight but with a decent lead already, Price wins on points.

I’m picking David Price to beat Kash Ali.

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Anthony Fowler vs Scott Fitzgerald

These are two unbeaten fighters at the British and European level. Both were good amateurs but Fowler fought in the Olympics and represented his country in more international tournaments. As professionals, both are unbeaten but Fitzgerald has more fights and has logged in more rounds. The kid Fitzgerald is good but not really impressive but so has been Fowler. He’s done what he’s supposed to do so far but hasn’t been a game changer.

Fowler though is one of my favorite prospects in the UK right now. Sure, he too is unproven and untested but I think he’s the better fighter between the two in most aspects. I think Fowler has a chance to be a world champion but he can’t just look past Fitzgerald who has built his own unbeaten resume as well. For Fowler, he must not let all that personal stuff and antics affect him. If he puts those aside, I don’t think he will have a problem winning here. I see competitive fight early but I think Fowler pulls away after four rounds with his body shots starting to take their toll. Fowler is going to break down his foe round after round and by the 8th round or so, I think he gets the stoppage.

I’m picking Anthony Fowler to win by stoppage.

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