Liam Smith vs Sam Eggington Preview Mar. 30th
Liam Smith will be meeting fellow Englishman Sam Eggington at the Echo Arena in Smith’s hometown of Liverpool this Saturday, March 30th. The 12-round junior middleweight fight can be seen live In North America on DAZN while those in the UK can see it on Sky Sports. Smith last fought in July when he dropped a unanimous decision to WBO Jr. Middleweight Champion Jaime Munguia in a lively bout. Eggington, who hails from Birmingham, scored a four-round points win over Sam Omidi in a tuneup bout in February.
Smith vs Eggington Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Sam Eggington +750
- Liam Smith -1000
My Pick
The 30-year-old Smith won the vacant WBO Junior Middleweight title against John Thompson via a seventh-round TKO in October of 2015 then defended it against fellow Brit Jimmy Kelly in the seventh round two months later. He then defended against Predrag Radosevic by a second-round stoppage in June of 2016. However, he lost the title three months later when Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez stopped him in the ninth round. Smith is also a former British Commonwealth Champion and became the first world champion to hail from Liverpool in 22 years.
He has an impressive record of 26-2-1 with 14 Kos and has also beaten the likes of Liam Williams, Zoltan Sera and David Romero. His draw was a four-round affair with Terry Carruthers in 2010. Smith is on the short side for a junior middleweight at just over 5-feet-9-inches tall and also has an unlisted reach. Other than Alvarez and Munguia, Smith has fought mainly domestic opponents since turning pro in 2008 and has 172 rounds under his belt since then. He’s got decent power in his fists and currently possesses a knockout ratio of 48 per cent.
The 25-year-old Eggington lost his British and Commonwealth titles to Bradley Skeete by 12-round unanimous decision in March of 2016. He’s now 25-5 with 15 Kos to his name. He stands 5-feet-11-inches tall so has a two-inch edge on Smith, but his reach is also unlisted. Eggington has 162 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2012 and his knockout ratio currently stands at 52 per cent.
As well as losing to Skeete, Eggington has also dropped a three-round unanimous decision to Johnny Coyle in 2014 and a unanimous three-round decision to Dale Evans the year before. He was stopped in the second round by Hassan Mwakinyo last year and dropped a 12-round split decision to Mohamed Mimoune in 2017. The bout against Mimoune was for Eggington’s European Welterweight Title and he also held the WBC International Welterweight Crown in the past along with the WBC International Silver Welterweight Title.
He added the vacant IBO Continental Super Welterweight Title with a fourth-round TKO over Peter Kramer last June. Eggington’s biggest wins have been over Denton Vassell, Frankie Gavin, Ceferino Rodriguez, Paulie Malignaggi and Shayne Singleton. Eggington’s basically a good domestic/European level boxer who’s stepping up in class against Smith.
Prediction…
Smith is a pressure fighter who gave a good account of himself against Canelo Alvarez and Munguia in losing causes. Eggington is a good boxer, but his chin is questionable even though he does have decent power. Smith is a tough guy though and it would be considered an upset if he loses this bout. I’m expecting Smith to take it.
Smith’s a bit too tough and powerful for Eggington
Play: Smith -1000 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Liam Smith betting • Sam Eggington betting