This coming Saturday (April 8, 2017) sees Frank Warren and his Queensberry Promotions at the Manchester Arena for a big 14-fight boxing card that will see two world titles at play in the main event slots. The two main fights are already getting attention at the sportsbooks, and you can check back later in the week to see if additional lines for this card pop up.
An interim WBO world belt at 154 pounds is on the line as Liam Smith (24-1-1) takes on Liam Williams (16-0-1). When we last saw Liam Smith, he was losing his WBO world belt to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Pay-Per-View last September in what was really his first “international” level fight. The loss was likely a good learning experience, and he tuned up with a four-round fight on March 18th, so Smith is surely motivated to at least regain a piece of a world title. Or is the big payday something that has changed Smith’s previous fire? That is unlikely, as Smith is one of four fighting brothers who all compete at a high level.
Williams is the 24-year-old up-and-comer, and as we enter fight week we see Williams as a slight favorite at the books. He doesn’t have a lot of fights, but he has British, Commonwealth and European titles on his resume, so a world title shot is the next step in the progression British fighters like to follow. In his last outing, he won the vacant WBO European belt with an eighth-round stoppage over Gabor Gorbics (22-4) of Hungary. Williams went 3-0 in 2016, stopping all three opponents short of the distance.
WBO World lightweight champion Terry Flanagan also puts his belt and undefeated 32-0 record on the line against the battle-tested Petr Petrov (38-4-2). Flanagan is a 27-year-old southpaw who is making the fifth defense of his WBO title at 135 pounds. Though he has just 13 stoppage wins, Flanagan has stepped up and knocked out Orlando Cruz and Diego Magdaleno in world title fights, and he is just entering his prime. With the likes of Mikey Garcia (36-0) and Jorge Linares (42-3) also holding world titles at 135 pounds, Flanagan could be in the running for several big fights if he can get by the rugged Petrov.
Petrov is now 34 years old and he is back for one more run. Since his April of 2013 loss to future world titleholder Dejan Zlaticanin, he has gone 6-0 fighting in the United States. Petrov has a lot of experience, fighting most of his career in Spain. Back in September of 2011, Petrov faced then WBA 140-pound champion Marcos Maidana in Argentina, falling in four rounds.
Manchester Arena – Manchester, England
Super Welterweight – 12 rounds
Liam Williams -135
Liam Smith +115
Lightweight – 12 rounds
Petr Petrov +485
Terry Flanagan -670
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