Smith: “I’ll bring the world title back to Liverpool”

Victory for Turbo – the first Englishman to win a lightweight world title – could set up a few mouth-watering domestic clashes, but defeat would see him slide down a very talented pecking order so the stakes could not be higher. Magdaleno too has won NABF and WBO worldwide titles.

But mandatory challenger Magdaleno is in no mood to be part of a special Manchester night and insists it won’t be one to remember for the home crowd.

“It’s going to be a great night of boxing and it’s an honour to defend my world title at the Manchester Arena as it’s all I’ve dreamed of since becoming a kid”.

“I always put 110 per cent in when I train and that has been the same for this fight”.

“Magdaleno is a good opponent on paper but it all depends on what he’s like when I get in there”.

What’s going to happen is I beat John Thompson, so I’ll be the first of us brothers to be a world champion..

Francis Warren – son of Queensbury Promotions supremo Frank – said afterwards that “unnamed” British lightweights had been offered a fight with Flanagan, but “no one wants to know”.

Eldest brother Paul failed in two world-title attempts against Arthur Abraham, Stephen will fight holder Jose Pedraza for the IBF super-featherweight strap and the youngest, Callum, is being tipped by many to be the best of the four – but unbeaten Liam (20-0-1-KO10) is ready to become the first world champion.

“Once I am world champion then that is the next goal”.

“It’s going to be nice”, he said. I would love to get a big enough fight to defend it at Anfield one day.

“So I’m looking forward to being the first to this and seeing all the fuss around me”.

The 27-year-old would be the first boxer from the Rotunda A.B.C to win a world title, and he knows how much it would mean to the gym., who have saw a number of fighters go close in recent years.

In fact, the American told the assembled media that the press conference was the last time that they would see the belt, although he promised to share pictures on his Instagram should anybody become nostalgic.

“The “A” fighter got knocked out by Frank Galarza in two rounds”, he said.

“We’ll see Saturday night – he can’t hold a shot and he’ll be going down, end of”.

BeIN SPORTS, the global sports network, will televise, in U.S. and Canada, Saturday’s world title doubleheader event, “World War III”, live from Manchester, England.

The banner reads: “Good luck Liam Beefy Smith”.

“He’s been one of the most underrated champions in Britain for a long time now”.