Today at 5pm EDT, Bad Left Hook will have live coverage of the rematch between British featherweight champ John Simpson and Commonwealth titlist Stephen Smith. The two met last September in a very close fight, as the younger, more accurate Smith (11-0, 6 KO) barely got past the experienced Simpson (22-7, 9 KO) by split decision. Bad Left Hook scored that one a draw.
Smith, 25, spoke Monday about the rematch against Simpson:
Simpson defeated Martin Lindsay in December to pick up the British belt, while Smith has been out with a hand injury since the first fight with Simpson.
Dave Oakes previewed the fight on Tuesday:
One change from the first fight is Smith’s move to Gallagher’s gym, which is probably the hottest gym in Britain at the minute, with Joe Gallagher’s fighters on a long unbeaten run under his tutelage. It’s a move that I feel will pay dividends for the Liverpudlian.
Simpson is in fine form, as his win over Lindsay showed, and he’ll be fired up for revenge. On top of that, he’s ranked highly by the IBF and a win here could provide him with world title shot in the near future. Whilst the ever confident Smith is promising to put on a sparkling performance that will leave people in no doubt as to who’s the best featherweight in Britain. It has all the makings of another enthralling battle.
I can’t see the fight being anything other than a close, hard fought encounter. As always with Simpson, the fight won’t be one-sided and he’ll take some discouraging, but as long as ring rust isn’t a problem for Smith, one feels his sharper work will be enough to eke out another close points decision.
The co-feature will see David Price (9-0, 7 KO) take on Raphael Butler (35-9, 28 KO) in heavyweight action. Join us this evening for some midweek boxing!