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The main event on Saturday from Liverpool between Liam Smith and Sam Eggington will be for the vacant WBC “silver” title at 154 pounds, which means ... well, that’s generally left vague, but as Dillian Whyte has learned, it definitely doesn’t guarantee you’re going to be named mandatory challenger or anything like that.
It does mean the WBC will collect sanctioning fees, though, so that’s good for the WBC.
Smith (26-2-1, 14 KO) is a former WBO titleholder, winning their belt in 2015 over John Thompson, before losing it to Canelo Alvarez in 2016. He challenged for the same title in his last outing, a loss to Jaime Munguia in July 2018, but remains a contender in the division.
Eggington (24-5, 15 KO) is a former European champion at welterweight, and moved up upon losing that title in 2017. Since going up, he’s 3-1, with a trio of victories over club-level fighters and a TKO-2 loss to Hassan Mwakinyo last September. It’s a little difficult to understand how the WBC rationalizes him as worthy of fighting for a “prestigious” title and high ranking, but then it is boxing.
“I’m massively excited for my fight with Sam, and I feel it’s a good fight to kick-start my 2019,” said Smith. “It’s even better now there’s a good title on the line for us. I’m just looking to put on a performance for people to think ‘he was a level above.’”
“I’m excited,” said Eggington. “It doesn’t take a genius to know that I’m the underdog in this fight. I quite like it like that. Nothing to lose, everything to win, so I’m looking forward to Saturday night. I’ve put what I can into camp for a tough, hard fight, and on Saturday night I’ll put it all out there.”
The WBC title at 154 is currently held by Tony Harrison, who controversially upset Jermell Charlo in December. They’re likely headed for a rematch, and both of them are PBC fighters.
Smith-Eggington will stream live on DAZN tomorrow starting at 3:00 pm ET, and belt stuff aside, it shapes up to potentially be a good action fight, with a pretty solid undercard supporting it, too.