Anthony Fowler to face Liam Smith on Oct. 9 in Liverpool

With a pretty easy win today over Rico Mueller at Matchroom’s Fight Camp show, Anthony Fowler is already set for his next outing.

Promoter Eddie Hearn announced that Fowler (15-1, 12 KO) will face former world titlist Liam Smith (29-3-1, 16 KO) in a “Battle of Liverpool,” as the two natives of the city will square off Oct. 9 at M&S Bank Arena on DAZN.

“Anthony Fowler’s been looking for these big fights, calling out Ted Cheeseman, rematch with Scott Fitzgerald. Liam Smith is a world-class fighter. The opportunity was put to him, he said he’s 30 years of age, ‘I want to take the jump, I want to take the risk.’

“Liam Smith has operated at world level, he, if you like, is coming back to domestic level. You don’t see these fights very often, and you don’t see them with two fighters from the same city. Liverpool is one of the best fight cities in the world, there’s nothing like a big fight in Liverpool,” Hearn said.

“I respect Liam a lot, he’s a really good fighter. I’ll need to be on top of my game, but I don’t turn down big fights,” Fowler added.

Fowler’s win today didn’t prove a whole lot, as it was over an undersized, short notice foe, but he’s been saying he wants bigger fights, and Smith, 33, does fit that bill. Liam still proved plenty capable in his most recent outing, a highly questionable decision loss to Magomed Kurbanov on May 7 in Russia. He’s been a solid, often underrated fighter for years, and he’s going to be the best opponent the 30-year-old Fowler has faced to date.