Liam Smith was supposed to fight Sadam Ali for the WBO junior middleweight title on May 12, but after having to withdraw from the fight, Smith will now likely get a chance to fight Jaime Munguia for the title.
In an interview with IFL TV, promoter Frank Warren said the WBO has ordered Munguia to fight Smith in Munguia’s first world title defense.
“The WBO has ordered the new champion [to fight Smith]. We got 30 days to agree to terms. So that’s what’s happening. It’s a shame that Liam wasn’t in the ring with Ali. It would have been great and I think Liam would have done the same thing. The Mexican is a good puncher, he comes to fight as we have seen. I think it’s a tough fight but I do think Liam has a good boxing brain plus he can take a punch and can fight and I think he can fight and regain his title,” Warren said.
Warren said he’s not sure if he can bring that fight to the United Kingdom and that negotiations hasn’t really started as of May 15. Warren did say a potential timetable for the fight happening would be between August and September.
Smith was originally supposed to fight Ali on May 12, but suffered a skin condition that would prevent him from getting fully ready for the fight in time. Munguia came in as Smith’s replacement and knocked out Ali to win the WBO title. The fight headlined an HBO boxing telecast from Verona, New York. The full interview with Warren can be seen in the video above.
