Boxing Rumors: Smith Aims For Vargas, Rues Brook Snub

Liam Smith is looking for a fight and the ideal opponent he had in mind was Kell Brook. Unfortunately, the 33-year-old British pug seems to be focusing on bigger named fighters, and Smith has grown tired of waiting. He now shifts his focus on Jesse Vargas, a fight that could take place on the Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz rematch.

“I’ve had a little thought to myself over this period of time and I’m going to see if Eddie fancies doing the Jessie Vargas fight again. He wanted that before Vargas got the Mikey Garcia fight so I might just see if he wants to make that fight in the meantime. It’s still a decent fight,” Smith said to Boxingscene.com.

Smith had high hopes of facing Brook following the IBF champions win over Mark De Luca back in February where he won via technical knockout in the seventh round. The 31-year-old fighter was at ringside at the time and there were pitches on who Brook would fight next. Smith's name was repeatedly mentioned and it appeared it would get done. Unfortunately, that was not the case and things just went silent.

“I don’t think Brook wants the fight. I think he’d rather fight a bigger name like (Terence) Crawford. Someone who if he loses to no-one could give him stick for it,” Smith said.

And the reason behind that is simple - the money. Smith knows the business side of boxing and Brook wants to get a hefty paycheck. The same holds true for Sky Sport and promoter Eddie Heart who will go for a clash that racks in more revenue.

In his book, Smith feels that a clash with Brook would be a big hit, especially in Britain. However, that may not be within his control and the best thing he can do right now is find someone who would be open to facing him. Compared to Brook, Vargas looms as that choice.

For his part, Vargas is looking for a fight to bounce back. He last fought Mikey Garcia in February and lost via unanimous decision. As mentioned in a previous post, that clash had carried implications with the winner likely getting a chance to face Manny Pacquiao. The loss snuffed all that but a bounce-back fight against Smith could recalibrate his boxing career path.

For now, Smith needs to wait. With the sporting world paralyzed by the coronavirus, resuming fights remains uncertain. It may take time for boxing to normalize but Smith seems willing to wait until that happens.