Boxing

BROTHERLY GLOVE

Liam Smith says family feuds using tea-towels as gloves turned him into a world champ

Battling Brit ready for light-middleweight title defence against Canelo Alvarez, the man who ko'd Amir Khan

STEVE BRENNER in Dallas

Published: 23:42, 16 Sep 2016
Updated: 23:54, 16 Sep 2016

Liam Smith

LIAM SMITH says beatings he used to take from his three brothers have toughened him up to face Canelo Alvarez.

The four siblings used to rush home from school and knock lumps out of each other in their front room with tea-towels for gloves.

Liam Smith — Liam Smith holds his title belt and flexes after the official weigh-in for his title fight against Canelo AlvarezCredit: AP:Associated Press

Canelo Alvarez, left, and Liam Smith — The fighters go head-to-head in build-up to their light-middleweight fightCredit: AP:Associated Press

Brothers Callum, Paul and Stephen are also all now pros as Liam limbers up for the fight of his life on Saturday night.
He will walk out in front of 50,000 at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, aiming to beat Mexican Alvarez and defend his WBO light-middleweight crown.
Alvarez ko’d Liam’s fellow Brit Amir Khan in May. But unbeaten Scouser Liam, 28, does not fear anyone after the hard knocks he endured as a kid.

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He said: “If you put a camera on the wall, you would laugh at some of the fights me and my brothers had.
“We would always end up smashing things and then having to hide them from my parents!
“We used to really go for each other and have good scraps.

Alvarez made short work of Amir Khan earlier this year — Alvarez made short work of Amir Khan earlier this yearCredit: Reuters

Alvarez stands over Khan after delivering a knockout punch during the sixth round — Alvarez stands over Khan after delivering a sixth round knockoutCredit: Getty Images

“Those days stood me in good stead in the long run.
“They will all be proud of me on Saturday. I can be the best light-middleweight in the world.”
* Canelo v Smith is exclusively live on BoxNation on Saturday night. Buy now at boxnation.com

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