Pride of Merseyside: Paul Smith v Tony Dodson Preview
There’ll be a buzz along the eastern bank of the River Mersey tomorrow evening as thousands of fans flock to see the latest all scouse super middleweight tear up brought to us by Frank Warren. Paul ‘Smigga’ Smith returns to the venue which was so good to him in October when, in front of a packed Echo Arena (and largely pro Smith crowd), he grabbed the British super middleweight title after victory over local rival Tony Quigley.
This time, Smith (28-1, 15 kayos) goes up against the tough Tony Dodson (24-5, 12 kayos) and the pair have been embroiled in a war of words from the get go.
Dodson this week hailed Smith as the ‘Peter Andre’ of boxing (ouch) whilst Smith fired back a cookery related retort which had me wondering if he’d been having problems making weight.
He called Dodson a “jelly man” with a “soft centre” and went on “I’ll be turning up the heat on Friday, and Dodson will melt, he can’t stand the heat. The Echo Arena is a fantastic place for boxing, and it’s going to be like a pressure cooker on Friday night.”
Smith appears to have gotten under Dodson’s skin, much as he managed to do against Quigley last time out. There’s a perceived arrogance about the 27 year old which seems to rile opponents. Dodson has been quite vociferous in the build up, claiming he will “mop the canvas” with Smith.
“Everyone in Liverpool wants to see me win back my title and I can’t wait until March 12 when I batter that glamour boy and put the title back in the hands of real fighter,” said Dodson. “Since he’s won the title he thinks he’s the best thing in the super-middleweights since Joe Calzaghe and he’s got the cheek to question my heart against Tony Quigley and Carl Froch.”
Dodson was stopped against both men, however he was ahead on points when stopped by a desperate Quigley in the final round (in Dodson’s last outing). Against Froch, Dodson was tagged with a very good uppercut in the third round and then crumpled with a left hand to the gut for the full count of ten.
Despite this, Dodson is a very capable boxer and looking at how Smith fared against Quigley last time out, one would have to see this as a very evenly matched contest. Smith had to dig deep to grind out a decision victory over the final two sessions in a tense and scrappy match full of needle and ire.
Smith has lost just once, a contentious ten round decision to Coventry’s Steven Bendall down at middleweight. Since moving up to 168 lbs, Smith’s performances have been better, however he’s small for the weight and Dodson will be much the bigger man come fight night.
Dodson will probably look to meet the aggressive champion head on and look to outfight and outland him in centre ring; I don’t perceive any smart boxing here. Smith’s main flaw, despite decent technique is that he tends to over reach with his punches at times and especially with his right hand. Dodson’s size and willingness to fight may allow him to land it more readily here than he managed to against Quigley.
I see a close fight and I’m placing faith in Dodson in thinking that he’ll be in the right frame of mind to be able to take Smith’s shots without folding. If he can, I can see him making it through twelve rounds of what should be a good and entertaining scrap however I think Smith will be the guy to nick it. The winner will likely earn themselves a crack at Brian McGee’s European title next up, again in Liverpool, which is an added incentive for both men, as if local pride wasn’t enough.
Smith’s attitude to fighting is telling. Whilst Dodson was pleased with his performance in defeat to Quigley, Smith is the type of fighter who does not care a jot how he looks as long as his hand is raised at the end. That could be the difference here.
Smith is quoted at 13/8 to win on points and Sky Sports televise live.
* Tomorrow: Pacquiao v Clottey breakdown and prediction
