Jose Pedraza vs. Stephen Smith: Fight Time, Date, Live Stream and TV Info

Stephen "Swifty" Smith could become the second of four fighting siblings to win a world title when he faces IBF super featherweight champion Jose "Sniper" Pedraza on Saturday.

The Englishman Smith (23-1, 13 KOs) travels to the Foxwoods Resort in Connecticut for the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of younger brother Liam, who holds the WBO's super welterweight belt.

However, Pedraza (21-0, 12 KOs) has a perfect record as a pro. The Puerto Rican picked up the vacant IBF strap with a victory over Andrey Klimov in June 2015.

The card—which also includes Gary Russell Jr. defending the WBC featherweight title against Patrick Hyland—will be televised by Showtime in the United States. Sky Sports will provide live coverage in the United Kingdom in the early hours of Sunday morning.

When: Saturday at 11 p.m. ET (4 a.m. Sunday BST)

Where: Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut

TV: Showtime (US), Sky Sports (UK)

Live stream: SkyGo (UK—subscription required)

Potential Star

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A skilled, unbeaten Puerto Rican who holds a world title, Pedraza has all the ingredients to be a star. With Manny Pacquiao joining Floyd Mayweather Jr. in retirement, boxing could do with some fresh faces too.

However, despite his successes in the ring, the 26-year-old is still yet to crack the major markets in the United States.

According to co-promoter Lou DiBella, that isn't necessarily the boxer's fault.

DiBella told BoxingScene.com that the biggest stumbling block in negotiations for the Smith fight wasn't discussing terms with rival promoter Eddie Hearn:

"

It’s nuts, usually you go to a purse bid because you can’t work out terms with the other fighter. I had no problem with Eddie [Hearn]. We worked out the details the first time, and again when the fight went back to purse bid. But I couldn’t even get to my own fighter. It’s not his own fault, he has the wrong people giving him bad advice.

"

Pedraza avoided going on the road for the second defence of his title thanks to his promoters (Javier Bustillo and Gary Shaw are the others involved) winning the purse bid to stage the contest.

Sniper retained the strap against Edner Cherry in Ohio last time out, albeit on a split-decision verdict.

He got the nod 117-111 from two of the three judges at ringside, with the other scoring it 116-11 in favour of Cherry. The numbers did not do justice to how little there was between the pair.

Now, the champion, who won a silver medal at the 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships, needs to show he belongs at the highest level.

Winning Run

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Smith moved to the front of the queue to face Pedraza by stopping Devis Boschiero in September 2015.

It was his 11th win in a row since losing to Lee Selby, a fighter who was not so well-known at the time but has since gone on to become a world champion at featherweight.

The 30-year-old stepped up to super featherweight after the defeat against Selby in 2011. He has been on a tear since, including picking up the British belt in 2013 by knocking out Gary Buckland in Round 5.

He expects a tougher test against Pedraza, as he told Matchroom Boxing:

The Smiths (not the band) have coped with contrasting results in world-title fights. While Liam holds a belt, eldest brother Paul twice failed to take the WBO super middleweight strap from Arthur Abraham.

As for the other member of the fighting family, super middleweight Callum Smith—the youngest (25) of the quartet—is waiting in the wings for a crack at the WBC crown.

Stephen has patiently waited for his own opportunity at a title, as he explained to Micheal McKenna of the Liverpool Echo:

"

Going in off the back of a career best performance, you just want to keep the momentum going, keep the ball rolling. I was hoping it [Pedraza fight] would be before Christmas, then it was January, then February, before it was done for March 26. Finally it was April 16.

I took a week off, eased up, because I've over-trained in the past and lost a fight because of it. I've learnt my lesson from that.

It's not ideal but he's (Pedraza) in the same boat as me with all the messing around so there can't be any excuses.

"

Smith and his team bumped into Helena Christensen while working out at their hotel in New York. Swifty will hope to put in a model performance when he steps into the ring on Saturday.

Prediction

Pedraza has a height advantage (he's 5'8 ½", while Smith is 5'6 ½") and the ability to pose plenty of problems for Smith.

The champion will be much trickier to target than Boschiero, who Swifty was able to hunt down and pummel into submission.

Even if Smith does get on top, Pedraza proved against Cherry that he can find a way to come through tricky moments. It may not be pretty at times, but he will do the same against Smith, leading to a points win.