Stephen Smith Showed Against Jose Pedraza That He Belongs at World Level

Super featherweight Stephen Smith found out the hard way that small details make a big difference at the very highest level.

The Englishman failed in his bid to take the IBF title from Jose Pedraza in Mashantucket, Connecticut on Saturday, as he was on the wrong end of a unanimous decision.

Swifty had no complaints about the final verdict. He produced an impressive performance in defeat, yet Pedraza thoroughly deserved to retain his crown.

Smith should be praised, but the words will fall on deaf ears while the defeat is still fresh in his mind. He had slowly worked his way to a world title shot only for the long and winding road to be a dead end.

Even when he was next in line to challenge the IBF champion, the 30-year-old from Liverpool still had to be patient.

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Pedraza is tricky to deal with in the ring—he also happens to be tough to locate out of it. Co-promoter Lou DiBella told Jake Donovan of BoxingScene.com how difficult it was to pin down the Puerto Rican during the lengthy negotiation process.

The bout was initially planned for the start of the year only to be delayed. And delayed again. Then delayed a little longer after that. What was meant to happen in February finally took place on April 16.

Eventually, Smith got his shot. Cheered on by his three boxing brothers—Callum, Liam and Paul—at ringside, he acquitted himself well against an unbeaten opponent who had been bothered by Edner Cherry in his last outing. However, this was a different Pedraza at the Foxwoods Resort. A much better Pedraza.

He triumphed thanks mainly to two punches.

At 5’8 ½”, (two inches taller than Smith), Pedraza utilised his jab brilliantly. You could see just why he was nicknamed The Sniper as he shot out left hand after left hand from an orthodox stance. Thanks to his excellent footwork, he was often in and out with a jab before a counter could come back his way.

He also had a right hook that Smith struggled to avoid. It was the punch that produced the crucial moment in Round 9.

Swifty was on the way out after launching an attack when he was caught by a short, sharp hook.

At the domestic or European level, fighters would have been unable to capitalise on such a tiny window of opportunity. The classy Pedraza, though, sensed the moment.

The punch wasn’t venomous, but it didn't need to be. It was timed to perfection, catching his rival off-balance. Broadcasters Showtime tweeted footage of the knockdown:

Smith was hardly shaken badly by the shot. He actually fell forward into Pedraza as he lost his balance. The only thing dented was his pride as he took a standing count in a corner of the ring.

By following up with another dominant three minutes in Round 10, Pedraza had quickly put daylight between the pair on the scorecards.

Smith tried valiantly to repair the damage right through to the final bell. However, without a knockdown of his own, he knew what was coming when the scorecards were read out.

It was a third defeat for a British fighter challenging for the IBF strap at 130 pounds. Barry Michael, who was born in England but based in Australia, lost to Rocky Lockridge in 1987, while Welshman Floyd Havard came up short against John John Molina in 1994.

In his near miss, Smith showed he belongs at the world level. He told Micheal McKenna of the Liverpool Echo:

"

It’s one of those things; it’s a good learning fight for me. At the minute I’m devastated. A lot of people seem to be giving me a lot credit and hopefully I have shown that I can mix it at that level and I can be world champion in the future.

Myself, I believe I am destined to be world champion and I’ll work as hard as I have to, to get back and get another chance.

"

When his bruises have healed, Smith can return to work with trainer Joe Gallagher knowing what he needs to do to achieve his goal. Finding an easier opponent would be a good start.

Very few super featherweights will be as taxing to cope with as Pedraza. While Smith may have wanted to get inside and fight up close, the persistent jabs to his face made it tough to ever get in range.

Having won British and Commonwealth titles—the latter was at featherweight—Smith does not need to drop back down to work his way up. At his age, and with his level of experience in both the amateur and paid ranks, the focus should be on getting another opportunity at a major belt as soon as possible.

However, the division is getting a little crowded.

Vasyl Lomachenko steps up from featherweight in June—the Ukrainian fights WBO holder Roman Martinez. Nicholas Walters, meanwhile, has already had one outing at the 130-pound limit, surprisingly drawing with Jason Sosa in December 2015.

Per FightNews.com, Smith is only ranked inside the Top 15 by the IBF. There doesn't appear to be a quick and obvious route back to the top.

It may take a sizeable offer from promoter Eddie Hearn to tempt another champion to take Smith on.

There is, of course, the potential to move up again in weight.

While lightweight is only an extra five pounds, Smith stands at 5’6 ½” tall and has only managed a knockout ratio of 52 per cent in his career to date. Stepping up doesn't seem to be an option, even if it would make life easier on the scales.

What we do know is Smith can rally from a setback.

In response to losing against fellow featherweight Lee Selby in 2011, he moved to super featherweight and reeled off an 11-fight winning streak.

For now, though, super welterweight Liam remains the only world champion in the Smith family.

He was more fortunate than older sibling Stephen, as his title opportunity came against relatively unknown American John Thompson for the vacant WBO belt. That's not to say Beefy doesn't deserve the honour, but his task was much easier.

Super middleweight Callum, the youngest of the quartet and the mandatory challenger for Badou Jack’s WBC strap, has been tipped to go all the way.

But don’t sleep on Stephen Smith just yet. In attempting to become Britain’s 13th world champion, he was unlucky to run into Pedraza, a champion who had a point to prove.

Follow @RobLancs79