Liam Smith Counting on Mental Toughness to Overcome Long Odds vs. Canelo Alvarez

Liam Smith has been disrespected and completely dismissed by the majority of the boxing public in the weeks since it was announced that he would defend his WBO Junior Middleweight Championship against boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez. 

Some of that is to be expected.

Smith carries a world championship belt but not much in terms of reputation on this side of the Atlantic. He's spent his entire fighting career in his native United Kingdom and will be taking a huge step up in class against one of boxing's premier names Saturday at 9 pm ET on HBO pay-per-view in Arlington, Texas.

He doesn't feel that all the criticism of the matchup, or even that of him as a fighter, really serves up much additional motivation. He's not even mad at you if you don’t think he can win.

All he wants is you to acknowledge you were wrong when he does.

"I'm motivated now because I'm in a fight that makes me No. 1 in the division I'm in. It changes my life. I don't feel disrespected. All I ask is that the people who are disrespecting me now come out on Sunday, September 18 and say this kid can fight," Smith told Bleacher Report.

"Don't even apologize. Just say you got it wrong. I don't need any more motivation. I'm fighting Canelo Alvarez. If that can't get me motivated, then I'm in the wrong sport."

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Much of the criticism of Smith has less to do with who he is and more to do with who he isn't.

He's not Gennady Golovkin.

And that’s the fight the fans want more than all others.

It was hugely deflating—particularly after Canelo and his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, ran their mouths following a sixth-round decapitation of Amir Khan in April—for us to end up here, and the fans have made their displeasure known.

Smith has gotten caught in that crossfire.

He agrees that Canelo isn’t a middleweight quite yet and can't blame him for moving back down to a weight where his body is comfortable, but he joins the chorus of criticism relating to how it was all handled.

"I think he went the wrong way about the GGG situation. He built all the fans' hopes up that he was going to fight GGG. He said he will fight him. After one of the fights, he said he'd put the gloves on again and fight him," Smith said.

"He got everyone's hopes up, and then all of the sudden, to give his title up and pick me, who isn't really well-known in America? He went the wrong way about it and lost a lot of respect from people because of that."

Golovkin and the boxing public's loss is Smith's gain.

He's not really sure which version of Canelo will turn up on fight night.

Will it be the aggressive puncher who blistered Alfredo Angulo? Or the tactical fighter who avoided firefights and outboxed Miguel Cotto to win the middleweight title last November?

Smith recalls watching the Angulo fight—widely considered one of Canelo's most impressive performances to date—and wishing he could've been in his shoes that night. He'd have had something more for him.

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That might sound like an odd thing to say, but the Brit is an aggressive fighter in his own right. He likes to exchange and mix things up and doesn't often take a step back.

That style gives him no fear about walking into an opponent's hostile backyard and getting a fair shake.

Smith believes he's mentally tougher than many of Canelo's opponents, and if the cinnamon-haired challenger doesn’t get him out of there early, he's in for a very long night.

He has to act like a challenger and go in there with the mentality that he's the one with something to prove.

And he does.

The deck is stacked against him, but that's not on his mind.

Smith isn't just coming stateside to enjoy some Texas BBQ before boarding a flight back to London sans his world title, albeit with a good bit more coin in his pocket.

He's coming to shock the boxing world and win.

"I don't want to say grateful. I don't want to sound like I'm just coming for the opportunity and to say I boxed in front of this many people at AT&T Stadium. I'm coming there to win and bring the title back home," Smith said.

All quotes were obtained firsthand.