Anthony Sims: Will ‘The Magician’ emerge as a Liam Smith opponent? | ‘Liam is nothing special!’  | Boxing News

Anthony Sims aims to fight former world champion Liam Smith – after vowing to “whoop” Zak Chelli in Saturday’s fight, live on Sky Sports.

The American comes into the match at Wembley Arena with a record of 23-1 (20) and will present British champion Chelli (12-1-1, (6)) with perhaps his toughest test so far in the 10-round contest on the BOXXER card.

However, Sims Jr. has his eyes in front of Chris Eubank Jr. who is the new conqueror of Smith further down the line, and the 27-year-old saw something in the WBO super-welterweight king’s stunning fourth round stoppage of the English rival who was unduly concerned about it.

“Who, Liam Smith? No, I just saw Chris Eubank with his hands down, stupid boxing to be honest,” said Sims when asked if he saw anything potentially dangerous in the Liverpudlian. “I was very upset with that performance; I didn’t expect him to look like that.

“It was a good performance, but he didn’t fight the Chris Eubank we know. He fought the ‘Roy Jones’ (Eubank Jr. trainer) Chris Eubank. We didn’t see Chris Eubank aggressive, counter-punching, like. how his father fought.

“They [Smith] and his cousin [Callum] become a champion by mastering the basics. Nothing special, nothing great. He comes in and handles business, executes the game plan – he’s a professional.

“I think it will be a good fight. The Englishman, he has been there, he is a veteran, and it will be a knowledge. We both have two arms, two legs, the same height, the same weight, but it will come down to who wants more, and strategy .”

Chelli won the last British super middleweight title, defeating Germaine Brown via unanimous decision in a 10-round contest at the same venue back on Friday.

Sims has noted the 25-year-old’s attributes, but believes he will cause problems with his power, which has seen him win 20 of 24 professional contests over the distance.

“He’s a tough, tough fighter,” Sims said. “I’ve watched his footage, but I’m a professional, I never underestimate or ignore my opponent.

“That’s just something you don’t do, regardless of record or experience, or how you fight. You never ignore a fighter.

“I see he’s very aggressive, but he doesn’t fight anyone with power. I have very little power.”

Sims even hinted he could call out Liam Smith this weekend, he said Sky Sports: “I want to kidnap him [Chelli]I’m going to grab the mic, and I’m going to say what I have to say.”

Saturday’s fight will be the third time Sims, who was born in Indianapolis and now lives in Los Angeles, has visited England to box as a professional.

He stopped Stanislav Eschner in four rounds in Cardiff in August 2018 and then stopped Mateo Damian Veron in six rounds in Peterborough seven months later, knocking him out twice.

‘The Magician’ has no doubt that he is a better boxer since the previous fight and intends to present it on the undercard of the fight between Adam Azim and Santos Reyes.

“England is unlike any other place I’ve ever fought, because the fans here don’t care about you as a fighter,” Sims said. “They care about you as a person.

“If you throw a punch, he’s like ‘woah’, if you throw a punch, he’s like ‘yeah’. I just feel like I need to find my way back to England. This is where I’m supposed to be in the United States, I live in LA, but this is where I was ‘The Magician,’ in England.

“[I’ve got] Thirty-three wins with 20 losses for a reason, but what I want now is professionalism. That’s different from the last time I was here – true professional. My approach, my point of view, how I look at my opponent, how I treat my opponent.”

Full BOXXER card for Friday 11 February on Sky Sports

10 x 3 minute International Super Lightweight Contests

Adam Azim vs Santos Reyes

10 x 3 minute International Super-Middleweight Contest

Zak Chelli vs. Anthony Sims

10 x 3 minutes British Middleweight Championship

Tyler Denny vs. Brad Pauls

8 x 3 min Light Race

Caroline Dubois vs Feriche Mashaury

8 x 3 minute Cruiserweight Contests

Vidal Riley vs Anees Taj

8 x 3 minute Heavyweight Competition

Jeamie TKV vs Harry Armstrong

6 x 3 minute Welterweight Contests

Hassan Azim vs Abdallah Luanja

.6 x 3 minute Super-Middleweight Contests

Jordan Reynolds vs Mohamed Cherif Benchadi

4/6 x 3 minutes Feather Race

Razor Ali vs Hector Lozano

Boxing on Sky Sports is available to stream via NOW TV.