Rocky Fielding targeting fight with fellow Liverpudlian Paul Smith
Thursday 5 March 2015 13:51, UK
Rocky Fielding hopes to settle his hometown rivalry with fellow Liverpool fighter Paul Smith in the near future.
The 27-year-old has emerged as one of the rising stars in the super-middleweight division and will put his unbeaten record on the line against Oleg Fedotovs in Hull this Saturday, live on Sky Sports.
Victory will edge Fielding closer to the established names in his division such as Smith, who has suffered two points defeats against WBO champion Arthur Abraham.
Fielding believes his more experienced rival has dismissed his recent wins and is determined to prove a point in front of his home fans.
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He told Sky Sports: “People were talking about it 12 months and 18 months ago but I wasn’t ready, I admit that, to step up and fight him. But I had a world-ranked fighter in my last fight.
“There’s a bit of rivalry with me and Paul, the last couple of fights I’ve had he hasn’t given me much credit.
“It’s been brewing for a long time. I get on with them all, I trained with them in the amateur days. But I’m ready, I’ll take the fight. It’s down to him whether he wants to take the fight.
“I respect Paul as a fighter but it’s a massive fight in Liverpool. His profile has raised and it would fill the Echo Arena, it’s a fight Liverpool wants to see.”
Fielding helped gym-mate Martin Murray prepare for his recent stoppage defeat against fearsome WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, but was also eager for news about Smith’s rematch with Abraham on the same night.
‘King Arthur’ retained his title with a convincing display and Fielding fully expected Smith to come up short.
“Before the fight, I talked to my trainer and we said, ‘Abraham will train this time and put it on him’. And he did,” he said.
“I was getting updated when I was in Monaco with Martin. People told me it was a good performance, Paul showed heart and you respect that.”
Rocky Fielding's clash with Oleg Fedotovs is on this Saturday's bill in Hull on Sky Sports 1, from 7.30pm.
