“I’d quite like to make Jake Paul versus Eddie Hearn. I think Jake Paul would do him in. Big knockout. That’s after Eddie knocks out Leonard Ellerbe though. It’s all part of my master plan for five years from now,” Frank Smith told The Sportsman ahead of Dalton Smith’s British super-lightweight title fight against Sam O’maison on Saturday night at the Sheffield Arena.
Smith was in a relaxed mood after celebrating his 30th birthday over the past few weeks during a break in the calendar for some much needed R&R ahead of what looks set to be a thunderous autumn and winter period in boxing.
The likes of Leigh Wood, Josh Warrington, Joe Cordina, Katie Taylor, Callum Smith and Joshua Buatsi to name a few have been teased as returning to the ring again before the year is out, so it was nice to catch Smith, CEO of Matchroom Boxing, in a refreshed state and ready to share his wealth of inside information as well as a few fantasy match-ups he’s been working on it seems.
Speaking of fantasies, it emerged earlier this week that Dubai based influencer Rashed Belhasa, known professionally as ‘Money Kicks’, would live out his, by making his pro debut on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia on August 20th against Kyle Paevie.
“He’s been taking his boxing seriously,” Smith tells The Sportsman when asked how and why this is happening.
“He’s heavily invested in boxing. He loves the sport and he’s making a big push. I think we’re going to see an interesting fight there. I’m looking forward to seeing him in the ring and yeah that was a big move because of the local area, as I say he’s a big star in the Middle East.”
Olympic silver medalist Ben Whittaker, who made his debut last weekend, has been rumoured to be added to the same fight card too, something Smith all-but confirmed after revealing Sully Cissokho had pulled out.
“It’s not a Sky-led decision. Ultimately 258 MGT, Anthony Joshua’s management company, had a slot on the card and I think that’s going to be used for Ben Whittaker. I’ve been speaking daily with Fredie Cunningham [Managing Director of 258 MGT] on it, so yeah we’ll see how it goes, but that’s definitely a possibility.”
Meanwhile here in the UK, Sheffield’s latest prodigal talent Dalton Smith takes to the ring this weekend to face local rival Sam O’maison for the vacant British Super Lightweight Title.
‘Thunder’ is expected to come through the fight against O’maison, who has only fought competitively for four rounds in just under three years. The Sportsman asked Frank Smith his thoughts on this matchup.“The key for us was getting Dalton the British Title shot. It was originally supposed to be Akeem Ennis Brown, he pulled out of the fight through injury. Then we were looking at Kaisee Benjamin, but Sam O’maison was a fight that the British Board of Boxing approved. He’s an experienced fighter, and he’s going to give Dalton a challenge.
“It’s a huge opportunity [O’maison] to go in there and take away all that work that Dalton’s done. All that promotion Dalton’s had behind him. You know he can take all those fans in one night. This is his opportunity.”
You can watch the full interview with Smith below, which includes comments on the ever-growing-in-speculation Conor Benn vs Chris Eubank Jr superfight, Jake Paul’s impact on boxing, the relationship with Sky Sports and how he feels about KSI’s upcoming fight with Alex Wassabi.
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