Scotland's Kieran Smith (15-0 KO 7) will put his WBC international silver title on the line when he clashes with unbeaten Italian Vincenzo Bevilacqua (16-0 KO 0) this Saturday night at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow on the undercard of Kash Farooq vs Lee McGregor.
Super Welterweight southpaw Smith will be looking to make a statement in front of a sold-out Scottish crowd. However, Bevilacqua will be coming to fight and would love nothing more than to cause an upset to the rising prospect.
Smith was last seen in June, also in the Emirates arena on the Lee McGregor undercard, outscoring Mexican Ivan Montero (21-4 KO 9) over ten rounds. Despite the fight going to the scorecards and all ten being scored, the fight was actually a technical decision after an accidental clash of heads caused a cut too deep for Montero to continue.
Italian southpaw Bevilacqua was last seen in July where he outpointed Serbian Novak Radulovic (9-3-1 KO 4) over 6 rounds on the undercard of Emanuele Blandamura vs Marcus Morrison. This contest against Smith will be Bevilacqua’s first contest outside of his native Italy.
For Kieran Smith, it’s a chance to show everyone what he is capable of in the co-main event slot of such a big contest. Scottish boxing is still on a high after Josh Taylor unified the IBF and WBA Super Lightweight belts last month against Regis Prograis.
Smith’s best win so far was his last win over Montero. ‘Chopper’ went into the contest knowing it was a step up from his previous opponent, but he boxed smoothly and smartly on the way to the victory.
Bevilacqua hasn’t fought at the same level as Smith, but his best victory to date came against Luciano Abis (34-5-1 KO 16). Abis is a former European Welterweight title challenger and was a major step up in competition for the undefeated Italian, but at 37 his best days may have been behind him. The fight was cut short in the 7th round when an accidental clash of heads caused the end to the intriguing contest. Bevilacqua was awarded the victory by the scoring judges and won the Italian Super Welterweight crown.
Looking at both men's records doesn’t tell you much in terms of who should win this fight, Smith will enter as the favorite but not by a huge margin. This is the moment of truth for both combatants, who will take the next step up the ladder and who will fall and lose their unbeaten record come Saturday night.