Christopher Rebrasse says he will expose the hype around Callum Smith when they clash for the vacant WBC Silver World Super Middleweight title at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on Friday June 26, live on Sky Sports.
The former European champion returns to the UK following his clash with George Groves where they clashed for the Silver title and his Euro strap in September at Wembley Arena, and the 29 year old Frenchman says he’ll show that he is the one ready to launch himself onto the World stage.
“There is lots of hype around Callum Smith – I’m still unsure how good he is,” said Rebrasse. “My team and I have looked at three or four fights of him. He has a clean and rigid style of boxing – if he is as good as they say he is I expect him to bring it to me on June 26. I’ve competed at World level and he hasn’t yet – so there are reservations from us on him.
“We are taking Callum seriously as there has been much talk about him – but we intend to expose him before he has a chance to compete at world level.
“I was number three in WBC and a former European champion – Callum is a good opponent for me right now; I can beat him and I’m expecting an open fight.
“I see a committed, gruelling fight between us. I am going to make every effort to ensure that it doesn’t go 12 rounds. Callum has only gone the distance once before – so this will be the same as most of his fights, except I will be the one to end it early.
“I will leave nothing in the ring as this fight is “make or break” for my career – I can’t afford another setback at this stage – especially against a young prospect.
“I’m feeling very confident and focussed for this fight with Callum – there is no pressure on me as everyone is expecting him to beat me, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. My camp has been calm and focussed, we are ready to return to England and cause a big upset beating Callum in his home city.”
Rebrasse’s clash with Smith is part of a massive night of action in Liverpool, with Callum’s fellow World-ranked Merseyside Super Middleweight Rocky Fielding tasting his toughest test against highly-rated Texan Brian Vera. Tony Bellew meets the experienced Lubos Suda as he closes on a World title shot at Cruiserweight and new Matchroom signing Martin Murray making his debut at Super Middleweight
Tickets for the huge night of action on Merseyside are on sale now with tickets priced at £40, £60, £80, £100 and £150 available from the Echo Arena website www.echoarena.com and on 0844 8000 400. VIP tickets at £250 are available exclusively from Matchroom Boxing at www.matchroomboxing.com and on 01277 359900.
Matchroom Boxing will donate 96p of every ticket sold to the Hillsborough Family Support Group.
