Move on or get out: Aging former champion Liam Smith fights Aaron McKenna April 26

Liam “Beefy” Smith is 36 years old.

Aaron McKenna is 25.

Age can make a difference, but experience is also a factor.

Smith (33-4, 20 KOs) hasn’t been in the ring since his rematch with Chris Eubank Jr. in 2023. Eubank stopped Smith in 10 heats.  Minutes after the fight was over, many suggested that Smith needed to pack up his boxing gear for good.

The suggestion annoyed Smith.

“Has ‘Beefy’ got anything left?’ Smith told the Irishtimes.com. “I’ve been through all that for the (Anthony) Fowler fight, and I’ve got to prove myself again. It’s baffling how much I keep having to do it.”

“I had nothing (for the rematch)after making weight,” he told Box Live. “That was the bottom line of it. I wasn’t injured in the fight. The fight was a flat performance.”

Smith has a point. He looked like a different fighter when he stopped Eubank eight months before. He was fresher and active. A matchup with the mercurial Eubank would always be a tough one, but Smith came through with flying colors.

He crashed in the rematch.

Smith has had a solid professional career, winning various regional titles and capturing the WBO junior middleweight title 10 years ago. He lost it to a redhead named Canelo. Smith challenged defending champion Jaime Mungia in 2018, only to lose a decision.

Beefy lost to Magomed Kurbanov but came back to stop Jesse Vargas at Madison Square Garden in 2022.

Smith has big fight experience over McKenna, whom he fights on April 26th at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in Saudi Arabia.

The importance of the fight has not gone unnoticed.

“It’s a must win for me, and I’m massively looking forward to it,” said Smith.

McKenna’s amateur career was a glittering one, including being an eight-time national champion and winning gold at the European Schoolboy Championship.

He turned professional at 18. An inspection of his record reveals no household names. The young man has been building for seven years. He stopped his last two opponents impressively.

McKenna (19-0, 10 KOs) will have a height and reach advantage over Smith on fight night.

Odds have fluctuated for weeks. Smith is slightly favored.

“He’s a very good fighter – comes from a respectable name of boxing brothers,” said McKenna. “They remind me of my brothers. We come from a respectable boxing family as well.”

Also on the card, Anthony Yarde and Lyndon Arthur get reacquainted for the third time.

Arthur (24-2, 16 KOs) upset Yarde (26-3, 24 KOs) in 2020 by outworking him over 12 rounds.

A year later, a motivated Yarde stalked and rocked Arthur, winning by knockout in four rounds.

Both fighters challenged for light heavyweight honors and came up short. In 2023, Yarde went mano-a-mano with Arthur Beterbiev only to be stopped in eight rounds. Arthur fought and lost a 12-round decision to Dmitry Bivol several months later.

A win is needed to earn, perhaps another shot at a world title. Yarde is a substantial favorite.

“I don’t wanna lose,” Arthur told Boxing Now. “I never wanted to lose, but now I really, really, really, really, really don’t wanna lose.”