Dave Oakes previews Friday night's British super-middleweight title match-up between champion Paul Smith and challenger Tony Dodson.  Check back in tomorrow for Dave's preview of Kell Brook vs Krzysztof Bienias.

The Echo Arena, Liverpool, sees another local derby headlining an action packed card this Friday night. After the success of Tony Dodson v Tony Quigley and Quigley v Paul Smith, we now get to see Smith v Dodson in what will be Smith’s first defence of his British super-middleweight title.

The atmosphere for the previous two derbies held at the Echo was nothing short of electric and this ought to be just as raucous. Smith won the title in unconvincing fashion when he beat Quigley via a contentious split decision last October. Neither fighter impressed on the night, both seemed to struggle under the weight of local expectation, which consequently made for a scrappy and disjointed fight.

I’ve got a feeling this fight will be much more like the Dodson v Quigley clash, Dodson always comes ready for a war and he usually manages to drag his opponent into the trenches with him.

Dodson, 24-5-1 (12 KO’s), has had an erratic career thus far, he produced a superb performance to outpoint Brian Barbosa after replacing the injured Brian Magee at three days notice but then lost two of his next three fights against average opponents.

He recovered from those setbacks to win the vacant British title in late 2003 when he bludgeoned Allan Foster to submission in eleven hard fought rounds. Unfortunately for Dodson, he never got to defend his title due to being involved in a serious motorcycle accident, an incident that robbed him of two years of his career.

He went unbeaten in his first four fights back in the ring but then had the displeasure of running into Carl Froch. Froch was far too good for him and dropped him numerous times en route to a third round knockout victory. Considering what Froch has achieved since, there’s no disgrace in losing to him.

Dodson’s last title challenge was the aforementioned fight versus Quigley. It was one of the domestic dust-ups of 2009; both fighters traded heavy shots as the momentum swung back and forth between them. Quigley eventually prevailed, coming from behind on the cards to stop Dodson in the eleventh after a huge left hook turned Dodson’s world upside down.

Smith, 28-1 (15 KO’s), tends to blow hot and cold - when his head is right and he’s up for a fight, he’s a hard boxer to beat, but he can be lackadaisical and tends to box to the level of his opponent.

Smith is well known to U.S fans due to his one fight appearance on the reality fight show ‘The Contender’, a severe cut acquired in his split decision win over David Banks curtailing his participation in the series. The Banks win, along with his seventh round stoppage victory over Jonathan Reid, are the best performances of his career. The only defeat on his record came at the hands of Steve Bendall, who he was very unlucky to lose on points to (I, like most people, had Smith winning).

There’s been a lot of verbal conflict between the pair in the build-up to the fight and one senses there’s a genuine feeling of animosity between them. Local pride is at stake as much as the British title is. Dodson has accused Smith of being disrespectful, whilst Smith responded by questioning Dodson’s heart – "Dodson has always had a problem with pressure, and I don't expect things to change this week. For me, he's the Jellyman of British boxing, always has been, always will be." Whether it’s just pre-fight trash-talk or genuine needle, there’s bound to be fireworks when the two finally square up in the ring.

Dodson likes to get involved in a slugfest and will put Smith under pressure from the opening bell. Smith is a good box-fighter; he prefers having space to get his shots off but can fight toe to toe if he needs to. Smith can be a spiteful body puncher and Dodson has shown susceptibility to the body previously, I believe that could play a major role in the outcome of the fight.

I think Dodson will be a handful for Smith early on but I expect Smith to adapt his tactics and slowly gain the impetus as the fight wears on. I feel the heavier hitting and body shots of Smith will start paying dividends after the sixth round and can see him stopping a game but outgunned Dodson around the tenth.

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