Tuesday 23 September 2014 16:28, UK
Paul Smith previously did not believe in fate. If he had, the Liverpudlian may well have walked away from boxing after defeat and injury derailed his career.
But as he draws ever closer to a WBO super-middleweight title challenge against Arthur Abraham, the 31-year-old has started to look back on the torturous path that guided him to this defining night in Germany on September 27.
“Everything that has happened I feel has led towards this - and for the right reasons,” said Smith.
“I’m not a massive believer in fate and everything is written. I think you make your own future, but I do think some things are written. Some things are meant to be.
“I do think this is set up perfectly for me and my life. It is written in my opinion. It’s an ideal situation, an ideal scenario for everything that I’ve gone through.”
Thoughts of a title fight could not have been further away while Smith lay in a hospital bed, his fist shattered after a demoralising defeat by George Groves.
It could have been different. He had rocked Groves with a big right in the opening round, breaking his hand in the process. The younger man seized his reprieve in the second as a searing hook ended the contest.
Hospital bed
Smith had plenty of time to stew over his first stoppage defeat. Surgery, complicated by infection, would sideline him for a year and the temptation to quit crept into his mind.
“Lying in that hospital bed after the operation, I thought what is the point of all this? If it was going to go my way it would have gone my way," said the man nicknamed 'Real Gone Kid'.
"After it, the infection got worse, I felt really down for a few months. I’d had enough of it all.”
I knew I had something else to offer. I thought it would be just getting the British title and I did that. But me being me, I always want more.
But the former Commonwealth Games silver medallist still longed to compete. He regained the British title in dramatic fashion, halting fellow Merseysider Tony Dodson in the sixth round.
Smith would strive for more and two further wins brought him to the attention of Abraham's promoters.
“I knew I had something else to offer,” he said. “I thought it would be just getting the British title and I did that. But me being me, I always want more.
“This is the perfect opportunity.”
Abraham is a flamboyant character, who has worn a golden crown inside the ring and drives sports cars outside it. 'King Arthur' has already battled a string of star names during a lucrative reign and Smith believes he might not be a prime concern for the champion.
"That’s exactly what I want," he said. "When it gets hard, I want him to know he’s got a few million in the bank, thriving property businesses and driving round in a Ferrari.
"I’m not a world champion and I still want to win a world title. When it gets hard in there - this is what is going to spur me on - and keep me wanting to work harder, dig in, bite down and keep fighting. Maybe it might not for him."
When it gets hard, I want him to know he’s got a few million in the bank, thriving property businesses and driving round in a Ferrari.
Perspective
Smith has sought an alternative career in recent years and a spell as a pundit has given him a different perspective of the sport. He regularly analyses the strengths and shortcomings of a fighter at ringside, but knows his performance will soon be scrutinised in front of the cameras.
Asked to assess the latest world title challenger, Smith replies with the certainty of a man who believes that destiny finally lies in his hands.
"When you are commentating, being a pundit, when the lads out of my gym are fighting, I know all about them. I know their strengths and their weaknesses," said the Merseysider, who is one of trainer Joe Gallagher's thriving crop of fighters.
"That’s why I have always picked them because on their day they can beat anyone.
"When I don’t know the kid, it’s hard to really give your backing to them.
"Me analysing myself for this fight, because I know me and I know me inside, I give myself a great chance."
